Carey pleads for Pinochet to be released Christopher Morgan, Religious Affairs Correspondent THE Archbishop of Canterbury has made a private appeal to Jack Straw, the home secretary, to free Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, it emerged last week. George Carey's support for the ageing general, which he wanted to keep secret, will surprise some in the Church of England. Any support for Pinochet should be declared openly.
Secrecy creates a kind of furtiveness.
Clearly this is a man who has committed outrages and he is facing the consequences of his actions. It is not known why Carey kept his move secret, but sources said he did not want to be seen to interfere in the legal process. Carey made his appeal because he was concerned about the humanitarian aspects of keeping an old man, apparently ailing, in detention. Although the archbishop has been careful not to interfere with the legal moves, he is thought to have told Straw that extradition might damage the reconciliation process in Chile. Carey has a longstanding interest in Pinochet's plight.