From: •••@••.••• Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2000 22:08:17 EST Subject: Pinochet and Jack Straw Jack Straw continues to insist he can't disclose details of the medical report on general Pinochet because of the rules of medical confidentiality. As a home office spokesman put it: "Mr Straw had appealed to lawyers acting for the general to waive his rights to privacy, but that had been rejected." How very unsporting of the general. But the idea that Straw yearned to release the report if only Pinochet would let him is not borne out by confidential correspondence obtained by the Spanish newspaper El Pais. In fact, it was the home secretary who offered to keep the medical report secret. The suggestion was made on 5 November 1999 by Fenella Tyler of the home office, on behalf of Straw, to Pinochet's lawyers Kingsley Napely. "The purpose of this letter," she wrote "is to enquire whether Senator Pinochet would be willing to submit to a medical examination... If Senator Pinochet is willing to be examined this way I would be grateful for confirmation of that in writing as soon as possible... It should go without saying that every effort would be made by the doctors and their team and the Home Office to keep the report entirely confidential." Not surprisingly Pinochet's lawyer was only too pleased to accept Straw's pre-emptive offer of secrecy. "I am grateful for your indication that the Home Office will make every effort tto keep the content of any report confidential," he replied on 11 November. "Senator Pinochet is prepared to undergo the examination on the understanding that none of its contents are disclosed to anybody other than the Home Office and ourselves." And so it came to pass. In January, when Straw announced his decision to free Pinochet, he added regretfully that the report on the general's health could not be made public because of the demands of the patients lawyers. But as El Pais points out: "The letters exchanged between the Home Office and Pinochet's lawyers show clearly that this was not the case." El Pais's story, written by Ernesto Ekaizer was splashed across two pages of its issue of 30th January. Curiously, however, not one English newspaper has followed it up. Why? Surely this cannot be because Fleet Street's finest were peeved that they had been beaten to a scoop on their doorstep by a mere foreigner from Madrid? ************************************************************** From: •••@••.••• Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 21:15:00 EST Subject: quote <snip> " Throughout the world, on any given day, a man, woman or child is likely to be displaced, tortured, killed or 'disappeared', at the hands of governments or armed political groups. More often than not, the United States shares the blame." Amnesty International, in its annual report on U.S. military aid and human rights Best wishes, Bill Blum ********************************************************************** PS from Jan, Thanks for keeping us on your list, Bill!
