Pinochet's Death: First Reactions

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SPOKEPERSON, TERRY MULLER:

His death must not be the end of the story: Amnesty International urges the Chilean authorities to declare the amnesty law void and proceed with investigations and prosecutions of all those others involved in the thousands of cases of 'disappearances,' torture and execution during Pinochet's period of rule. Pinochet's death must not close Chile's darkest chapter, one that was marked by gross human rights violations and impunity.

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER, SEBASTIAN BRETT:

Justice despite death? Some of Pinochet's opponents think so.

Pinochet ruled for 17 years and during that time he basically resorted to just about every human rights violation in the lexicon of human rights abuse, if you want to put it like that.

Not only that, but he pioneered in South America the technique which is known as "forced disappearance" - which is when the security forces kidnap somebody and then deny their detention, secretly execute them and then conceal their fate - which has continued to this day.

URUGUAYAN WRITER, MARIO BENEDETTI:

This is the death of a dictator who showed extreme cruelty to a section of his population. In this case death has robbed us of justice.

CHILEAN MOTHER, MARIA SILVA (SANTIAGO):

Formal justice may remain incomplete but history judged him and condemned him.

I'm Chilean. I am tired of hate, tired of divisions. Now that Pinochet is dead, we've got the opportunity to overcome all the pain of these years. I really hope so.

U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY, MARGARET BECKETT:

We note the passing of General Pinochet and want to pay tribute to the remarkable progress that Chile made over the last 15 years as an open, stable and prosperous democracy.