Newsgroup: it.politica.pds
Titolo: Letter to the Chileans from President Pinochet

"Prevented from returning to my country and undergoing the harshest and most
unjust experience of my life, I wish to thank my fellow-countrymen for their
noble gestures of affection and support for me, without which these hours of
trouble and isolation would be incomparably more painful for me and for my
family. I would like to express my gratitude with a few thoughts that have
come
to my mind during these distressing days and that may help to uncover the
truth
and justice of the tale under trial.
The nation knows that I never sought power for myself. That is why when I
exercised power I never clung to it and when the time came to surrender it,
under
our Constitution, I did so loyally. No historian, no matter how biased or
lacking
in objectivity, can today or could tomorrow contend in good faith that my
public
actions stemmed from alleged personal ambition or any motive other than the
good of Chile. Quite the contrary, I always thought that I should direct the
call to
serve my country, which beat in my heart since childhood, through a military
carrer. I always knew that the oath I swore as a youth before God and our
flag
would be kept. Precisely because of our solid moral training, we soldiers leam
to
discover early in life how much pain and what irreparable losses are caused
by
wars. That is why when I was head of the government, I was tireless and
undaunted in my determination to avoid armed conflicts and to seek peace for
Chile always, even when all manner of threats loomed over us.
Facing the dramatic crossroads where our country was placed by the
administration of the Unidad Popular, I held back until the end,
notwithstanding
the clamour of the citizens who pounded on our barrack doors crying for our
intervention. I waited, not from fear but with a secret hope that such
extreme
institutional crisis, which had been denounced by the Supreme Court, the
Chamber of Deputies and other bodies of our institutional order, might be
peacefully resolved. No one knows better than a soldier how uncontrollable
armed confrontations can become when the opponent is not a regular army. lt
proved impossible to avoid the confrontation and we eventually had to take
over
the government of the country on that fateful 11th of September, having first
entrusted the success of our mission to God and Our Lady of Carmel, Patroness
of our Armed Forces and Queen of Chile. I have always held and will always
hold deep in my heart, together with my gratitude and admiration, the memory
of
those men of the army, navy, air force, and police force who shared that
patriotic
day and made such heroic sacrifices.
Just one thought on that saga. The Armed Forces and the Police did not
destroy
a model democracy neither did they cut short a process of development and
welfare, nor was Chile at the time a model of liberty and justice. Everything
had
been destroyed and the military were the moral reserve of a nation which was
disintegrating in the hands of those who sought to subject it to the Soviet
orbit.
I believe firmly in the unity of the nation. Whatever I have done in the
course of
my life has had no motive other than to bring about the reunion of all
Chileans
with their common higher destiny. I am profoundly convinced that a nation
that
fails to discover the historic mission it is called upon to fulfill has never
had, or
ever will have, a future. I am certain that a nation that forgets or disowns
its
history has never understood or will ever be able to understand the
challenges
that the future brings. A people easily seduced by preachers of hate,
vengeance,
or division will never be happy or enjoy a flourishing future. I belong to a
certain
historic time and to very specific circumstances. The expiring century may
well
be described as one of the most cruel that mankind has ever known. Two
heinous world wars and an ideological struggle that subdued half of mankind
scarred it deeply with the confrontation of opposite views. The choice was
either
the westem Christian concept of existence to ensure that respect for human
dignity and the fundamental values of our civilization will predominate
worldwide, or the materialistic atheist view of man and society, under a
system
implacably oppressing the freedoms and rights of man.
In the course of the century efforts were made to exterminate an entire
nation,
under alleged ethnic ideals.
Communism, that true anti-religion, cost mankind the loss of millions of
human
lives all over Europe, as well as the lives of dozens of millions of
children,
women, and men in the various countries of Asia. In America too, Marxism
scattered death and destruction. Not only with attempted revolutions but also
with universal preaching of hate and class struggle, in addition to export of
guerilla warfare and terrorism. For that huge genocide, for the most brutal
oppression, the worst that mankind can remember, no one cries for justice and
justice will very likely never be done. On the contrary, the authors of such
evils,
those who in our countries had the benefit of Soviet weapons and funding, who
promoted and preached to our peoples the sinister ideology of Marxist
Socialism,
are the ones who have set themselves up as my judges today.
