Chile starts investigating Pinochet era political murders

Chile starts investigating Pinochet era political murders
Santiago, Jun 2 (AFP)

Chilean authorities has started investigating the first 100 lawsuits filed for political murders during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

A victims' families association said more than 1,000 cases would begin to be investigated in the next five months.Judge Mario Carrozas said received the first 100 cases on Tuesday and that he could possibly seek help from additional judges."Morally, we have a mandate to see reparations made to victims," Alicia Lira, the head of the relatives' group, told AFP.

Pinochet's 1973-1990 military regime is blamed for some 3,000 deaths and disappearances in a "dirty war" against the left.Pinochet died in December 2006 at a military hospital in Santiago, at the age of 91, after evading repeated attempts to bring him to trial.
Two weeks before his death, Pinochet took responsibility for actions committed under his rule, but never apologized for the suffering he caused.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/73126/chile-starts-investigating-pinochet-era.html

Wednesday, June 2nd 2010 - 22:44 UTC
Chile's El Mercurio celebrates 110th anniversary

Chile’s most widely distributed newspaper, El Mercurio, has celebrated a birthday. On June 1, the daily celebrated 110 years. The paper’s staff met this week to celebrate the event.

El Mercurio’s director Cristian Zegers, who has held the position for the last four years, explained that in the world of news, longevity does not necessarily guarantee popularity. He said that the success of the paper has not been due to luck or situational factors – rather, it came down to pure hard work.

El Mercurio has a readership of 145, 000 Chileans every week.

Zeegers made no mention of the millions of dollars El Mercurio received from the CIA during the Allende years, nor the soft loans the newspaper received from the Pinochet dictatorship when the Chilean economy bottomed out in the 1980s.

Those who attended the celebration received a copy of the very first El Mercurio, which came out on June 1, 1900.

More:
http://en.mercopress.com/2010/06/02/chile-s-el-mercurio-celebrates-110th-anniversary