> A torturing fascist Chilean dictator has been held in a gilded cage in
> London for over a year, as a result of unprecedented developments of
> international law.
>
> Even if he is dementing and now escapes prosecution, the precedent has been
> created which for ever lifts the international immunity of fascists.
>
> When this story first broke, the nameless moderator of a Marxism Mailing
> list dismissed my welcome of the developments, essentially for sewing
> illusions in the process of reforms, and referred to Garzon as a "maverick".
>
> Perhaps Garzon is still a maverick, but he is representative of a much
> wider social process unfolding globally under our eyes.
>
> Dogmatic forms of marxism are unable to discern such developments, let
> alone give a lead on them.
Yes, one benefit of the prosecution of Pinochet is that it has partially forced open some of the doors to places hiding the full complicity of various branches of capital in his destruction rampage--for example the US role in the murder of Allende and some of the murders directed by Pinochet. The contiunuation of that prosecution would no doubt bring more information into the public light.
It is well known that Pinochet's murders included at least two Americans, Ronni Karpin Moffit in the streets of Wash. DC, and Charles Horman in Santiago. US authorities gave Pinochet's murderers the information they needed to distinguish Horman, as a lefty journalist, as a subject for murder. Moffit died by bomb blast in the middle of a busy DC interesection at rush hour because she was riding to work at the lefty Institute for Policy Studies with Orlando Letelier, whom Pinochet wanted to murder.
When we say in contemplation of Seattle, that, in its struggle labor must become transnational to match capital, surely this is one of the things we mean. Pinochet was a world wide butcher, with the active participation of capital, and the response needs to be world-wide.
RO