Date: 1999-05-13
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of Mr. HINCHEYs amendment to require a report to Congress on information held by the United States pertaining to human rights violations in Chile carried out by Gen. Augusto Pinochet and his forces. The 1973 military coup in Chile was a tragic interruption of Chiles proud democratic history. Thousands of innocent people were killed. Many more were tortured and imprisoned. American citizens are among the dead. The military coup in Chile also represents a tragic chapter in American history. It is now widely understood that the United States supported the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government. But the full details of U.S. support for the coup are still not known. We need to know the full details. In addition. the full details of U.S. information concerning the actions of the coups leader. Gen. Augusto Pinochet. are not fully known. It is widely understood that Gen. Pinochet directed the coup and the mass killings and torture that occurred during his nearly two decade long reign. But the American people -deserve to know and would be better off knowing the full details of Gen. Pinochers actions. Only the United States at this point has the ability to fully inform its citizens of this ruthless dictators actions. Along with my colleagues. I have been demanding that the United States supply information about Gen. Pinochets murderous actions to a court in Spain that has brought charges against Gen. Pinochet for violations of international law. including torture. murder and kidnapping. The United States is believed to house records that would corroborate the charges against Gen. Pinochet Those records should be reviewed. declassified and turned over to the court in Spain. Some information has been turned over and after much delay the United States has established a task force to oversee this request. It is a slow process and many believe that some in the Adrministration would prefer that the information never see the light of day. Without objection. I would like to submit into the RECORD a series of letters between myself. my colleague. JOHN CONYERS. and other members. including Mr. HINCHEY. and the Administration. These letters explain the nature of the information we seek and the importance of providing the information to the Spanish court. The actions in the 1970s of the U.S. intelligence community and the then Secretary of State. Henry Kissinger. toward Chile and other dictators in the southern cone are a disgrace that should never be forgotten by American citizens who wish to think honorably about their country and their government. A journalist Lucy Kosimar. recently uncovered a memo that describes how Secretary of State Kissinger coddled Pinochet after the coup. In a recent article. Kosimar wrote: The memo describes how Secretary of State Kissinger stroked and bolstered Pinochet. howwith hundreds of political prisoners still being jailed and torturedKissinger told Pinochet that the Ford Administration would not hold those human rights violations against him. At a time when Pinochet was the target of international censure for statesponsored torture. disappearances. and murders. Kissinger assured him that he was a victim of communist propaganda and urged him not to pay too much attention to American critics. This is what Kissinger reportedly told Pinochet in a private meeting in 1976. according to Lucy Kosimar In the United States. as you know." Kissinger told Pinochet. "we are sympathetic with what you are trying to do here. I think that the previous government was headed toward communism. We wish your government well. A little while later. Kissinger added: "My evaluation is that you are a victim of all left wing groups around the world. and that your greatest sin was that you overthrew a government which was going Communist. Kissinger decided that the international fight against communism justified the rape and torture of Chilean women. justified their mutilation. Justified their execution. More than 20 years later new information about the U.S. role in the coup and U.S. knowledge about human rights violations by Pinochet are still coming to light. Clearly there is more information that is housed in the intelligence communities warehouses and that information should be made public. In 1976. an American citizen. Ronnie Moffitt. was blown up on the streets of Washington with her Chilean colleague. Orlando Letelier. Pinochet is widely suspected of having personally ordered their deaths. This act of terrorism should never be forgotten. in the hopes that it will never be repeated. Pinochet is living in London right now. awaiting the fate of an extradition hearing for trial in Spain. Whatever information the United States can provide on the deaths of Ronnie Moffitt and Orlando Letelier in Washington should be made available so the truth can be known once and for all and justice can be rendered in this ugly. ugly chapter of American and Chilean history.