Democracy Now! - Was Charles Horman Killed by Chile’s Coup Regime September 9, 2013

7/29/2019 Democracy Now! - Was Charles Horman Killed by Chiles Coup Regime September 9, 2013

1/7

1

Was U.S. Journalist Charles Horman Killed by Chiles Coup Regime

With Aid of His Own Government?

Monday, September 9, 2013

_____________________________________________________________________

As we continue our look at the 40th anniversary of the U.S.-backed military coup inChile and the ongoing efforts by the loved ones of its victims to seek justice, we turnto the case of Charles Horman. A 31-year-old American journalist and filmmaker,Horman was in Chile during the coup and wrote about U.S. involvement inoverthrowing the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. Shortly after, hewas abducted by Chilean soldiers and later killed. Hormans story was told in the

1982 Oscar-nominated film, "Missing," which follows his father, Edmund Horman,going to Chile to search for his son. Were joined by Charles Hormans widow, JoyceHorman, who filed a criminal suit against Pinochet for his role in her husbands death,and established the Charles Horman Truth Project to support ongoing investigationsinto human rights violations during Pinochets regime. Were also joined by PeterWeiss, vice president of the board of the Center for Constitutional Rights, whorepresented the Horman family in their case against Kissinger and others for CharlesHormans death.

_____________________________________________________________________

AMY GOODMAN: As we continue to mark this 40th anniversary this week of theU.S.-backed military coup in Chileit was September 11th, 1973today, the lovedones of thousands who were killed under General Pinochets dictatorship continue toseek justice. We turn now to the case of Charles Horman, 31-year-old Americanfreelance journalist and filmmaker who was in Chile during the coup and wrote aboutthe U.S. involvement in overthrowing Allende. Soon afterward, he was abducted byChilean soldiers, later killed.

The story of what happened next is told in the 1982 Oscar-nominated film, Missing,which follows his father, Ed Horman, when he goes to Chile amidst the bloodshed of

the coup to join his daughter-in-law, who in the film is played by Sissy Spacek, in thesearch for the son. This is a clip from the film when we see Ed Horman, played by


2/7

2

Jack Lemmon, meeting with U.S. officials in Chile as a photo of then-PresidentRichard Nixon hangs on the wall behind them. Horman went to Chile knowing thatsoldiers had seized Charles, but unaware that he had been shot to death at that point.

U.S. AMBASSADOR: [played by Richard Venture] I hear youd like to discuss some

political questions.

ED HORMAN: [played by Jack Lemmon] What?

U.S. AMBASSADOR: [played by Richard Venture] You suggested that there mightbe some kind of American police assistance program down here? Id like you to knowthat nothing of that sort exists in this country.

ED HORMAN: [played by Jack Lemmon] Mr. Ambassador, Im not interested in thepolitics of it, and I brought it up only because I want you to use every resource at yourcommand.

U.S. AMBASSADOR: [played by Richard Venture] I repeat, Mr. Horman, no suchoperation exists.

CONSUL PHIL PUTNAM: [played by David Clennon] I got the clearance for thosehospitals you wanted to visit.

ED HORMAN: [played by Jack Lemmon] What about the National Stadium?

CONSUL PHIL PUTNAM: [played by David Clennon] Im trying, but its kindatouchy.

U.S. AMBASSADOR: [played by Richard Venture] Handle it.

ED HORMAN: [played by Jack Lemmon] What do you mean its touchy? Look,gentlemen, I know these are bad times. Its not fun for you people. Its certainly notfun for Beth or meor Charles. I know youre doing your best. I have to believe that;thats our only hope. But you have all the machinery on your side. Dont you see?You have all the connections. Im a middle-aged businessman from New York City. Idont speak one word of Spanish. Here I am. My son may have been shot. Maybe hewas tortured. Maybe he wasoh, Lord, beaten so badly that theyre keeping him until

hes well enough to be released. I dont know. I dont care. Oh, really, I dont care,because what is done is done. I just want you to reach those people and tell them Iwill take Charles back in any condition. Im not going to make a stink. Im not goingto go to the newspapers. You make out any kind of a release form; I will sign it. I willabsolve anyone, everyone, of everything. I just want my boy back. Hes the only childI have, sir.

