Chile Invokes Pinochet-Era Terror Law as Blazes Turn Deadly

[Judi Lynn]

Chile Invokes Pinochet-Era Terror Law as Blazes Turn Deadly
January 09, 2012, 1:03 AM EST

By Randall Woods

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Chile’s government invoked an anti- terrorist law after wildfires that were allegedly started by arsonists in the country’s south claimed the lives of seven firefighters working for forestry company Empresas CMPC SA.

“We must fight not only the fires but also the criminals who supposedly are behind them,” President Sebastian Pinera said late yesterday. “We have reliable information that leads us to presume that there was criminal intent.”

The firefighters died battling a blaze that broke out simultaneously at more than 50 points, CMPC Chief Executive Officer Hernan Rodriguez said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Dry weather and high winds fanned fires that have consumed more than 56,000 hectares (138,000 acres) in just two weeks, more than the annual average of the past 26 years, according to the national emergency service Onemi.

~snip~
Created under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chile’s anti-terror law in the past has allowed the state to use anonymous witnesses and military tribunals in cases where defendants are accused of committing murder for political ends.

More:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-09/chile-invokes-pinochet-era-terror-law-as-blazes-turn-deadly.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Some more on this ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11273373

My overall reaction is summed up in my reply in that thread.