justice for dictators

8/2/2019 Justice for Dictators

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international legal treaties to which Spain is a signatory, he has created an international

reputation by deciding to consider cases of crimes against humanity and breaches of

human rights beyond Spain¶s borders

Judge Garson achieved major recognition on 10 October 1998 when he issued an

international warrant for the arrest of General Augusto Pinochet of Chile while he wasvisiting London for medical treatment. General Pinochet had visited London on many

occasions and was considered a close friend of the UK¶s ex-Prime Minister Margaret

Thatcher, a relationship cemented during the Falklands war in 1982 in which Pinochet¶s

government provided very useful military intelligence to the United Kingdom, to the

detriment of Argentina. However, by 1998, Mrs Thatcher was no longer Prime Minister

and the governing party in the UK was now Labour. Under the terms of its own

international treaty obligations, the British government executed the arrest warrant and

held general Pinochet under house arrest until March 2000.

From a partisan perspective both generals Franco and Pinochet can be regarded either as national heroes who prevented their countries, in different eras, from becoming

communist; or as brutal right-wing dictators who used their nation¶s military and secret

services to spy on, torture and murder thousands of civilians before and during their

assumption of power through non-democratic means.

Similarly, Judge Garson can be seen either as a long-awaited representative of justice,

investigating and making cases against authoritarian regimes responsible for blatant

and significant violent breaches of citizens¶ human rights, or as a dangerous left-winger

pursuing his own egotistical agenda of revenge through his judicial office. We must

remember that Judge Garson briefly served as a minister in the Spanish government of socialist Felipe Gonzalez. We must also remember that, in both cases, Judge Garson

chose to open investigations and, in General Pinochet¶s case, issue warrants even

when a careful architecture of amnesty and immunity from prosecution had been agreed

by the governments of both Spain and Chile, largely in the interests of peaceful national

transition and redevelopment.

Regardless of one¶s political perspective, all three men are controversial and divisive

figures in a world where the application of transitional justice, following the end of violent

authoritarian regimes, is not as simple as many would wish. Judge Garson¶s activities in

pursuit of Generals Franco and Pinochet have brought many of the complex issuessurrounding transitional justice into sharp relief.

If µjustice¶ is not delivered, summarily, within the first few days of the end of a regime

then it is unlikely to be delivered at all. Where negotiations follow during the post-regime

transition period the overriding objectives are to ensure that the transition moves

forward and is not dragged back into the conflicts which saw the old regime take power



in the first place. Vested interests, usually still holding powerful positions in the military

or security services, require reassurance that µstability¶ will be maintained and that they

will not be prosecuted for simply µfollowing orders¶. The people in general, excluding

victims of the regime, their families and committed opponents, prefer to move away

from the period of the regime and consolidate their new lives.

In the case of Chile, the overthrow of the elected government by General Pinochet was

greatly facilitated by United States institutions and any detailed examination of what

evidence remains would uncover the extent of US support for illegal detention, arrest,

disappearance, murder and economic warfare within the country. General Pinochet was

not extradited to Spain to stand trial but was allowed to return home to face less

vigorous and a more limited prosecution that did not threaten to tear the country apart

again.

And so it seems that Judge Garson¶s attempts to bring crimes committed by Franco and

Pinochet and others to justice will run into the sand. Judge Garson may be morallycorrect in his crusade but countries, establishments and most people who are

recovering from the trauma of authoritarianism generally want to move on once the

anger has subsided.

justice for dictators

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