AMY GOODMAN: Thats a clip from the 1982 film Missing, about the struggle todiscover what happened to journalist Charlie Horman during the 1973 Chilean coup.Jack Lemmon plays Hormans father, Ed Horman.

Well, today were joined by Charlie Hormans widow, Joyce Horman. She filed acriminal suit against Pinochet for his role in her husbands death, and established the


3/7

3

Charles Horman Truth Project to support ongoing investigations into the human rightsviolations during Pinochets regime. And its her foundation that has gathered peoplefrom around the world involved in trying to bring Augusto Pinochet to justice, fromChile to London, where he was arrested, to finding the killers of the many people.Thousands of Chileans died under the 17-year reign of Augusto Pinochet. And some

of those who have been fighting for justice are gathering tonight for an event toremember what took place 40 years ago.

Joyce Horman, welcome toDemocracy Now!

JOYCE HORMAN: Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN:Missing certainly made your husband famous throughout theUnited States, that film by Costa-Gavras, but also showed that Charlie, though, wasan American. It was thousands of Chileans who were killed in those years underPinochet. Talk about the day that your husband was taken. You both were living in

Santiago?

JOYCE HORMAN: We were living in Santiago. And he had just managed to getback from Via del Mar, where he had taken a friend of ours from New York rightbefore the coup and was trapped there for five days. So, he returned on Sunday, andthen, Monday, he was going to go and find out about airplane tickets downtown. Thecurfew had been lifted during the day. So he and our friend, Terry, went down to thecenter of Santiago to look for tickets or a way out.

AMY GOODMAN: What did he see, where he was?

JOYCE HORMAN: Where he was, well, he saw American battleships off the shore.He saw the launch of the coup in Via del Mar. They experienced that all the roadshad been blocked and the trains had been stopped that night, Monday night before thecoup, which is why he knew that was happening. But he alsohe also met, in thehotel that they stayed, militaryU.S. military people who were taking quite a largecredit for the coup and were very excited about the success. And my husband, the

journalist, knew that that was not something that anybody in the United States knewabout. So, he was aware that it was incredible information at that point.

AMY GOODMAN: And so, he comes back to Santiago, to the capital of Chile. You

see each other on the morning of the coup.

JOYCE HORMAN: Yes, I guess I have to start back. He was brought back toSantiago, to the search-and-destroy mission that was Santiago at that time, by thehead of the U.S. MILGROUP, Military Group, who had come through blockades toget to Via del Mar to see his military people in Via, and then, because they hadasked him if he would give a lift to Charles and Terry back to Santiago. His name isRay, Captain Ray Davis, and he is an extraordinary figure in our story, and theextradition request for him was issuedwell, was approved by the Chilean SupremeCourt recently. But let me go back. So, hes the one who wentagain, drove throughall the roadblocks, because he had all of the connections with the Pinochet forces, and

brought them back to Santiago, dropped them in Santiago on Saturday. They camehome on Sunday. Im sorry, I think I lost the line of your original question.
http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162


4/7

4

AMY GOODMAN: What you were doing that day, when you last saw him, and thenhow he was taken

JOYCE HORMAN: Right.

AMY GOODMAN: how you learned he was taken.

JOYCE HORMAN: OK. We said goodbye as I was leaving to check on some otherfriends to be sure that they were OK, because there was very little communication fora week, and he was taking our friend Terry downtown to try and get a passage out. Idid not get back that night because of the curfew. The buses stopped running. And asthe movieMissing portrays, I was in a stairwell for the night.

When I got back to the house the next morning, I found the house completelyransacked. And my neighbors told me to go elsewhere, because the policeor themilitary people that had taken my husband would probably come back. Only they

didnt say they had taken my husband. They just said they had been there andransacked the place, so I wasnt sure that my husband had gotten back that night.

