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ACTION REQUEST
Equipo Nizkor Derechos Human Rights Serpaj Europa 20oct1998 i) INFORMATION Derecho Human Rights congratulates Equipo Nizkor for its work within the team that succesfully elaborated the necessary work in order to obtein the detention of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. This team was composed of the Salvador Allende Foundation, the Human Rights Secretariat of Izquierda Unida (second largest left political party in Spain) and Nizkor, as well as the indispensable collaboration of Amnesty International London. No matter what happens from now on, we do believe that this fact constitutes a landmark as for the illegitimation and dissolution of the impunity models. The provisional unconditional imprisonment of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte constitutes the beginning of the end of the most perverse symbol of such a phenomenon. We would like to celebrate it ant to share it with all the human rights activists and organisms who have direct or indirecly contributed to this event through his daily and continuous action. And especially, with those who participated in the first Congress on Impunity and its Effects on Democratic Processes, held in Santiago de Chile in December, 1998. But ot is necesary to keep on working and thus, we are requesting you to take into prior account this urgent action and to study all forms of collaboration you may consider appropiate; if the unconditional detention was a necessary step. It is not enough; Augusto Pinochet Ugarte must be tried for crimes of genocide and terrorism. ii) URGENT SOLIDARITY Description of facts: On October 16, 1998 the Investigating Court Number Five of the Spanish National Criminal Court (Audiencia Nacional) -where the investigation against the argentinean military who might be criminally responsible for genocide, terrorist tactics, disappearances and gross human rights violations perpetrated under their rule is being conducted-, has decreed a provisional unconditional imprisonment order against AUGUSTO PINOCHET UGARTE and has also issued an international arrest warrant against him. Two days after, on October 20, 1998, a second writ was issued disposing the same but with a much larger legal foundation and further factual grounds. The evidence gathered until now by the Spanish Court reasonabily shows that Augusto Pinochet Ugarte has undertaken a series of criminal activities in coordination with the Argentine military authorities, among other authorities, and that he has ordered the physical elimination of persons, tortures, abduction and disappearence, noy only of Chilean citizens, but also of persons from different nationalities and in different countries, all of which was implemented through the action of the Intelligence Services (DINA-Directorate of National Intelligence) in the frame of what they called the "Operation Condor". This was the expression chosen by dictators of the Southern Cone to name the criminal organization, endowed with international range, through which they conceived and implemented a systematic plan aimed at the ilegal detention (abductions) tortures, forced displacements of persons, assassinations, .... against Argentinean, Spanish, British, US, Chilean and other States' citizens. This intelligence nerwork had its headquarters in Santiago, Chile, one of its explicit goals being the elimination of political adversaries in Chile and other countries. This armed organization took advantage of the military structure and the usurpation of power, in order to institute a terrorist regime which subverted the constitutional rule, all of which was perpetrated with total impunity and in conjunction with similar structures in Argentina. This acts constitute a crime of genocide, as established in article 607 of Spanish Criminal Code (CP), in relation with other provisions of the same Code, and also a crime of terrorism, as established in articles 515, 516, 571, 572 and 577 CP. Article 604 del CP is also applicable as for the perpetration of torture. But which is even more important to the Spanish legal foundation is the direct application of a series of international standards, for this norms are endowed with direct effect in Spanish domestic law once they have been ratified by the State of Spain and thus: the Statute of the Nüremberg Court of 1945; the U.N. General Assembly Declaration of 1946, confirming the principles of the Statutes and Sentence of the Nüremberg Courts; the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948; the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966; the U.N. Convention against Torture of December 10, 1984; the European Convention on the Suppresion of Terrorism of January 27, 1977,.... According to these provisions, also applicable in the United Kingdom, the crimes of such nature may not be prescribed and their perpetrators do not benefit neither from diplomatic immunity nor can they obtein refugee statute or asylum and every country in the world is compelled to their persecution and to co-operate in the persecution of such crimes that might be undertaken by other countries. In compliance with the request of the Spanish Judge the British Authorities finally detained the accused. The Spanish Judge issued this request once the popular accusations representing the Human Rights Secretariat of Izquierda Unida (second Spanish political left party) and the Salvador Allende Foundation requested him to do so (which has been possible thanks to the figure known in Spanish Law as "accion popular", or popular action, which may be brought by any Spanish citizen, regardless of injury or other standing, in the public's interest). We have to underline that the Investigating Court Number Six of the Spanish National Criminal Court was also conducting, an investigation on the crimes of genocide and terrorism committed under the Chilean Dictatorship. The Judge in charge of this Court, Garcia Castellon, issued a writ on September 15, 1998, through which he firmly stated his competence. However, this Judge ceded this case to Baltasar Grazon's Court, thus unifying both procedures. Once the provisional inconditional imprisonment and the international arrest warrant against Augusto Pinochet had been decreed, the attorney-general's office presented an appeal against the Court's decision. Since the very beginning of these cases the Attorney's Office of the Audiencia Nacional, conducted by Chief Porsecutor Eduardo Fungairiño, and the Attorney-General's Office, conducted by General Attorney Jesús Cardenal, have not complied with their obligations as provided by the Spanish laws; they have even obstructed the process and