Chile's President Eduardo Frei flew home yesterday to a political storm, with the country's eight-year-old democracy facing a tough test over the arrest of former dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet.
Returning from Europe where he had attended an Ibero-American summit in Portugal, Mr Frei said he had already made his position on the arrest clear, and called on Chileans to show "calm and tranquillity" over the affair.
The arrest of Gen Pinochet has unified the country's fractured political right. But it has opened old wounds in Mr Frei's ruling centre-left coalition, raising the possibility the governing alliance could collapse ahead of a presidential election in December next year.
Arriving at Santiago's airport yesterday morning, Mr Frei began outlining the agenda of talks he was due to hold later in the day with President Alberto Fujimori of Peru and President Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador on those countries' long-running border dispute.
Reporters interrupted him to question him on the arrest of Gen Pinochet in London last Friday. Mr Frei, looking slightly tense, said: "Excuse me, I am speaking. The country knows my position on that perfectly well. The position of the government is clear." Britain arrested Gen Pinochet (82), after receiving an extradition request from a Spanish judge seeking to prosecute him for crimes committed during his country's "dirty war". Gen Pinochet, who had travelled on a diplomatic passport, was recovering from back surgery in a private London hospital.
The Chilean government has urged London to uphold diplomatic immunity for the former commander-in-chief of the army.
The arrest of Gen Pinochet has thrown Chile into political turmoil. There have been nightly demonstrations in the capital, Santiago.
Police said yesterday that 117 people were arrested overnight as demonstrations by both supporters of the former general and anti-Pinochet activists turned violent in the city.
Pro-Pinochet activists threw stones, eggs and rotting fruit at the British embassy and police made 83 arrests in clashes, authorities said. Four people were injured.
Police fired water-cannon and tear gas at a separate march by around 1,000 students chanting anti-Pinochet slogans.
Witnesses said the students replied by throwing Molotov cocktails and paint bombs.
Chile's navy yesterday cancelled trips to Britain and Spain by its two top commanders in a tacit protest at the arrest of the former dictator. The navy said in a statement it was worried about the detention of Gen Pinochet last Friday and took the decision to call off the visits to show a coherent front with the government.