[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 22925-22926] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EXTRADITE PINOCHET TO SPAIN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CRIMES IN CHILE ______ HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN of massachusetts in the house of representatives Monday, September 27, 1999 Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today, Monday, September 27, 1999, almost a year after his arrest in Britain for human rights abuses during his 17-year rule in Chile, an extradition hearing for former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet has begun. Over the next five days, Magistrate Ronald Bartle of the Magistrates' Court will consider evidence for [[Page 22926]] and against the extradition request for General Pinochet to face charges in Spain. On Sunday, September 26, family, friends, and colleagues of two victims of Pinochet's murderous regime were remembered here in Washington, DC. Former Chilean Ambassador and Cabinet Minister Orlando Letelier and United States citizen Ronni Karpen Moffitt were assassinated on September 21, 1976, by Chilean agents on the streets of Washington when Letelier's car exploded from a car bomb. Should Spain's request to extradite Pinochet to face charges of torture and murder be granted, then I hope the Letelier and Moffitt murders might be included in that trial, or that the United States government would also request extradition to try Pinochet in the United States for these two murders and the murders of other Americans in Chile. I call upon the United States government to release all documents regarding human rights violations and the actions of the Chilean military, police, intelligence, and security agencies during the Pinochet regime, including documents regarding the role of United States agencies prior to and during the 1973 coup and during the 17- year rule of General Pinochet. I submit for the Record, my statement at Sunday's memorial event at Sheridan Circle commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the murders of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt. In Memory of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt Twenty-three years ago, international terrorism exploded on the streets of our nation's capital with the brutal assassination of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt, and it changed our world forever. As my former boss, mentor and dearest friend Senator George McGovern said from the pulpit at the funeral for Orlando and Ronni: ``If Orlando Letelier must die at the age of forty- four and dear Ronni Moffitt must die at the age of twenty- five because of the unbridled power of madmen, then there is no security for any of us.'' I won't try to speak as to how the world changed for the Letelier, Moffitt and Karpen families, or for the friends and colleagues of Orlando and Ronni. Their personal grief and journeys during the past two decades are private. But their public lives and advocacy have been an inspiration to all of us, including myself. They have been tenacious in their search for the whole truth about how this heinous act took place and who was responsible. They have lent their support and personal resources to the search for truth about other human rights crimes carried out by the Pinochet regime in Chile. And they have enshrined the memories of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt by annually recognizing individuals and groups in the United States and throughout the world who continue the struggle for basic human rights, human dignity and social justice. We are now at a historic moment in the search for truth and justice for the people of Chile. The effort to hold General Augusto Pinochet accountable for the crimes against humanity committee by his government and by his orders is important for the people of Chile and for those everywhere who suffer under repression. I support and salute the individuals, lawyers and jurists in Chile, Spain and the United Kingdom whose efforts have brought about the arrest, and hopefully the extradition, of General Pinochet. Human rights law and advocacy have all been strengthened by their singular dedication. At this moment in history, when Chileans are attempting to confront and address their own past and seek justice, it is time--indeed it is past time--for the United States to open all its files on Chile. In particular, the CIA must stop blocking the declassification of Chile files and support the President's effort to release all documents. It has been more than a quarter century since the violent military coup overthrew the democratically elected government of Chile. Open the files, release the documents, let the light finally shine on this dark and shameful period. It will set us all free. ____________________