This is a story of a great man. A story of a man who single-handedly overthrew his nation’s president, and created economic growth and miracles under his new regime. A man who jumped through hoops in paving his way to lead and diminish all that stood to defy him. A man of great ideology, a man of remarkable international influence.

But unfortunately, this is also a story of a dead man. A man who lived to see his name go down the drain as time went by. A man who died at the age of 91, but also died with 3,200 charges of political assassination under his name; and as if that wasn’t enough, this man also had been held responsible for 30,000 counts of torture conducted throughout his reigning regime, continued by charges of personal enrichment through embezzlement. And to top it all off with a nice blood-red cherry, this man also had the honor to mark his name in world history, as becoming the first ever former head of state to be rejected of his amnesty rights, arrested for breaking the laws of human rights, leaving him to abide international prosecutions like that of an ordinary citizen. Apparently, this man’s knack for brute force and his fancy for earthly pleasures had stripped him of his good name. After having the whole world frown upon and shun him for his inhumane acts of torture, this man has lived to become well-known as “Just another dictator, but with more publicity” rather than “The Great”.

Yes people, this is the story of Augusto Pinochet. The notorious Chilean dictator who turned countless heads throughout his reign of terror. Pinochet was involved in Operation Condor, a co-operative effort on the part of several South American governments to do away with communist leaders, often by means of murder. Also, numerous international accusations of war crimes started popping out from the ground like possums after his highly-publicized resignation from office. The world accused Pinochet of murder, torture and embezzlement. Moreover judge Baltazar Garzon of Spain, that actually extradited Pinochet from Britain on grounds of abuse of human rights towards more than 3,000 people, many of which who were Spaniards; therefore Garzon became the first ever judge to enact universal jurisdiction to not just any man, but to a former head of state. But before going too far off the bat, let’s take a brief look back at Pinochet’s history.

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, or more commonly known as plain Augusto Pinochet was first introduced to the world on the 25th of November 1915. Yes people, fun fact: AUGUST-o Pinochet was born on November, NOT August. Weird, I know. Anyway, Pinochet was born and raised in Valparaiso, a city located at the very center of Chile. A descendant of French settlers who had come to Chile centuries before, Pinochet was the eldest of 6 children, his father Augusto Pinochet Vera, a middle-class government worker, and his mother Avelina Ugarte Martinez, your every day housewife. Throughout his early life, Pinochet had a fancy for history and law. He then indulged his interests by entering military school at the age of 16. Pinochet there spent 4 year of his teenage life learning the how-dos of the military life. Pinochet was famously known to have very high levels of self discipline, commonly referred to as the human clock by friends. But despite his knack for living strictly by the clock, Pinochet took a rather long stay at military school. The average man would only take up to 3 years to achieve Second Lieutenant status, on the other hand Pinochet took 4. Although deemed a slow learner by some, the then Second Lieutenant found himself chapters of success in his military life, achieving promotion after promotion, and in time grew to become Commander In Chief of the Chilean Army at the age of 58. Pinochet was entrusted this grand position by the current reigning President Salvador Allende. Little that Allende knew at the time that the very man he gave such an honor to bare, would become the man who in the end overthrew his presidency.

The year was 1971, and Salvador Allende at the time held the reigns to Chile’s parliament. Allende’s government under his keen eye believed that the capitalist system was to blame for Chile’s recent woes in the economic department; because in that particular year, Chile was in fatal economic devastation. Inflation percentages were up to the hundreds, the country had no foreign reserves whatsoever and to top it all off Chile’s GDP was falling like a pin dropped into a pile of magnets (which is super fast). So in response to that belief, Allende quickly moved to socialise the economy, therefore in the end creating a Marxist socialist government, which has close ties to the ideologies of communism, which also didn’t really help with his popularity at the time. But even from the very beginning of his rise to power, Allende didn’t have quite that much of a fan wagon to support his new socialist regimen, especially the United States government. Under the rule of President Nixon, the United States government actually funded 10 Million dollars in support of actions to oust Allende from the Chile presidency. Namely being actions run by the CIA , under the code name “Track II”.

