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| Pinochet and Britain's Margaret Thatcher |
“PURSUIT OF ASSANGE POLITICAL”
Excerpts, editing, re-reporting by Carolyn Bennett
“In over 30 years working with thousands of rape victims who
are seeking asylum from rape and other forms of torture, we have met nothing
but obstruction from British governments.
“Time after time, they have accused women of lying and
deported them with no concern for their safety.
“We are currently working with three women who were raped
again after having been deported – one of them is now destitute, struggling to
survive with the child she conceived from the rape; the other [woman] managed
to return to Britain and won the right to stay, and one of them won
compensation.
“Assange has made it clear for months that he is available
for questioning by the Swedish authorities, in Britain or via Skype.
“Why are they refusing this essential step to their
investigation? What are they afraid of?”
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| Chilean Tyrant murderer, torturer, terrorizer Augusto Pinochet and Pinochet |
“In 1998 Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was arrested in
London following an extradition request from Spain.
“[Pinochet’s] responsibility for the murder and
disappearance of at least 3,000 people, and the torture of 30,000 people,
including the rape and sexual abuse of more than 3,000 women often with the use
of dogs, was never in doubt.
“Despite a lengthy legal action and a daily picket outside
parliament called by Chilean refugees, including women who had been tortured
under Pinochet, the British government reneged on its obligation to Spain’s
criminal justice system and Pinochet was allowed to return to Chile.”
(Representing
Assange is Baltasar Garzón, whose request for extradition of Pinochet was
denied.)
This from The Red Phoenix “Cold War Killer File: Augusto
Pinochet”
U.S. alliance with murderous tyrant
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| Pinochet and USA's Henry Kissinger |
“The human rights abuses in Chile under Pinochet were public
and completely common knowledge: ‘[a]n OAS (Organization of American States) report
had detailed tortures: women beaten, gang raped, and electric current applied
to their bodies; men subjected to electric current, especially to their
genitals, burned with cigarettes, hung by the wrists or ankles’ (Komisar).”
However, “despite this, [Henry] Kissinger, representing the
Nixon administration, the CIA and the entire government, said:
‘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. But we have a
practical problem we have to take into account, without bringing about
pressures incompatible with your dignity, and at the same time which does not
lead to U.S. laws which will undermine our relationship.’
“The most infamous [Pinochet]
incident of terror [was] called ‘Operation Condor.’ ‘[This] was a sequence of
international political assassinations carried out in 1975. 60,000 lives were
claimed across South America from this operation, many of them in Chile itself.
Manuel Contreras, the chief of the Chilean secret police (DINA), helped
formulate the plan to exterminate all leftist influence in South America with
Pinochet’s support.
“CIA operatives provided torture equipment and training to
the leading pro-U.S. dictators of Latin America at U.S. military institutions,
among them the infamous ‘School of the Americas’ complex in Georgia’s Fort
Benning, now called the ‘Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation’
(or WHINSEC).”
Women Against Rape resume their argument.
Assange
“Assange has not even been charged; yet the determination to
have him extradited is much greater than ever it was with Pinochet. And there
is a history of Sweden (and Britain) rendering asylum seekers at risk of
torture at the behest of the United States.
“Like women in Sweden and everywhere, we want rapists
caught, charged and convicted. We have campaigned for that for more than 35
years, with limited success.
We
are even having to campaign to prevent rape victims being accused of making
false allegations and imprisoned for it.
Two women who reported visibly violent attacks
by strangers were given two and three- year prison sentences.
“For decades, we have campaigned to get rapists caught,
charged and convicted. But the pursuit of Assange is political.”
Breaking through the smokescreen of power and propaganda
“Does anyone really believe that extraditing Julian Assange
will strengthen women against rape?
“Do those supporting his extradition to Sweden care if he is
then extradited to the United States and tortured for telling the public what
we need to know about those who govern us?
“We are Women Against Rape but we do not want Julian Assange
extradited.”
