LEGAL PRESENTATION OF "THE MOTHERS THE PLAZA DE MAYO" TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT

Buenos Aires, november 2nd, 1998

To the People of Great Britain,

As President of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Association, I am herewith requesting the extradition of the murderer Pinochet to Spain, in order to appear before the court and answer for his crimes. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have been fighting relentlessly for twenty two years in defense of life, dignity and unrestricted human rights.
We find it repugnant that the English system submits itself to the dictates of the international economic groups, thus converting the United Kingdom into a refuge for all classes of criminals and murderers. The decision that will be taken regarding Pinochet will clearly define Britain's stand in the establishment of international judicial order. While the world advances towards the international judicial recognition of human rights, and the civilized nations collaborate for the constitution of an International Criminal Court, the British Judges protect criminals.
General Pinochet is not being accused of common or political crimes. We are dealing with a blood-thirsty, cruel animal who has committed and ordered the most perverted, hideous crimes in the memory of our people. The assassinations, the tortures, the rape and the abuses against men, women and children are only comparable to those committed by the Nazis during World War Two.
The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo demand that the British authorities put the murderer Pinochet at the disposition, not only of the Spanish judges, but also of the European Courts, who have also demanded his trial. The crimes against humanity for which Pinochet is being accused are not only those that were commited on Chilean territory. The assassin Pinochet is one of those responsible in the design and implementation of Operation Condor. A sinister plan that obliged other Latin American countries to exchange prisoners of different nationalities and to share in interrogation, torture and intelligence operations.
In Argentina, the military dictatorship excecuted more than 15,000 human beings in the streets, disappeared more than 30.000 of our children, imprisoned more than 8,900 political prisoners and sent 1,500,000 men and women into exile. Many of these victims were assassinated, tortured and disappeared by the direct order of General Augusto Pinochet.
We, The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo feel that a decision guaranteeing the impunity of this blood-thirsty animal could lead us back to violence. We, The Mothers have transformed our pain into a struggle but, we always make it clear that the path of punishing the murderers must respect the justice system. But when the judges don't comply with the function of administering justice and, instead, they grovel to powerful economic interests, there is no option left to the people but to take justice into their own hands with violence.
Britain has the chance to send a message to the nations of the world. We, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo demand that it should be a message of justice and not one of impunity and barbarism. We hope that British soil does not become a refuge for the blood-thirsty animals who plundered our countries.

Yours Sincerely,

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

In the name of more than 2.000 Madres de Plaza de Mayo that remain alive,