From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 14 Aug 92 10:10 PDT
Subject: IPS:Chile: Former Pinochet
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700360:000:4078
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Aug 14 10:10:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: IPS:Chile: Former Pinochet

/* Written 12:11 am  Aug 13, 1992 by newsdesk in
cdp:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: CHILE: FORMER PINOCHET AGENT IMPLICATED IN SERIOUS
VIOLATIONS

santiago, aug 10 (ips) -- a former agent of the pinochet military
regime who was arrested in brazil last week is implicated in more
than a hundred cases of torture and forced disappearances,
according to human rights organisations in the chilean capital,
santiago.

osvaldo romo, a former agent of the national intelligence
department (dina) under general pinochet, was directly involved in
human rights abuses after the ousting of president salvador
allende (story received incomplete) resenting the archbishopric of
santiago and victims' groups.

chile's interior minister, enrique krauss, said president patricio
alywin had asked his brazilian colleague, fernando collor de
mello, to expel romo from brazil so that he could be brought to
trial in chile.

legal sources said monday that romo is likely to be deported to
chile in the coming days, either through direct expulsion by
brazil's executive branch or through extradition proceeedings.

the acting foreign minister, edmundo vargas, confirmed that romo
would ''soon be appearing before the chilean courts'' to face
charges based on evidence provided by numerous witnesses.

the lawyer of the archbishopric of santiago, rose bornard, said
despite the ''overwhelming'' evidence against the former
intelligence agent, he might not be convicted.

bornard cited the amnesty law decreed by the government of general
augusto pinochet in 1978, which prevents legal action against
those who committed human rights violations between 1973 and
1978.

romo, who has been living in brazil since 1976, was arrested by
police on july 29 in sao paulo state, and is being prosecuted by
the authorities for being an illegal resident and possessing false
identity documents.

sola sierra, president of the association of relatives of
disappeared detainees (afdd), predicted that if romo is brought to
justice in chile ''charges could be brought against general
pinochet, general manuel contreras and the military junta.''

sierra maintains that romo and other security agents could not
have acted without the knowledge and approval of their superiors.

pinochet, who governed chile until march 1990, remains
commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while retired general
contreras, who is implicated in the murder of former chilean
foreign minister orlando letelier, in washington, is still at
large.

''i think this is a great opportunity for the courts to help
re-establish normality in the country,'' sierra said. ''there's no
place for an amnesty, because if it is applied nobody will be able
to sleep peacefully in chile.'' (more/ips)
----

chile: former (2)

the afdd, together with other human rights groups, student
organisations, professional associations and political parties, is
working to collect one million signatures as part of a campaign to
repeal the amnesty law.

according to bornard, the former head of the supreme court, the
late jose eyzaguirre, once said that general contreras confirmed
that romo had been a dina agent and had left the country.

allende supporters say romo had been assigned to inflitrate
left-wing parties during the administration of president salvador
allende (1970-73).

in the early 70's, as a ''social worker'' in santiago's poorer
districts, romo made contacts with militants of the communist
party, the socialist party and the left-wing revolutionary
movement (mir), who were detained and disappeared shortly after
the military coup.

many members of mir were among romo's victims, according to the
''rettig report'', released in march 1991, based on an
investigation ordered by president alywin.

human rights groups say romo worked with other agents who are now
in the armed forces. (ends/ips/trd/em/sfi/cg/92)
----