Salvador Allende’s idea to convert Chile into a Marxist socialist nation proved to be an idea worth applauding in it’s first year running. After quite an economic speed bump experienced by thousands of Chileans, the citizens finally met days when inflation relatively decreased, as wages rose while the government managed to suppress the rise of prices. But unfortunately, all the sunshine and rainbows were short-lived. After quite a success, Allende’s popularity struck it’s toll when the economy again experienced a drastic decline the following year the Marxist socialist system was introduced. As of that, oppositions toward the Allende grew even quicker. The US then withdrew all it’s financial support and loans, while the CIA persistently pursued Allende down like a mouse.

The following year, opposition armed forces finalized their plans to over throw Allende. Being a power hungry man that he is, Pinochet saw this as a grand opening to pursue his political ambition to rise to power. On 11 September the opposition executed Coup D’etat. A long planned movement to over throw Allende. Lead by Pinochet, they struck through land and skies, ordering air forces to plunge attacks to the presidential palace, then securing the provinces. Allenede in the end dies defending his presidential palace. Many of Allende’s aides are then arrested and transported to a military base, where they meet their death in brutal execution and buried. In the provinces, the notorious 'Caravan of Death' targets political opponents, summarily executing at least 72.

The new military then form a four-man junta headed by Pinochet. Consisting of the commanders-in-chief of the army, navy, air force and police, they embark on a campaign to remove the influence of the Allende government from all social institutions. A state of siege is declared, martial law is introduced and parliament is closed. The media is censored, universities are purged, books are burned, Marxist political parties are outlawed and union activities are banned. Thousands are murdered or "disappeared". Thousands more are jailed or forced to leave the country. Torture is commonplace. Up to one million fled into self-imposed exile. It is reported that up to 250,000 people are detained in the first months following the coup. Stadiums, military bases and naval vessels were used as short-term prisons. At least five new prison camps were established for political prisoners. But wait people, the slaughter doesn’t end here. In 1974, an army general by the name of Carlos Prats was assassinated by DINA, the newly formed secret police force under Pinochet’s order. Prats, a former commander-in-chief, in the past declined Pinochet’s offer to take part in the coup against Allende. Well, I guess Prats learned his lesson didn’t he? Along with himself, Prat’s wife also met her grim reaper as a bomb blew up in their car, destroying their garage, where both Prats and wife were at the time. The United States government then recognizes the junta and continues financial aid.

Pinochet takes complete control of Chile on 11 December when he is named president. Over the next 15 years he ruled the country as an iron-fisted autocrat in the mode of his admired role-model, the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Soon after his official rise to power, Pinochet then embarks on his new ambition: eliminating all traces of Marxism left in the world. So in attempts to achieve his goal, Pinochet then takes part in Operation Condor, which is an information gathering and sharing alliance designed to eliminate Marxist terrorist activities in South America. In the times this operation took action, many other Chileans were found mysteriously dead. In 1976, the body of the communist activist Marta Ugarte was found washed up on a beach in Chile. It is later revealed that Ugarte's body, along with those of up to 500 other Chileans executed following the coup, was weighted with a piece of railroad track then dumped from a helicopter into the Pacific Ocean as part of an organized program to hide evidence of human rights violations. I just can’t bare to imagine someone minding their own business walking peacefully by the seashore one day, then finds a dead woman’s body washed up to the shore like kelp. So much for message in a bottle huh?

