Chile Debates Amnesty Law
Amid an atmosphere of tension, leaders from governing coalition parties are due to discuss President Michelle Bachelet's proposal Monday to abolish the repudiated Amnesty Law that benefits former oppressors.

The meeting is marked by the dissident role assumed by the "Democracia Cristiana (DC)" party since Senator and former Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear took charge of the main Concertacion party in April.

The most recent debate was over Chile's vote in the UN on the soon to be vacant Argentina seat, where the DC said the stateswoman would provoke a crisis in the government if she supported Venezuela.

The new position is against the elimination of rules proposed by the Executive.

According to statements by the Presidency's general secretary minister Paulina Veloso that the project will be ready to be presented at the Parliament this week, Alvear called to be cautious and said she won't speak out until learning what the text is about.

The issue had a huge impact after a recent failure condemning the OAS Ibero-American Human Rights Court against Chile for the application of that rule at a trial where those guilty of a political crime were exonerated in 1974.

The Amnesty Law was approved in 1978 by former dictator Augusto Pinochet to protect soldiers who had participated in massive violations of human rights in the first years of the military regime (1973-1990).

On November 10 there will be a special session in the Deputy Chamber dedicated to that controversial topic, as a result of the call of the regional Court to the Chilean State to fulfill with its international human rights obligations.