worked in favor of the assassins and not of the victims. Both of them are political appointees named by Aznar's government and in the case of Eduardo Fungairiño even without taking into account the opinion in contrary from the Attorney's Council. Chief Prosecutor Fungairiño is supposed to have written a report in which he defined the Chilean and Argentine Coups d'Etat as "temporary interrumptions of the constitutional order" in the name of national peace. The doctrine that the Attorney's Office of the Audiencia Nacional is calling upon is the doctrine of the "state of exception", located in the Franco Prussian war of 1880 and that has lasted to date. This doctrine, through the so called "doctrine of the sniper", has been introduced into tha German and French laws and saw its definite application by the Nazi government, and by their allies all over Europe. According to this doctrine, democracy, should it exist, can be ordered through exceptional procedures, amongst which is the coup d'etat, whose aim is the "ordering" of civil society and the physical elimination of all opponents. For this it utilises the dialectic friend-enemy, and, discards for obvious reasons, all ethical values of which the human rights' rationality is expression. Based on this decisive doctrine, the Chief Prosecutor of the Audiencia Nacional has tried to file away these proceedings, and its existence is justified by the criticism against all legal doctrines based on rational natural law. Having being detained, the extradition of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte is ruled by the Spanish Criminal Procedure Code, the British-Spanish Extradition Treaty of July 22, 1985 and the provisions of the European Convention on Extradition of December 13, 1957, ratified by Spain on April 21, 1982, its additional Protocol of October 15, 1975 and the principle or reciprocity between both states. It is the Judge in charge who must address the petition to the Ministry of Justice who, in turn, must address it to the goverment, the government's role beeing restricted to its reception and deliverance. This means that the decision depends only upon the British Authorities, who might oppose mere "political reasons". According to this all, a series of actions before the Spanish and British authorities are requested: Please, contact the SPANISH AUTHORITIES and Members of the Spanish Parliament requesting them the following: 1) That the Spanish government dispatchs as soon as possible the extradition request issued by the Investigating Criminal Court Number Five of the Spanish National Criminal Court. 2) That the government addresses the Attorney's Office of the National Criminal Court urging this organism to comply with its founctions as provided in Spanish laws and to put an end to his attitude in defense of those responsible of crimes against humanity, including genocide, and of gross violations of human rights; in particular, to stop obstructing the initiated process aimed at putting an end to the impunity of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, one of the main responsibles for the international criminal organization known as "Operation Condor", and thus, to comply with their obligations arising from the international norms of ius cogens that provide that crimes against humanity, including genocide, may neither be prescribed, nor pardonned, and are of universal jurisdiction. 3) That the government addresses the Chief Prosecutor of the Spanish National Criminal Court urging him to stop his obstructive attitude on the grounds of a decisive doctrine -as it has been exposed above- in opposition to the rationality of human rights, all democratic principles and the principles of the rule of law. To the British Authorities and Members of the British Parliament: 1) To agree to the extradition of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte in order to be tried in Spain for crimes of genocide and terrorism. 2) To act according to the compromises derived from the Human Rights Foreign Affair Policy of the UK, in the way provided by the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and the United Nations Principles, Principles for international cooperation for the identification, extradition and punishment of the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Direcciones/Addresses: A) SPANISH AUTHORITIES AND MPs: (Autoridades espanholas y parlamentarios) - Presidencia del Gobierno. José María Aznar (Presidence of Government) Fax: +34.91.549.2739 - Ministra de Justicia. Dña. Margarita Mariscal de Gante y Mirón. (Ministry of Justice) Fax: +34.91.390.2268 - Fiscalía General del Estado. D. Jesús Cardenal Hernández. (Attorney-General's Office) Fax: +34.91. 319.3317 - Fiscal Jefe del Estado. D. Eduardo Fungairiño. (Chief Prosecutor of Spanish National Criminal Court) Fax: +34.91.397.0381 - Presidente del Congreso de los Diputados. D. Federico Trillo-Figueroa Martínez- Conde. (President of Congress) Fax: +34.91.429.7138 - Portavoz del Grupo Popular ante el Parlamento. D. Luis de Grandes. (Popular Party Speaker before the Parliament) Fax: +34.91.420.2516 - Portavoz de CiU ante el Parlamento. D. Joaquim Molins i Amat. (CiU Speaker before the P.) Fax: +34.91.429.6776 - Portavoz del PNV ante el Parlamento. D. Iñaki Mirena Anasagasti Olabeaga. (PNV speaker before the P.) Fax: +34.91.429.4623 - Portavoz de Coalición Canaria ante el Parlamento. D. Juan Carlos Mauricio Rodríguez. (Coalición Canaria speaker before the P.) Fax: +34.91.369.0515 - Portavoz del Partido Socialista Obrero Español ante el Parlamento. D. Josep Borrell (Socialist Party speaker before the P.) Fax: +34.91.429.7860 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B) BRITISH AUTHORITIES AND MPs/Autoridades británicas y parlamentarios: a) Secretary of State for Home Affairs The Rt Hon Jack Straw, MP Home Office 50, Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT Fax: +44 171 273 3965 b) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon Robin Cook, MP Foreign and Commonwealth Office Downing Street London SW1A 2AL Fax: +44 171 270 3539 c) Cabinet Office The Rt Hon Dr Jack Cunningham, MP Downing Street London SW1A 2AL Fax :+44 171 270 0196 d) British Embassy, Madrid, Spain. Fax: +34.91.308.1033 Members of the British Parliament: e) Chair of Parliamentary Human Rights Group Rt Hon Ann Clwyd, MP House of Commons London SW1A OAA Fax: +44 171 219 5943 f) Chair of Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Rt Hon Donald Anderson, MP House of Commons London SW1A OAA g) Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn, MP House of Commons London SW1A OAA Fax: +44 171 219 2328
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