And as if it couldn’t get any worse, it did. In 1980 Pinochet introduced a new constitution allowing him to remain as president until 1989. The new constitution also entrenches the military's domination of the government and allows Pinochet to restrict freedom of association and speech and to arrest or exile any citizen, with no rights of appeal except to Pinochet himself. The political activities of unions and community organizations are restricted and politicians are barred from advocacy roles for such groups. Local governments are abolished and Pinochet is given the power to dissolve the House of Representatives. And to top things off with a chocolate covered cherry, the constitution cannot be amended without approval from Pinochet.
In 1986, attempts to assassinate Pinochet were executed. On September 7th an armed wing of the Communist Party stages an unsuccessful attempt on Pinochet's life. Five bodyguards were killed but Pinochet remained unharmed, like the God he is. But although Pinochet survived murder attempts, he became victim of his growing age and starts to experience heart problems, and to which many cheer.

As the decade came to a banging end, so did the new. The year was 1993 and as Pinochet’s health comes to a plunge; his opposition seeks his down fall from a different angle. What angle? Law. About 600 military officers that year were named as having committed human rights abuses during the Pinochet regime. The former chief of the Chilean secret police, Manuel Contreras, and his deputy are convicted and imprisoned for their role in the assassination of Orlando Letelier, ambassador to the US under Allende, in Washington in 1976. Contreras receives a seven year sentence. In 1997 he claims that Pinochet had ordered the killing of Letelier. In November 2004 he tells 'The New York Times' that Pinochet had known about and approved of all his actions. Meanwhile, Pinochet is fitted with a heart pacemaker. Along with an ongoing heart complaint he suffers from diabetes and arthritis.

Then came the final gong, when Spanish judge Baltazar Garzon rules that his court has jurisdiction in a case of international terrorism, genocide and crimes against humanity brought against Pinochet by the families of some of the victims of his regime. The charges allege that agents of the regime working under the Operation Condor alliance have killed or attempted to kill individuals in the US, Argentina, Italy and other countries and cite the findings of the Chilean National Corporation for Reconciliation and Reparation.

As a sign of retreat Pinochet steps down as commander-in-chief of the army on 10 March 1998 but becomes a senator for life. He remains immune from prosecution for his role in the human rights abuses of his regime and is given the honorary title of commander-in-chief emeritus of the Chilean Army. But Garzon stayed persistent. In September Pinochet traveled to Britain to undergo surgery for a back complaint, believing his immunity from prosecution stretches worldwide. However, on the 16th October the British police acting on a warrant issued from Spain arrested him in his hospital bed. The warrant requests Pinochet's extradition to Spain to face charges relating to his past abuse of human rights and inhumane principles. The abduction had been coordinated between the military regimes of Argentina and Chile under the Operation Condor alliance. Fortunately for Pinochet though, this time his health gave a helping hand. The following year the Chile government then ruled Pinochet to be returned from Spain on grounds of bad health. Pinochet was then flown back to his home of Chile and put under house arrest.

On August 8 2000 the Chilean Supreme Court rules to lift Pinochet's immunity from prosecution so he can be charged with 18 of the kidnappings and 57 of the executions carried out during the Caravan of Death that followed the 1973 coup. The efforts to prove that he is medically unfit for trial are renewed. But precisely 6 years ond one month later, on 8 September 2006 Pinochet looses his immunity for charges relating to human rights abuses carried out at the Villa Grimaldi prison in the south of Santiago between 1974 and 1977. Villa Grimaldi, which was a notorious torture centre run by DINA. But unfortunately, the many years spent to hunt down and bind Pinochet under the law comes to a startling end when precisely at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, 10 December 2006, the notorious dictator…

Yes people, after the 16 year reign of terror spread by Augusto Pinochet, it all comes to an end. Millions of people across the world were left to live unable to witness the perpetrator of such heinous crimes bow down to law. And Augusto Pinochet, being the idealist that he is, stays persistent in believing that what he has done is true. Although one might disagree, you have to admit, this man has balls.


So if there was one thing we learned from our brief history lesson today I’d probably say it’s something like this: The BEST way to save your ass from an international lawsuit… is to die, not to runaway and flee to Singapore, ehemmanohara…