CHILE: Independence Day

Rosa de Pena from Argentina belongs to those who do not like Pinochet: She writes:

"I wonder if Carlos Lopez can comment on the body of a thirteen year old boy that was found not too long ago. The boy had been taken by the family at gunpoint by the military after the Pinochet coup. The family never saw him again. Now they found the body with two bullet holes in his skull. I wish to know what danger a thirteen year old can pose to a nation, and how can his cold-blooded murder be called an act of war.

No one acknowledged that it had been done, no one was ever prosecuted for the crime, no confession was ever made, no apology ever extended to the grieving parents. The kid was just expendable. It could be sacrificed for the good of the country. It was not as if he was somebody who mattered. Just a kid. There are thousands born every minute. What does one mangy kid matter when it comes to saving the country?"

My comment: I wonder about the role of the churches. TV showed Pinochet in church taking mass, and afterwards he was embraced by people, old and young. Meanwhile his son was attending a Protestant Evangelical convention. He stressed that all religions are equal in Chile, where there is a surprising number of Protestants. They tend to be conservative economically.

Ronald Hilton - 9/26/00