Sources and notes
“We are Women Against Rape but we do not want Julian Assange
extradited─ For decades we have campaigned to get rapists caught, charged and
convicted. But the pursuit of Assange is political” (Katrin Axelsson and Lisa
Longstaff, guardian.co.uk, Thursday August 23, 2012 04.00 EDT), http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/23/women-against-rape-julian-assange
Lisa Longstaff and Katrin Axelsson are spokespersons for
Women Against Rape
Founded in 1976, Women Against Rape is a grassroots
multi-racial women’s group that offers counseling, support, legal advocacy and
information to women and girls who have been raped or sexually assaulted. http://www.womenagainstrape.net/category/project/women-against-rape
Further on tyrant Pinochet
From “Cold War Killer File: Augusto Pinochet”
“The human rights abuses in Chile under Pinochet were, at
that time, public and completely common knowledge: ‘[a]n earlier OAS [Organization
of American States] report had detailed those tortures: women beaten, gang
raped, and electric current applied to their bodies; men subjected to electric
current, especially to their genitals, burned with cigarettes, hung by the
wrists or ankles’ (Komisar).
“Despite this, [Henry] Kissinger, representing the Nixon
administration, the CIA and the entire government, said:
‘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. But we have a
practical problem we have to take into account, without bringing about
pressures incompatible with your dignity, and at the same time which does not
lead to U.S. laws which will undermine our relationship.’
‘Operation Condor’ and Campaign of Terror
“Under Pinochet, the Congress was formerly dissolved and
rival political parties were banned.
Military officers were appointed to the highest posts in the
government and the private sector. A reign of terror followed his ascension to
power—books were burned publicly and increasing numbers of people were taken to
secret torture chambers.
“Tens of thousands were rounded up into the soccer stadium
in Santiago to be tortured and executed.
“A U.S. filmmaker named Charles Horman was ‘disappeared’ by
Pinochet and was never heard from again.
“Declassified documents later revealed he, Horman, was most
likely tortured before his death.
“Pinochet enacted severe anti-terrorism laws that were
mainly used to repress the million-strong Mapuche populations in Chile. Under
these laws, their land was seized and their civil rights were restricted. The
laws enacted by Pinochet continue to be used against them to this day.
“The most infamous incident of the terror, called ‘Operation
Condor,’ was a sequence of international political assassinations carried out
in 1975. 60,000 lives were claimed across South America from this operation,
many of them in Chile itself. Manuel Contreras, the chief of the Chilean secret
police (DINA), helped formulate the plan to exterminate all leftist influence
in South America with Pinochet’s support.
“CIA operatives provided torture equipment and training to
the leading pro-U.S. dictators of Latin America at U.S. military institutions,
among them the infamous ‘School of the Americas’ complex in Georgia’s Fort
Benning, now called the ‘Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation’
(or WHINSEC).” http://theredphoenixapl.org/2010/09/11/cold-war-killer-file-augusto-pinochet/
Red Phoenix
“The Red Phoenix is the mass voice of the American Party of
Labor. It is a newspaper dedicated to providing a creative and original insight
on what is happening in the United States of America and around the world.
Along with giving our readers a dose of important news, events, reviews and
commentary are opinions on steps revolutionaries can take on initiating
practical ways that they can take on uniting with allies to fight oppressors.
“The Red Phoenix is aimed at revolutionary and
progressive-minded people, activists, workers and others who are fighting in
firm opposition to the war against the poor, meek, and the oppressed.”
Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (b. November 25, 1915, Valparaiso,
Chile’ d. December 10, 2006, Santiago, Chile) was leader of the military junta
that overthrew the government of President Salvador Allende (September 11, 1973)
and head of Chile’s military government (1974–90).
Commander of Chile’s armed forces until 1998
“Pinochet frequently thwarted human-rights prosecutions
against members of the security forces.
“After stepping down, Pinochet became a senator-for-life, a
post granted to former presidents under the 1981 constitution.
“Later in 1998, while visiting London, he was detained by
British authorities after Spain requested his extradition in connection with
the torture of Spanish citizens in Chile during his rule. The unprecedented
case stirred worldwide controversy and galvanized human-rights organizations in
Chile.
“The United States and other countries were [forced] to
release formerly classified documents concerning Chileans who had ‘disappeared’—were
kidnapped and presumably killed by the Pinochet regime.
“The disclosures brought to light details of Operation
Colombo, in which more than 100 Chilean leftists had disappeared in 1975; and
Operation Condor, in which several South American military governments
coordinated their efforts to systematically eliminate opponents in the 1970s
and 1990s.
“In January 2000 Pinochet was allowed to return home after a
British court ruled that he was physically unfit to stand trial. Nevertheless,
he continued to face investigations by Chilean authorities.” Britannica
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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