Pinochet has left behind a legacy that will be disputed for a long time to come. The news of his death led to both celebrations and mourning in Chile, and while his funeral was taking place in the Chilean capital Santiago, there were clashes on the streets between his supporters and opponents.
Up to 60,000 people are said to have flocked for the public viewing of Pinochet's casket, and thousands turned out for his funeral on Tuesday last. The Chilean ex-dictator received full military rites but not a state funeral which was denied by President Michelle Bachelet, whose father was tortured and died during Pinochet's 1973-1990 regime. Bachelet was herself tortured alongside her mother. And she is not the only one who suffered when he overthrew the democratically-elected socialist government of President Salvador Allende in a coup in September 1973.
Pinochet's forces killed around 3,000 opponents and suspected opponents during his rule. Many military police officers also died in the political violence and some 28,000 people were tortured by his secret police, while hundreds of thousands of Chileans fled into exile.
As for his supporters, they say he saved the country from communism, chaos and possible civil war, and that it was due to his free-market reforms which led to economic stability in Chile. Had he not taken over, they argue, there would have been a Communist take-over and alignment with the Soviet Union.
Born on November 25, 1915, Pinochet opted on a military career on the insistence of his mother. As early as the 1950s, he was involved in political struggles when he headed the clampdown on the Chilean Communist party, but he had little political ambitions at this point.
In June 1973, he was made commander-in-chief of the army because he was trusted by President Allende. But a few months later, in September 1973, President Allende realized his mistake when he lost his life in a coup led by Gen Pinochet. It was Gen Pinochet who ordered many of the actions that saw more than 3,000 supporters of the Allende regime killed, thousands tortured and many more forced into exile. He closed the Chilean Parliament, banned all political and trade union activities, and appointed himself president in 1974.
General Pinochet continued to rule on through the 1980s, but discontentment among the masses grew, underestimated by him. In the plebiscite held in 1988, to his utter surprise, Pinochet lost. By 1990 he had to reluctantly step down as president, but he remained commander-in-chief of the army. In that position, he frequently prevented the prosecution of members of the security forces suspected of human rights abuses during his 17-year military regime, and blocked any radical political changes. In 1998, Gen Pinochet finally relinquished his post as commander-in-chief. But the very next day he became a senator-for-life, another position he had created for himself. He was finally arrested in London in October the same year, after an extradition request from Spain. After more than a year in custody, the general was allowed to returen to Chile in March 2000, but only after it was declared that he was not well enough to stand trial. In July 2002, all charges against General Pinochet were dropped after a ruling that he was mentally unfit to stand trial.
General Pinochet has always defended his actions as those of a patriot who rescued his country from chaos and the threat of communism. But there are many who don't buy his argument and never will.

 

Source: Dawn