Chile: the balanced view : a recopilation of articles about the Allende years and after

As I menlioned earlier, a few weeks before that date there had arrived in Chile Carlos Rafael Rodríguez, Depuly Prime Minister and Chief of the Communíst Party of Cuba. This sinister person, a former minister in the government of the dictator Batista, and a long-time Soviel high commissíoner in Cuba, W2S the bearer of a letter from Castro to Allende, suggesting, among olher Ihings, that he should die for the cause. The communists foresaw the magnilude of Ihe disaster Ihey were about lo experience in Chile, and, in order lo lessen Ihe inlernalional repercussion of their defeat, Ihey needed a martyr. This necessily explains why Castro suggested thal Allende should face dealh. II is importanl lo understand Ihal this martyrdom was lo be designed for Ihe oulside world, because, in Chile, no one would ever have considered Allende as a martyr. The other factor Ihat undoubted Iy made suicide an allernative was Ihe inevilable trial of Allende for corruplion and high Ireason. This would have been a judgmenl so devastating that neilher he nor his family could have borne it. THE CAMPAIGN OF FALSITIES Al! Ihese evenls have been falsified by a relentless campaign carried on through numerous media of communicalion throughoul the world. Falling prey lo Ihis campaign, or lacking Ihe means of judging the silualion accurately, some políticians have uttered entirely distorted opinions. Bulthis defamalion ofthe presenl government does not constitute a real problem wilhin Chile. Al worst, it may be regarded as a nuisance. Nevertheless, those campaigns are pernicious in countries such as the United Slales. The press should be urged lo inform the people cor ,ectly, sínce public opinion carries greal weighl in governmenlal decision making. The great eastern paper's campaign ·supporling Fidel Caslro until he seized power had proved already that misleading Ameriéan public opinion is exlremely troublesome and dangerous. Regardless of whal people of olher nations may feel or say, and regardless of mislea– ding stalements made by foreign media on behalf of vested interests, Chileans íntend lo pursue their struggle for survival, the defense of Iheir country and their efforls to progress. PROTESTS AND SILENCES IN THE DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS 11' is amazing lo us, for example, that nobody in the outside world protested when Unidad Popular submilted len million Chileans to hunger, violence, narcolics and the atrocities of internatíonal brigades who were preparing for a geno.cide. Why, for example, did Amnesty Internatíonal not protest when members of the personal bodyguard of Allende assassinated the former Vice President of the Republíc, Pérez Zujovic? Why díd they nol prolesi Ihe abuse of executive p.ower represented by Ihe smugglíng of Soviet arms through Cuba lo Allende and his Minister of Interior, who personally supervised their arrival al the airporl, to form a parallel army? Whoever offers opinions on evenls in Chile from a supposedly idealistic but, in fac!, unrealislic posilion might wish to seek more concreleinformation from the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics aboul the monstrous traffic in drugs from Chile lo Ihe Uniled Slales. They could also inquire in Santiago about Ihe plans for genocide Ihal have been brought lo lighl in tríals of high officials of the previous government. The United States Embassy, or any individual, can find oul that Ihe judgments of those trials were made in conformity with the provisions of Ihe Code of Military Juslice of 1926, Ihe latesl revisions of which carry precisely the signature of Allende. I will add only that my opinion is Ihat Ihe Code of Mililary Justice of 1926 is far too narrow for the handling of crimes against the common welfare and human rights, and the violations ofthe Constí.tution and Ihe laws thatthe Allende governmenl commítted. Because 70