Pinochet says stay away from Kennedy
NZPA-Reuter Santiago Senator Edward Kennedy, a source of antagonism for Chile’s military Government but a folk hero for its opponents, arrives today for the most controversial stop of his South American tour. The Chilean President, General Augusto Pinochet, has ordered Government officials not to meet Senator Kennedy during his 24-hour visit in reprisal for what the Foreign Minister, Jaime del Valle, called his permanently unfriendly attitude towards Chile. “We have absolutely nothing to gain by seeing him. We know we won’t change his ideas,” one Foreign Ministry source said. Right-wing supporters of General Pinochet have echoed those criticisms, focusing their attacks on the 1976 Congressional resolution sponsored by Senator Kennedy which bars United States arms sales to Chile until its human rights record improves. Opposition leaders, planning to step up their campaign for a return to democracy after 12 years of military rule, have welcomed his visit as an important psychological boost during a lull in political activity. “It is important for us because he will certainly
speak out strongly,” said Sergio Bitar, of the Christian Left Party. In Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, where military regimes have recently given way to civilian Governments, Senator Kennedy has reiterated his support for democracy in Latin America. After meeting the Argentinian President, Raul Alfonsin, in Buenos Aires Senator Kennedy said: “Soon the morning sun of democracy shall break across the long horizon in Chile.” He will deliver a lecture on, “Democracy, Human Rights and Foreign Debt” to invited guests in Santiago. Other appointments during a crowded programme include meetings with opposition political parties of the Democratic Alliance, with the moderate Right-wing National Party and with several human rights organisations. He may also meet the coordinators of a multi-party accord for a transition to democracy, signed last August at the instigation of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santiago, but rejected by the Government as vague and unsatisfactory. Archbishop Juan Francisco Fresno, upset by Government charges that he was meddling in politics, has declined to meet Senator Kennedy.
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Press, 16 January 1986, Page 8
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339Pinochet says stay away from Kennedy Press, 16 January 1986, Page 8
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