What I did as a soldier and as a ruler was done thinking only of the freedom
of
Chileans, their welfare, and national unity, higher goals to which all those
who
acted on 11th September devoted our unceasing efforts. We made no promises.
We only set ourselves the task of transforming Chile into a democratic society
of
free men and women, where the lights of citizens freely to create and pursue
their undertakings would be respected, to be in possession of their own
destinies,
not enslaved by the state or, worse still, by other nations. We resolved to
make
of Chile a great nation and we firmly believe that we helped to achieve this,
although some countries in the world have yet to appreciate it, as they have
yet
to appreciate the fact that our country, following a peaceful transition,
enjoys
today a truly democratic regime, where all institutions are operating fully.
Times changed, however. Communism collapsed. "Real Socialisms" were
uncovered and mankind became aware of a tale of crime, injustice, hunan
exploitation, failure, and lies such as not even the bitterest adversary
could
imagine. In Chile, the result was that a distant, little-known country
successfully
overcame the most exacting test it has had to face in this century. In what
was a
true feat, which their agents will never forgive, we showed before anyone
else
did that the "empire of lies and hate" could be defeated. We ensured our
freedom
and began travelling early and with a visionary approach the hard and
difficult
road to national reconstruction and establishment of a free and modern
society.
In close to two decades, and thanks to the sacrifice of an entire people who
recovered faith in their ideals of progress and justice, a different country
was
built. No one can deny today that 11th September opened up paths of hope and
opportunity for all: it is for Chileans to conserve them and make them fully
fruitful over time.
Chile today is a very different country from the one that several generations
of
young people faced when life was gloomy, pessimistic, and hopeless. Under our
administration, the poor and neglected began to have true opportunities for
development. We always knew that this social priority should be our main
moral
commitment. Today I cannot conceal my gratification on knowing that in order
to return to the past many generations would have to pass before Chileans are
again a losing, fatalistic, depressed, and discouraged people, as we came to
be in
the seventies. People suffering from ideological blindness sought to destroy
our
country. They failed. They had not counted on the spiritual reserve and
natural
dignity of a peaceful, friendly nation that has nonetheless never allowed
itself to
be subdued or dominated in any way.
I would be less than fair if I failed at this time to give special
acknowledgement,
as testimony of my deepest gratitude, to everyone who shared in the saga of
reconstructing the country; to that generation of men and women, military and
civilians, who devoted their lives to the service of their country, and who
bear
witness every day to their patriotic ideals; the youth of Chile, who inherited
a
country strengthened by a destiny of greatness that they must continue to
build
with a will and true patriotic responsibility.
I also thank those who were not part of my administration, who were indeed
its
opponents, but who today, rising above pettiness and difference of opinion,
have
set a high value on the defense of Chile's sovereignty and dignity.
It is likely that the mysterious ways of the Lord with each people may keep
many Chileans from realizing the truth of what our country has undergone. I
tell
them that nothing can prevent peace and good sense from returning one day,
perhaps in a not so distant future, to those spirits who are still blinded by
passion;
in the serenity of a future time, when history shall have vindicated our
common
task, they will eventually recognize the worth and merits of that task. I
shall most
likely not be here by then, Nonetheless, that will be the hour of victory, the
time
when the ideals that lit our dreams will be shared by all Chileans.
Today I feel that fate has again placed on my shoulders the immense
responsibility of helping to sow seeds of peace, to make possible the
greatness
and unity of my country. Beyond physical pain and the wounds I bear in my
soul
caused by the unjust and offensive treatment of which I have been a victim,
and
the indignation that I feel as I see my country, a sovereign independent
state,
shamefully treated and denied the respect it deserves, I wish to state that I
accept
this further cross with the humility of a Christian and the courage of a
soldier, if
by doing so I can serve Chile and the Chileans. I wish for nothing more
intensely
than to see the end of divisions and sterile rancours among us.