I guess it was the next day, neighbors from our old neighborhood got a call from themilitary intelligence saying, "Do you knowdo you know an extremist gringo with a

beard?" And it terrified our neighbors, but it told us that the military actually hadCharles. And the next opportunity I had, I went to the consulate and thetheembassy, actually, to announce that he had been taken and that I wanted their help tofind him and get him out. They were more interested in what had been taken from thehouse, the ransacked house. But that was the first contact I had with the U.S. officialsat that point.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to jump forward a little bit and go back to the filmMissing, and this is where we see, well, your character is called Beth in the filmthats what you chose; you werent sure if this was going to be a film you wanted to

be any part of.

JOYCE HORMAN: Exactly.

AMY GOODMAN: And you are played by Sissy Spacek, to this day whos veryyou are tied to and is very close to this story.

JOYCE HORMAN: Mm-hmm.

AMY GOODMAN: She and Jack Lemmon, who plays your father-in-law, Charliesfather Ed, go to the stadium, where theyre allowed to get on the loudspeaker and askif Charlie is there. Thousands of sympathizers of the ousted Socialist PresidentSalvador Allende were rounded up and taken to the stadium in the days followingSeptember 11, 1973, the coup.

BETH HORMAN: [played by Sissy Spacek] Charlie? This is Beth. Im here withyour dad, Charlie, and the American consul. So if you can hear me, please come out

so we can take you home.


5/7

5

ED HORMAN: [played by Jack Lemmon] Charles Horman, this is your father,Edmund. Im here in the hope that you can hear me. Charles? Charles? Do youremember when we took that trip together across country from L.A. to New York?Just the two of us.

AMY GOODMAN: A clip from the 1982 Costa-Gavras film,Missing, about CharlieHorman, one of thousands of people, as Augusto Pinochet came to power and over the17 years of his reign, who went missing and were killed. This is Democracy Now!Well continue this discussion after we listen to more of Vctor Jara.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: "Plegaria [a] un Labrador (Prayer to a Worker)" by Vctor Jara,the Chilean singer-songwriter, folk singer, tortured and executed during the Chileancoup of Salvador Allende 40 years ago this week, September 11, 1973, as we honorthis 40th anniversary of all those lost. We goyou can go to our website at

democracynow.org to see thetimelineof all of our coverage over these years.

We continue our coverage of the 40th anniversary as were joined by Joyce Horman,Charles Hormans widow. She established the Charles Horman Truth Project tosupport ongoing investigations into the human rights violations during Pinochetsregime.

Were also joined by Peter Weiss, vice president of the board of the Center forConstitutional Rights. He represented the Horman family in their case against HenryKissinger and others for the death of Charles Horman. This afternoon and thisevening, there will be a majorgatheringatin New York City as people gather fromaround the world to honor those who died during these days 40 years ago. At 583Park Avenue, there will be a forum and discussion and panelsthat is, run by theCharles Horman Truth Foundation.

I want to read part of a declassified transcript of a conversation just one day beforeCharles Horman was seized between then-President Richard Nixon and his nationalsecurity adviser, Henry Kissinger. When discussing the U.S. role in the Chilean coup,Kissinger said, quote, "The Chilean thing is getting consolidated." Nixon responded,"Well, we didntas you knowour hand doesnt show on this one, though."Kissinger replied, "We didnt do it. ... I mean we helped them. [Omitted word] created

the conditions as great as possible." And Nixon responded, "That is right." The twothen discussed, quote, "this crap from the liberals" in the media about the overthrowof a democratically elected government, and Kissinger noted, "In the Eisenhower

period ... we would be heroes." Now, that is taken from a declassified memo that wasdeclassified for the National Security Archive. It appears in the new edition of a new

book that has come out by Peter Kornbluh on Pinochet and these years and is alsocited in thein Peter Kornbluhs latestpiecein The Nation magazine.

Peter Weiss, their role of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon in Allende coup?

