02 December 1998
(Lists two important values at stake in case) (870) By Eric Green USIA Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- The case involving former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is very complex because two important values are at stake -- one is accountability and justice, and the other is the value of promoting and respecting democracies, says State Department spokesman James Rubin. In a December 2 briefing that was dominated by discussion of whether Pinochet, presently being held in London, should be extradited to Spain to stand trial for alleged crimes while in office, or be allowed to return home to Chile, Rubin said the United States "has not taken a position in favor of one position or another." But he added, "we have explained our concern about these values being achieved." Rubin warned that people "should not read more into our remarks than what we say. Again, there are two relevant values: one is the important value of accountability and justice in cases like Pinochet where we have condemned in the strongest possible terms the abuses that have occurred during his reign." On the other hand, he said, "there's another value which is also important to the United States and, one would hope, important to all the commentators who have an opinion on this, and that is the value of countries' transition to democracy. There are many countries that have transitioned to democracy, many of which have had human rights abuses far worse than Chile, and ways have been found to deal with it. And there are many different situations. Each situation is different. And all I'm trying to communicate is that we are weighing these two values, we don't want to interfere in the legal process that's going on." Rubin added that "we're not saying that these two values are necessarily in conflict. We're saying these are the two values -- accountability and justice -- (that are) extremely important to the United States, on the one hand; on the other hand, respect for a country that has become a democracy (is) extremely important to the United States. That's why for some, this is a very simple knee-jerk issue, because they choose one or the other. For us, they are both important. And in the meantime, there's a legal case and a legal process going on that we don't want to interfere with." As to reports the Clinton administration would declassify U.S. documents related to alleged crimes committed under Pinochet's regime, Rubin said Washington has indicated that it "will review documents to determine whether they should be released. And we have not said what that review will entail." The review of relevant documents that might shed light on abuses committed by Pinochet, said Rubin, is "a substantial undertaking that will require a comprehensive and thorough review of a large number of documents. We don't know how long this process will take. We will try to complete it as quickly as possible." Rubin noted that the Clinton administration "has shown a great openness to provide unclassified or declassified documents in a variety of cases in an unprecedentedly open way. And that is one of the factors that we will weigh. Other factors are law enforcement factors and national security factors." When asked by reporters whether the United States has one standard for its friends and another for its enemies, Rubin said "that is utter nonsense, and people who say that usually have their own reasons for saying it. We judge each case on the merits. If you look down the list of countries and you look down the list of complicated legal issues, they all have their own exigencies and own complications." Rubin added that "in the minds of some, everything is black and white. In the minds of some, foreign policy is a simple matter of plugging in the facts and coming up with a preordained answer. In the minds of this administration and, I hope, future and past administrations, we try to weigh the considerations that are affected by each case, weigh each case on the merits, and we don't have a knee-jerk response, as some do." Rubin said the Pinochet case boils down to the fact that "this is an issue for the Spanish courts and the British legal system. They are dealing with it; they are wrestling with it. We commented because it had become such a matter of international and public interest, for obvious reasons, and so we explained, very carefully formulated, our view of these two values." British police arrested Pinochet, a retired army general, at a London clinic October 16, acting on a request from a Spanish judge who seeks to have him extradited and prosecuted for torture, murder and genocide. At least 3,000 people were reported killed or disappeared from alleged human rights violations committed by Pinochet during his 1973-1990 regime. Britain's highest court has ruled that Pinochet, who is a senator for life, is not immune from prosecution under relevant international treaties. However, the Chilean government insists Pinochet's alleged crimes took place on Chilean soil and therefore should be handled by its courts.