- guardian.co.uk, Sunday December 3 2000 23.15 GMT
The arrest of Chile's former dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, should be welcomed as another courageous step forward by a country still deeply divided by the legacy of his murderous rule. No one should imagine, however, that the way ahead for the legal process will be easy.
The likeliest resolution is that it will drag on for years and that its subject will die of old age or illness during that time. What should be applauded now is the fact that Chile is confounding those who said it would not, or could not, try Pinochet.
Meanwhile, a precedent has been set that no putative dictator can ignore. If you shoot, kidnap and torture your own people and abandon commonly-held rules of judicial process you cannot escape prosecution. The Chileans should be congratulated. They have struck a blow for persecuted people everywhere - past, present and future.
