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DERECHOS


October 21, 1998


Members Of Congress Call On Clinton To Release Key Information On Gen. Pinochet To Spanish Judge



October 21, 1998

Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
President
The White House
Washington, DC  20500  

Dear Mr. President: 

The October 17 arrest of General Augusto Pinochet in London is a good
example of how the goals you outlined in your anti-terrorism speech at
the United Nations can be put into practice. Indeed, when the rule of
law is applied to combat international lawlessness, humanity's agenda
gains. 

We are writing to urge you to reinforce your eloquent words at the
recent United Nations General Assembly session by joining with the
British government in fully cooperating with the precedent-setting case
against Chilean General Augusto Pinochet in Spain.  Specifically, we
call upon you to ensure that the U.S. government provides Spanish Judge
Baltasar Garzon material related to Pinochet's role in international
terrorism -- material and testimony that the U.S. government has thus
far withheld.

You will recall that on June 3, in response to a congressional request,
you wrote to assure us that the United States would "continue to respond
as fully as we can to the request for assistance from the Government of
Spain" for information on the case against General Pinochet and other
Chilean military officials accused of international terrorism and crimes
against humanity. 

It is our understanding that the United States has materials and other
critical information that will help link Pinochet directly to acts of
international terrorism.  These materials and information were obtained
during the U.S. investigation of the assassination of Orlando Letelier,
a Chilean exile, and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, his American colleague.  They
were brutally murdered in Washington, D.C., in 1976 when a bomb exploded
under their car while driving around Sheridan Circle on their way to
work.  The assassination was determined to be the work of the Chilean
secret police.  It was also alleged, but unproven at the time, that
Pinochet was directly involved in the killings.  

Unfortunately, we have been informed that the U.S. Justice Department
has given only public documents to the Spanish judge, and has not
ordered any classified material to be delivered.  In addition, the
Assistant United States Attorney assigned to obtain testimony from key
witnesses in the case against Pinochet and other former military leaders
has not elicited key testimony from people convicted in the
Letelier-Moffitt killings. 

We have also learned that the Spanish judge is planning to submit an
expanded Rogatory Commission requesting in detail the documents and
witness testimony the U.S. government should provide.  

We urge you to direct the Justice Department and other relevant agencies
to act with haste in delivering the appropriate solicited material.
Your involvement now will send a clear signal that you plan to take all
steps necessary to stop international terrorism and bring to justice
those responsible for heinous crimes against humanity, including the
killing of an American citizen on American soil.

We note that the Spanish judge's petitions are based on the European
Convention on Terrorism that requires signatories to cooperate with each
other's judicial processes in cases of terrorism.   Certainly, the
United States has a stake in becoming part of this process.  In
addition, the Justice Department previously determined that Spain
properly requested documents from the United States based on the Mutual
Legal Assistance Treaty, signed by Spain and the United States.

We appreciate your commitment to stop international terrorism.  We
strongly believe, however, that without concrete actions to back up your
commitment, international terrorism will continue unabated. The case
against Pinochet and his allies presents a significant opportunity to
work with the world community to punish those responsible for
international crimes in Chile, the United States, and elsewhere.  We
strongly urge you to support Britain and Spain by releasing critical
information to the Spanish judge as quickly as possible.  We understand
that some of the materials in question are of a classified nature.  We
believe steps can be taken to comply with Spain's request without
compromising U.S. security interests and that these steps must be taken
immediately.  The world is watching closely as you consider this
request.  Absent our firm response, terrorists will continue to believe
they can act with impunity.

Sincerely, 

October 21, 1998

List of Signatures on Letter from Congress to 
President Clinton Regarding Gen. Augusto Pinochet

George Miller
John Conyers
Nancy Pelosi
John Olver
Maurice D. Hinchey
Alcee L. Hastings
Cynthia A. McKinney
Howard L. Berman
Bob Filner
Anna G. Eshoo
Henry A. Waxman
Jim McDermott
George E. Brown, Jr.
Neil Abercrombie
Barbara Lee
Sam Gejdenson
Bernard Sanders
Lane Evans
John F. Tierney
Martin Olav Sabo
Rosa L. DeLauro
Lynn C. Woolsey
Carolyn B. Maloney
Barney Frank
Lloyd Doggett
Frank Pallone
Charles B. Rangel
David E. Bonior
Nita M. Lowey
Danny K. Davis
James P. McGovern
Pete Stark
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Marcy Kaptur
Elijah E. Cummings


Trial against Pinochet

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