April 11
Chile and Human Rights Diplomacy
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La Moneda, Chile's presidential palace, under fire during the 1973 coup that toppled the Marxist government of Salvador Allende. The military junta that succeeded Allende, headed by Augusto Pinochet, established a record for human rights abuses that continues to haunt Chilean society, and also helped bring human rights matters to the fore in the United States. |
| Watergate, Vietnam, Cold War excesses of the CIA--all of these forces combined to create a resurgence of congressional activity on international matters in general, and a renewed emphasis on human rights in particular. After introductions in the Cmiel and Haines pieces, we'll read the report of the key congressional investigative panel of the era, chaired by Democratic senator Frank Church of Idaho. From there, some reminisces by the most important congressional staffer of the time, Pat Holt of the Foreign Relations Committee. This activism did not deter Henry Kissinger--as we see. And, more important, the emphasis on human rights produced a counter-reaction, most articulately stated by Jeanne Kirkpatrick's "Dictatorships and Double Standards" article. |
READING:
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Kenneth Cmiel, "The Emergence of Human Rights Politics in the United States." |
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Gerald Haines, "The Pike Committee and the CIA" |
DOCUMENTS:
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Church Committee Report |
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Pat Holt oral history--CIA oversight and the Foreign Relations Committee |
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Kissinger and Pinochet |
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Jeanne Kirkpatrick--on dictatorships |