Ten Years On

I still remember where I was when I got the news. I had been in Seattle on business and decided to take advantage of some available vacation time and the city's proximity, to visit Vancouver. I picked up a copy of the New York Times at a newsstand on Robson Street on Sunday, October 18, 1998. After having dinner, I walked back to my hotel, sat down and opened up the paper. I blinked in disbelief at this headline:

BRITAIN ARRESTS PINOCHET TO FACE CHARGES BY SPAIN

I devoured the article, stunned by this turn of events. I followed the story with an almost obsessive interest. I participated in forums on the CNN and New York Times web pages. I wrote letters, participated in Amnesty International actions and did whatever I could in the hopes that the former general would end up in Madrid.

Although Pinochet managed to gin up enough feigned illness to convince Jack Straw, the UK's Interior Minister, to let him return to Chile; aided by the Chilean government's claims that they could judge Pinochet in Chile. This claim seemed contradicted by an amnesty Pinochet had granted himself in 1978 as well as his status as a senator-for-life, a role he had created for himself that gave him parliamentary immunity from prosecution.

That was before I had heard of Judge Juan Guzman, a brilliant jurist who, unlike the other brilliant jurist whose work started the series of events that led to the arrest of Pinochet, Baltasar Garzón, was from Chile, not Spain. Guzman's persistence led to Pinochet being stripped of his immunity and his eventual indictment for crimes against humanity.

While some may argue against the attempts to prosecute Pinochet in Europe, it had the effect of forcing Chile to address these issues. I do not believe that Pinochet would ever have been prosecuted in Chile if not for the efforts of Judge Garzón. Chile's democracy is stronger for it.

Indeed, international justice is stronger for it. Even the Bush administration, notwithstanding its utter hypocrisy on human rights, has managed to sign into law a potentially valuable act that involves universal jurisdiction.

Prosecuting criminals is a valuable way to prevent crimes. Prosecuting criminals against humanity is no less valuable. Pinochet's arrest was an important step in demonstrating this.