UK: MARGARET THATCHER AUGUSTO PINOCHET SPEECH

(7 Oct 1999) Span/Eng/Nat
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has said former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet will get nothing more than a "show trial" if extradited to Spain.
Speaking at the Conservative Party's annual conference, she also called the Labour government contemptible for allowing his extradition trial to go forward.
Thatcher's comments came hours after a British judge excused the former dictator from appearing in court later this week.
The ruling came after a doctor testified the general suffered two small strokes last month.
For the second day in a row, Margaret Thatcher created a storm in British politics.
On Tuesday, the former prime minister lashed out at plans to join the European Union, blaming the continent for all the problems Britain had suffered during her lifetime.
On Wednesday, she turned her attention to her former ally Augusto Pinochet, addressing his plight at a rally held in conjunction with the annual Conservative party conference.
The meeting was the most eagerly awaited event of the Conservative party conference.
The speech was one of Lady Thatcher's first at a Tory conference since she was dumped as party leader in 1990 and marked the culmination of an electrifying return.
To the delight of an adoring crowd, the woman known as the Iron Lady accused Britain of leaving Pinochet in the lurch after he saved British lives during the Falkland Islands' War.
She went on to say that Pinochet was not on trial for human rights abuses but for defeating
communism - comments which sparked a rousing round of applause.
She added the Spanish case against the general was fraught with inconsistencies that made a fair trial impossible.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The chance of Senator Pinochet receiving anything resembling what Britain would recognise as justice in a Spanish court is minimal, not least because key witnesses for his defence run the risk of immediate arrest if they set foot on Spanish soil. What is planned then is a show trial with a preordained outcome. Lingering death in a foreign land."
SUPER CAPTION: Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister
Baroness Thatcher also had stinging criticism for the administration of Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom she accused of deserting a longtime British ally.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I don't know how this tragedy will end, but we will fight on for as long as it takes to see Senator Pinochet returned safely to his own country. Chileans can rest assured that however contemptibly this Labour government behaves, the British people still believe in loyalty to its friends."
SUPER CAPTION: Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister
The rally in Blackpool was also attended by Pinochet's son, who took the podium to shake the hand of the woman he said had become the public face of his father's defence.
Baroness Thatcher has been a longtime friend of the former dictator.
She maintains he saved hundreds of British lives during the Falkland War by using Chilean radar to give the British early warning of Argentine air raids.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"It is very important that Lady Thatcher comes here and I want to thank her for all that she is doing. She represents all of the rest of the people that have been active in the support of my father in Britain."
SUPER CAPTION: Marco Antonio Pinochet, Son of Augusto Pinochet
Another cause for concern among Pinochet supporters is the general's deteriorating state of health.
A British judge on Wednesday excused the former dictator from appearing in court later this week.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...