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USIS Washington 
File

02 December 1998

RUBIN CITES COMPLEXITY OF CASE INVOLVING PINOCHET

(Lists two important values at stake in case)  (870)

By Eric Green

USIA Staff Writer



WASHINGTON -- The case involving former Chilean dictator Augusto
Pinochet is very complex because two important values are at stake --
one is accountability and justice, and the other is the value of
promoting and respecting democracies, says State Department spokesman
James Rubin.


In a December 2 briefing that was dominated by discussion of whether
Pinochet, presently being held in London, should be extradited to
Spain to stand trial for alleged crimes while in office, or be allowed
to return home to Chile, Rubin said the United States "has not taken a
position in favor of one position or another." But he added, "we have
explained our concern about these values being achieved."


Rubin warned that people "should not read more into our remarks than
what we say. Again, there are two relevant values: one is the
important value of accountability and justice in cases like Pinochet
where we have condemned in the strongest possible terms the abuses
that have occurred during his reign."


On the other hand, he said, "there's another value which is also
important to the United States and, one would hope, important to all
the commentators who have an opinion on this, and that is the value of
countries' transition to democracy. There are many countries that have
transitioned to democracy, many of which have had human rights abuses
far worse than Chile, and ways have been found to deal with it. And
there are many different situations. Each situation is different. And
all I'm trying to communicate is that we are weighing these two
values, we don't want to interfere in the legal process that's going
on."


Rubin added that "we're not saying that these two values are
necessarily in conflict. We're saying these are the two values --
accountability and justice -- (that are) extremely important to the
United States, on the one hand; on the other hand, respect for a
country that has become a democracy (is) extremely important to the
United States. That's why for some, this is a very simple knee-jerk
issue, because they choose one or the other. For us, they are both
important. And in the meantime, there's a legal case and a legal
process going on that we don't want to interfere with."


As to reports the Clinton administration would declassify U.S.
documents related to alleged crimes committed under Pinochet's regime,
Rubin said Washington has indicated that it "will review documents to
determine whether they should be released. And we have not said what
that review will entail."


The review of relevant documents that might shed light on abuses
committed by Pinochet, said Rubin, is "a substantial undertaking that
will require a comprehensive and thorough review of a large number of
documents. We don't know how long this process will take. We will try
to complete it as quickly as possible."


Rubin noted that the Clinton administration "has shown a great
openness to provide unclassified or declassified documents in a
variety of cases in an unprecedentedly open way. And that is one of
the factors that we will weigh. Other factors are law enforcement
factors and national security factors."


When asked by reporters whether the United States has one standard for
its friends and another for its enemies, Rubin said "that is utter
nonsense, and people who say that usually have their own reasons for
saying it. We judge each case on the merits. If you look down the list
of countries and you look down the list of complicated legal issues,
they all have their own exigencies and own complications."


Rubin added that "in the minds of some, everything is black and white.
In the minds of some, foreign policy is a simple matter of plugging in
the facts and coming up with a preordained answer. In the minds of
this administration and, I hope, future and past administrations, we
try to weigh the considerations that are affected by each case, weigh
each case on the merits, and we don't have a knee-jerk response, as
some do."


Rubin said the Pinochet case boils down to the fact that "this is an
issue for the Spanish courts and the British legal system. They are
dealing with it; they are wrestling with it. We commented because it
had become such a matter of international and public interest, for
obvious reasons, and so we explained, very carefully formulated, our
view of these two values."


British police arrested Pinochet, a retired army general, at a London
clinic October 16, acting on a request from a Spanish judge who seeks
to have him extradited and prosecuted for torture, murder and
genocide. At least 3,000 people were reported killed or disappeared
from alleged human rights violations committed by Pinochet during his
1973-1990 regime. Britain's highest court has ruled that Pinochet, who
is a senator for life, is not immune from prosecution under relevant
international treaties.


However, the Chilean government insists Pinochet's alleged crimes took
place on Chilean soil and therefore should be handled by its courts.