PETER WEISS: Well, they were responsible for the coup, because they decided as

soon as Salvador Allende, who was a Socialist, became president of Chile, that he hadto go. And Chile was not the only country where the United States then was deciding
http://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_couphttp://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_couphttp://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_couphttp://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.thenation.com/article/176035/chileans-confront-their-own-911http://www.thenation.com/article/176035/chileans-confront-their-own-911http://www.thenation.com/article/176035/chileans-confront-their-own-911http://www.thenation.com/article/176035/chileans-confront-their-own-911http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_coup


6/7

6

that people had to go. And Kissinger was eventually put in charge of the 40Committee, which was given such a nondescript name because one couldnt say whatit was actually about. But it was about preparing the coup. And the coup had twotracks, essentially. It had track one, which was managed by the State Department,more or less overtly. And then it had track two, managed by the CIA, entirely

covertly. And Nixon allocated $10 million to the CIA to prepare for the coup, tomobilize, to have a relationship between the corporations that were interested ingetting rid of Allende, and it was also supposed to activate the media. And it worked,as you said when you quoted Nixon and Kissinger saying, "We did it, but we didntdo it."

AMY GOODMAN: I want to read from a declassified U.S. State Department memoon the Charles Horman case dated August 25th, 1973. It says, quote, "There is somecircumstantial evidence to suggest US intelligence may have played an unfortunate

part in Hormans death. At best, it was limited to providing or confirming informationthat helped motivate his murder by the [government of Chile, or] GOC. At worst, US

intelligence was aware that GOC saw Horman in a rather serious light and USofficials did nothing to discourage the logical outcome of GOC [government of Chile]

paranoia."

PETER WEISS: Well, there were actually two ways in which Charles Horman wasfailed by his government. One was that they helped to orchestrate the coup, and theother was that they didnt lift a finger to get him out of Chile when they had everyreason to believe that he was in great danger. And there is an international law, anobligation, for governments to keep their citizens from being killed in foreigncountries. The United States completely failed to do anything about that.

AMY GOODMAN: Kissinger is still alive. President Nixon of course has died. Thecase was dismissed, Joyce and Peter, against Kissinger. Why? And are there casesnow that involve him?

PETER WEISS: Im not aware of any pending cases now. Maybe Almudena knowsof some, but Im not aware of any pending cases. Our case was dismissed because wecouldnt conduct discovery. When you bring any kind of case, civil or criminal, youhave to look for the evidence and produce the evidence to the judge or the jury. Andeverything that we wanted, we were told, was classified and would not be madeavailable to us. So, eventually, the case had to be dismissed, because we couldnt

establish the causal relationship between Charless death and what people like RayDavis, whom Joyce mentioned, who was the head of the

JOYCE HORMAN: Military Group.

AMY GOODMAN: MILGROUP.

PETER WEISS: of the Military Group at the embassy

AMY GOODMAN: In this last minute, as you mention international law, its beinginvoked a lot these days as we look at the possible strike against Syria. Peter Weiss,

you are legendary in your defense of international law. What are the parallels yousee?


7/7

7

PETER WEISS: I see two parallels. One is that the Assad regime engaged inmultitudinous violations of international law for two-and-a-half years. Right? I mean,they bombed. They sent artillery rockets into civilian areas, which is a cardinalviolation of international law. And nobody really mentioned the fact that these wereinternational law violations. And then come the chemical weapons, and everybody is

saying, "Oh, my god, you know, now theyve violated international law." What werethey doing before? Complying with international law? Surely not. So, thats onething.

The other thing is that if

AMY GOODMAN: We have 15 seconds.

PETER WEISS: Obama decides to go in there without approval from theinternational community, he will be guilty of a tremendous violation of internationallaw. And you cant uphold international law by violating international law.

AMY GOODMAN: Were going to continue the discussion both on Syria as well ason this 40th anniversary of the coup in Chile tomorrow onDemocracy Now!

http://www.democracynow.org/

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/9/was_us_journalist_charles_horman_kill

ed
http://www.democracynow.org/http://www.democracynow.org/http://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/9/was_us_journalist_charles_horman_killedhttp://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/9/was_us_journalist_charles_horman_killedhttp://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/9/was_us_journalist_charles_horman_killedhttp://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/9/was_us_journalist_charles_horman_killedhttp://www.democracynow.org/2013/9/9/was_us_journalist_charles_horman_killedhttp://www.democracynow.org/

Democracy Now! - Was Charles Horman Killed by Chile’s Coup Regime September 9, 2013

Documents

Transcript of Democracy Now! - Was Charles Horman Killed by Chile’s Coup Regime September 9, 2013