Great article. Finally I think you've done justice to your position. There is much I can agree with; other parts I can't. For example:
>The campaigners demanding Pinochet's trial have the moral authority of
>thousands of victims murdered on their side. But by pressing the British
>and Spanish courts to realise their aims they are making a tragic
>mistake, that will reinforce the authority of the very powers that
>imposed Pinochet on Chile in the first place. By placing their trust in
>the European courts, they have side-stepped the need to build support in
>Chile for a proper resolution to the struggles of the seventies. The
>sight of the dictators' supporters claiming to stand up for Chilean
>independence is sickening, given the real meaning of the dictatorship.
>But in turning to the Western courts the left has made itself an adjunct
>of Western diplomacy instead of a real opposition.
Yes. But "tragic mistake" is too strong. Things as simple as you paint them. The process of the Pinochet affiar has opeend up spaces for a "public opinion" plebiscite to start. And in Chile, as recent polls have shown, people are on the whole for seeing Pinochet brought to justice; and they prefer in Chile over elsewhere. Public articulation of this would never have happened -- that is, creating political forces and spaces in Chile that might start to add up to a possibility of trying Pinoch there -- had this affiar not erupted as it did. Silver lining, perhaps, to the dark cloud you paint.
Tom
Tom Kruse Casilla 5812 / Cochabamba, Bolivia Tel/Fax: (591-4) 248242 Email: tkruse at albatros.cnb.net