Could we not at least have waited until the sound of gunfire had ceased to break the night in Santiago? Could we not have waited until submachinegun carrying soldiers no longer were on street corners. until the thousands imprisoned in Estadio Chile and Estadio Nacional had been released? Could we not have waited until political prisoners and political refugees had been given a chance to depart the country in safety? Could we not have waited until the blood stopped flowing in Chile? Yesterday John Barnes of Newsweek magazine reported a series of events that reflect the worst as to the magnitude of the disregard for human lives and human rights of the military junta. Barnes reported seeing 150 dead bodies in the citys morgue. most apparently executed by a single shot under the chin and others submachinegunned. The next day he returned and found another 70 bodies. The Senate Subcommittee on Refugees. which I serve as chairman. held a hearing last Friday at which American citizens who had left Chile in the past few days testified. All testified to the atmosphere of fear that pervaded the country. Two who had been imprisoned in Estadio Nacional testified to watching groups of 30 led onto the playing field and then heard bursts of gunfire. then only the guards returned.
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