unrepentant
Margaret Thatcher "greatly saddened" by the death of Augusto Pinochet.
Who will be the next to show themselves indifferent to human rights? I would say Milton Friedman or Jeanne Kirkpatrick, but they'll have to console themselves with congratulating their old friend in whatever afterlife location they end up sharing. I don't suspect an abundance of harp music.
"Pinochet has died, and I don't think he's going to heaven," human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson told British Broadcasting Corp. television. "His death does rob us of a proper trial and retribution for his victims."
The Washington Post has good coverage of Pinochet's shady financial dealings for personal aggrandizement, something that didn't go over so well with many of his erstwhile supporters in Chile. It will be interesting to see the reaction down there generally.
El Mercurio seems pretty restrained so far, though it does report that families of the disappeared absolutely reject any state honors for Pinochet. I imagine that could end up being a pretty big fight.
UPDATE: A commenter on Brad Delong's blog also notes the short time between the deaths of Kirkpatrick and Pinochet. He's a bit meaner, though props for the Adams-Jefferson reference:
[One thing in Pinochet's favor: at least he didn't create an empire for slavery]
UPDATE 2: Clarin reports that Pinochet will not have a state funeral, but will receive the honors of an ex-chief of the military.
Who will be the next to show themselves indifferent to human rights? I would say Milton Friedman or Jeanne Kirkpatrick, but they'll have to console themselves with congratulating their old friend in whatever afterlife location they end up sharing. I don't suspect an abundance of harp music.
"Pinochet has died, and I don't think he's going to heaven," human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson told British Broadcasting Corp. television. "His death does rob us of a proper trial and retribution for his victims."
The Washington Post has good coverage of Pinochet's shady financial dealings for personal aggrandizement, something that didn't go over so well with many of his erstwhile supporters in Chile. It will be interesting to see the reaction down there generally.
El Mercurio seems pretty restrained so far, though it does report that families of the disappeared absolutely reject any state honors for Pinochet. I imagine that could end up being a pretty big fight.
UPDATE: A commenter on Brad Delong's blog also notes the short time between the deaths of Kirkpatrick and Pinochet. He's a bit meaner, though props for the Adams-Jefferson reference:
At least Jeanne Kirkpatrick won't be lonely in hell -- her boyfriend Pinochet just died too!
How moving -- you can almost imagine Pinochet on his deathbed in the role of John Adams, sighing "Kirkpatrick still lives..." as Adams said of Jefferson, not knowing that his old friend Jefferson had passed from this life just a few hours before.
That is, if Adams and Jefferson had been Nazi murderers who disappeared thousands of their political opponents, and subjected them to a decades long reign of murder, torture, and rape by soldiers and dogs -- rather than the founders of the first and greatest democratic republic.
[One thing in Pinochet's favor: at least he didn't create an empire for slavery]
UPDATE 2: Clarin reports that Pinochet will not have a state funeral, but will receive the honors of an ex-chief of the military.
posted by bc at 11:48 AM
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