(9 Jan 2001) Spanish/Nat
XFA
Some 10,000 people have taken to the streets of Santiago to accuse President Ricardo Lagos' government of conspiring with the military.
The anger came after Lagos announced the findings of a six month investigation into human rights violations carried out by the army as well as human rights organisations.
The army's report revealed that at least 151 dissidents were assassinated by Pinochet's security forces and thrown into rivers, lakes or the Pacific Ocean.
Lagos praised the army for its findings.
However some in Chile suspect that the investigation is designed merely to prevent lengthy and embarassing court proceedings by the families of the "disappeared".
The new information is the product of a six-month investigation by human rights activists, religious officials and the army.
Former President Eduardo Frei called on all three groups to work together to find answers to what happened to dissidents who disappeared after Pinochet's 1973 coup.
The armed forces conducted a quiet internal investigation while religious groups gathered information privately - sometimes from former agents who preferred to reveal their old secrets to priests instead of military officials.
Lagos said the work yielded information on 200 cases - 151 who were thrown into the ocean, rivers or lakes, 20 who were buried in a mass grave yet to be found and 29 who are scattered in graves around central Chile.
According to an official report by the civilian government that succeeded Pinochet in 1990, at least 3,200 people were killed for political reasons and another 1,197 disappeared.
Pinochet, 85, was indicted last month on homicide and kidnapping charges related to the so-called "Caravan of Death", a military convoy alleged to have toured the country for the purpose of assassinating or abducting Pinochet's political opponents during his rule. It is alleged that 75 political prisoners were killed as a result of its activities..
The charges were dropped by the Supreme Court because Judge Juan Guzman did not question Pinochet first.
Guzman is pursuing a second indictment, but lawyers for the ailing general have said he will not appear for legal questioning scheduled for Tuesday.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"I am here to repudiate the report that the armed forces handed to the government. The government has become part of this joke. That's why I am here- for dignity, for truth and for justice."
SUPERCAPTION: Vox pop
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"What they have done now - with the response that was given at the negotiating table - has turned this whole thing into a complete farce."
SUPERCAPTION: Vox pop
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"Today we are denouncing the government behaviour towards the military and the negotiating table."
SUPERCAPTION: Vox pop
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
