Chilean president appoints new army chief

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet appointed General Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba Poblete as new commander in chief of the army on Friday, replacing general Oscar Izurieta.

Fuente-Alba is scheduled to take office on March 9, 2010. However, the appointment aroused objections from human rights organizations, since he has been accused of being involved in a series of massive fusillades during the military regime of 1973-1990.

In response, government spokeswoman Carolina Toha said Fuente-Alba "does not have any pending issues with the justice," and he was accused by "brigadier Pedro Espinoza, who is a person with many sentences for violating human rights, and he has been characterized for giving false proofs in this and many other cases."

Source:Xinhua