Chilean Leftists Protest Pinochet ‘Act’ on Health

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chilean leftists awarded former dictator Augusto Pinochet a symbolic “Oscar” on Wednesday for allegedly feigning ill health in Britain and duping doctors into claiming that he was unfit to face trial in Spain on torture charges.

The youth wing of the Socialist Party of Chile held a mock ceremony in front of the army’s offices, handing over a fake Oscar statue to a human rights activist wearing a mask of Pinochet and dressed in a convict’s suit.

Pinochet, 84, is resting in a mansion on the outskirts of Santiago, the Chilean capital, after arriving home Friday from Britain, where he spent nearly 1 1/2 years under house arrest.

Britain ruled that Pinochet was too ill for extradition, and he received a hero’s welcome from Chile’s military after arriving home. But his sprightly demeanor--chatting with friends, smiling and waving to crowds--brought outrage.

Anti-Pinochet groups said he had duped the world into believing that he was a wheelchair-bound diabetic to avoid extradition to Madrid to face trial.

“Pinochet wins the Oscar as best actor, and best director goes to the armed forces,” said Genaro Cuadras, secretary-general of the Socialist youth movement.

“In this way, we join those human rights groups that have profoundly rejected the way in which Pinochet arrived back home,” Cuadras said.

Chile’s military was criticized by the government and by human rights groups for the hero’s welcome for Pinochet.

Marco Antonio Pinochet said Wednesday that his father was suffering inside his residence and that his apparent good health on arriving home was due to “a moment of emotion.”