Retired Gen. Manuel Contreras is surrounded by detectives in Santiago, Chile, on Jan. 28.

Contreras, 75, put the responsibility for the abuses on Pinochet and the other military commanders. One reason he had to write the document was "the permanent, ominous silence maintained by my superior," referring to Pinochet.

Commander of the feared secret service DINA that is blamed for the worst human rights abuses during the first years of Pinochet's 1973-90 dictatorship, Contreras is currently serving a 15-year prison term for the assassination of a dissident, and previously served seven years for the 1976 bomb assassination in Washington, D.C., of Orlando Letelier, a prominent foe of Pinochet.

An organization of relatives of the missing detainees said Contreras' report is full of lies and "only adds more pain to our families."

The Japan Times Weekly: May 21, 2005
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