Pinochet grandson forming right-wing political party in Chile
Pinochet grandson forming right-wing political party in Chile
PUBLISHED : Friday, 31 October, 2014, 5:28am
UPDATED : Friday, 31 October, 2014, 6:10am
The Guardian in Santiago
The grandson of Augusto Pinochet is organising followers of the former dictator to launch a political party in Chile.
"Republican Order My Country" (Orden Republicano Mi Patria) is the name of the political movement. It condemns gay marriage yet supports legalised marijuana and reforms to the Pinochet-era constitution. Though the pro-Pinochet forces have been organised for at least six years as a movement known as "For My Country", after the arrest of a top Pinochet aide last week, Augusto Pinochet Molina, grandson of the dictator, stepped up formation of what supporters described as a centre-right political party.
While the proposed party acknowledges that the military abused citizens, it never speaks of a dictatorship but of a "military government" followed by "a witch hunt" and a "vendetta" that jailed dozens of officers for the murder and disappearance of some 3,200 Chileans during the 17 years of Pinochet's rule.
Pinochet Molina this week also sent out hundreds of invitations to the 99th birthday party of the dictator to be celebrated on November 25.
A former captain in the Chilean army, Pinochet Molina was kicked out of the military after an impromptu speech he made at his grandfather's 2005 funeral in Santiago, in which he applauded his grandfather's campaign to "defeat Marxism" in Chile. A one-time candidate for congress, Pinochet Molina is now positioning himself to run for office again.
More:
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1628367/pinochet-grandson-forming-right-wing-political-party-chile