The following information is additional to that information found in Response to Information Request CHL5037.F of 19 April 1990.

The Political Handbook of the World 1997 states that Avanzada Nacional is a far-right political group which campaigned for the "yes" side during the 1988 plebiscite (1997, 162). According to a 14 April 1987 UPI report, the Avanzada Nacional movement emerged in 1984 to back Pinochet. In 1987, the movement was established as a party to support Pinochet in his attempts to obtain an additional eight-year presidential term in the 1988 plebiscite (ibid.).

The UPI report states that its power base included municipal officials in Santiago, and that its leaders included a prominent landowner, the lawyer of a former chief of the state secret police and a former president of a soccer club (14 Apr. 1987). The 7 September 1989 Latin America Regional Reports: Southern Cone report states that the Avanzada Nacional's members were army officers.

Its current leader, retired Colonel Alvaro Corbalan, had links to the state secret police, the CNI, under dictator Pinochet's regime (Political Handbook of the World 1997 1997, 162). A 22 March 1995 CHIP News report and a 7 September 1989 Latin America Regional Reports: Southern Cone report add further that Corbalan was CNI's chief of operations until 1988. A 12 May 1987 Financial Times report describes the Avanzada Nacional as "a small pro-Pinochet political group which a former regime official has accused of being a front organisation for the CNI, Chile's widely feared secret police."

The Financial Times report also states that former Avanzada Nacional leader, Eduardo Rioseco, was subjected to party discipline after making frank statements to a Chilean magazine, which included a description of Germany's Third Reich as a "truly incredible party" (ibid.).

The following information was provided in an 18 November 1997 letter sent to the Research Directorate by electronic mail by a professor of Political Studies, specializing on Chile, at the University of Guelph.

The professor describes the Avanzada Nacional as a "Nazi group" with strong support from the military, the middle class and some significant support from rural southern Chile. The movement was strongly ideological and corporatist, and believed in a single-party state, emulating Germany's NSPD of the 1930s.

The movement recruited "stormtroopers" from society's marginal sectors to act as auxiliaries in raids against Pinochet's opponents. In a 23 November 1997 letter, the professor specified that auxiliaries' activity included searching and interrogations of suspected opponents, surveillance and informing.

According to the professor, an Avanzada Nacional leader, Gustavo Cuevas Farren, was also the director of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Chile until 1993-1994 (18 Nov. 1997). Another Latin America Regional Reports: Southern Cone report also identifies Farren as the director of the Institute of Political Science (4 Aug. 1988).

Additional information on Avanzada Nacional, including Corbalan's links to the CNI, public perception, its members, its links to human rights abuses and the security of Avanzada Nacional members in Chilean society today can be found in the 24 November 1997 attached letter sent to the Research Directorate by another professor of political science, specialzing on Chile, at the University of Illinois in Urbana, as well as in the other four attached documents. Please note that the pages identified in the latter-mentioned letter from a political science professor have been attached for convenience.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

CHIP News [Santiago]. 22 March 1995. "Widow of Juan Alegria Drops Charges on CNI." [Internet] http://www.chip.cl/ [Accessed 5 Dec. 1997]

The Financial Times [London]. 12 May 1987. " Chilean Opposition Faces Test of Strength." (NEXIS)

Latin America Regional Reports: Southern Cone [London]. 7 September 1989. "Jarpa Withdraws and Backs Buchi; RN Favoured in Congressional Seat-Sharing Deal With UDI." (NEXIS)

_____. 4 August 1988. "Polls Raise Hope of 'Yes' Forces; Warnings That 'No' Victory Could Lead to a Coup." (NEXIS)

Political Handbook of the World 1997. 1997. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

Political Science professor, Department of Political Studies, University of Guelph. 23 November 1997. Letter sent by electronic mail

_____. 18 November 1997. Letter sent by electronic mail.

United Press International (UPI). 14 April 1987. AM Cycle. "Pinochet Supporters Found Party." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Constable, Pamela and Arturo Valenzuela. 1991. Chile Under Pinochet: A Nation of Enemies. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 288, 306-307.

The Financial Times [London]. 12 May 1987. " Chilean Opposition Faces Test of Strength." (NEXIS)

Latin America Regional Reports: Southern Cone [London]. 7 September 1989. "Jarpa Withdraws and Backs Buchi; RN Favoured in Congressional Seat-Sharing Deal With UDI." (NEXIS)

Political Science professor, Department of Political Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 24 November 1997. Letter sent by electronic mail.

United Press International (UPI). 14 April 1987. AM Cycle. "Pinochet Supporters Found Party." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. 1984-1989.
Amnesty International. March 1996.

Transition at the Crossroads - Human Rights Violations Under Pinochet Rule Remain the Crux.

Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación . February 1991.

Informe de la Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación.

Corporación Nacional de Reparación y Reconciliación. 1996.

Informe Sobre Calificación de Víctimas de Violaciones de Derechos Humanos y de la Violencia Política.

Extremist Groups.1996.

Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA). Annunal Report on the Human Rights Situation in Chile. 1988-1991.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1989-1996.

Latin America Weekly Report [London]. 1989.

News from Americas Watch [New York]. 1991-1994.

Political Parties of the Americas: 1980s to 1990s. 1992.

Electronic sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank, Internet, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World News Connection (WNC).