As I near end of my life, despite exhaustion and the sufferings caused by so
much injustice and lack of understanding, I wish to add that even though I
might
have to undergo even greater adversities, my spirit will never feel defeated.
Nothing can turn my convictions nor my firm will to serve my country, as I
swore to do the day I joined the Chilean Army. My most fervent desire now is
to
prevent our beloved land from suffering over more victims, more sorrow beyond
what foreign ideologies already brought about to Chilean families. May mine
be
the last sacrifice. May my pains and the affronts I am suffering help to
gratify
insatiable feelings of vengeance and aid those who are still anchored in
rancour to
find peace for their consciences. May they no longer live such disturbed lives
and
may the revolutionary preaching that caused so much violence and dissent
among
Chileans nevermore be heard in our country.
Those of us who beheve in forgiveness and true reconciliation must continue
working hard for the future. The day is not far off when a new generation of
our
countrymen, looking at the history of their native land, will discover the
truth of
the saga that led to the construction of a society of free and worthy
Chileans, a
better country for all rather than for a single sector or one party, as we
were on
the verge of becoming so many years ago.
I have been the object of a perfidious, cowardly, political- judicial
machination of
no moral worth. Whereas on this contment, specifically in the countries that
condemn me in spurious trials, Communism has murdered many millions of
human beings in the course of the present century, I am persecuted for
defeating
it in Chile and so saving the nation from civil war. This meant three
thousand
dead, close to one-third of whom were military and civilian victims of
extremist
terrorism.
I am wrongly judged in many European countries in an operation led by those
who call themselves my enemies; there is thus not the slightest possibility
that
those who prejudge and condemn me will ever understand our history and the
spirit of what we did. I am absolutely innocent of all the crimes and events
with
which I am irrationally charged. I fear, however, that those who accuse me
were
never, nor will ever be, prepared to see reason and acknowledge the truth.
In the face of such aberration and in spite of my suffering and powerless
condition, may I give my fellow-countrymen a word of hope. Do not falter or
ever surrender in the face of adversity and misfortune. Never stop fighting
for
the greatness and power of Chile. May our present condition of a weak, small,
and far-away country be soon left behind so that never again a Chilean
citizen, of
whatever status, may suffer the offences and humiliations that I am
undergoing
today, precisely because we lack the strength to demand and receive respect
in
the concert of nations. I shall never falter. I have not faltered in this
difficult
period nor did I ever falter in all my life, when I had to face other
hazardous
times: for that reason I wish to tell my comrades-in-arms of my readiness, my
confidence, and my profound recognition for the way they have acted under
these difficult circumstances.
I keep intact my faith in God and the guiding pnnciples of my existence. I
nourish
the unswerving hope that the Lord in His infinite mercy will accept my
innermost
suffering for those who did not deserve to die in those years of
confrontation.
Any who believe or contend that grief for the blood shed in our country
pertains
to one side only are wrong. We have all grieved for the victims. I know that
sorrow is greatest among those who did not bring about the confrontation, did
not seek it, much less wished it, and yet ended by becoming its innocent
victims.
A soldier will always seek to protect his countrymen. I have never desired
anyone's death and I feel sincere grief for all Chileans who lost their lives
in past
years.
I have begged God humbly to grant me until the last second of my life the
resignation and lucidity to understand and accept this cross and that this
pain that
I carry in the depths of my spirit may become a good seed in the soul of the
Chilean nation. lf my suffering can help to put an end to the hatred sown in
our
country, may I say that I am ready to accept all the designs of fate with the
fullest confidence that God, in His infinite love, will bring forth fruit from
the
sacrifice that I offer Him for the victory of peace; as a new century dawns,
may
Chileans become a united and reconciled people, such as I dreamed of seeing
in
my lifetime.
I love Chile above all else, and not even the most painful circumstances that
I
may have to face can prevent me from repeating a thousand times, from afar,
with all the strength of my soul, Long Live Chile."
                                                 Augusto Pinochet Ugarte
                                                 London, December 1998.
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