CHILE'S LAST REFUGEES LEAVE

By a Special Correspondent The massive refugee operation which has managed to move more than 6,000 foreign refugees from Chile to places of asylum in different parts of the world has been completed, according to the World Council of Churches.
Reports from Chile reaching W.C.C. head quarters in Geneva which has maintained a special Chile Emergency Desk since last October, indicate that 4.442 people moved through the Church refugee centres,
under the protection of the United Nations, since the crash operation began four months ago.
Another 1,000 have left through various embassies. Last
Sunday was the scheduled departure date for the last refugee.
The W.C.C. has committed some L260,000 to the refugee operation. It provided support for the Church-based refugee centres in Santiago and other cities and assistance with food, clothing, shelter, medical care, legal costs and transport for the foreign refugees who had taken refuge in Chile under the Allende government.
When the military junta seized power on September 11, the lives of many of the refugees were put at risk and there was a threat that they would by returned to their home governments. The largest groups of refugees came from Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia. After international representations had been made, in cluding appeals from the W.C.C. and the United Nations, a promise was made by the junta that the refugees could leave under international auspices. A First deadline of December 31 was set, which was.subsequently extended to February 3 when it proved difficult to find an adequate number of places of asylum in the time allowed.
Immediately after the coup, the Churches in Chile - Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox — formed a national committee for assistance to refugees, which was officially recognised as the channel for the refugees wishing to leave the country. Under the leadership of Lutheran Bishop Helmut Frenz, they began the difficult and delicate job of contacting the refugees, establishing reception centres and. in collaboration with the United Nations, finding places of asylum.
Shortly afterwards, the Chilean Churches established a second committee to deal with the problem of human rights in Chile in the aftermath of the coup. Many people have been imprisoned, many others thrown out of work. Widespread use of torture has been alleged against supporters of the former Allende government.
The largest number of refugees have been taken to France, Sweden, the German Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic. But places were also found in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and many other countries.
Although the movement and placement of the refugees has
been completed successfully, many problems remain. According to the W.C.C. Chile Desk. a number of social difficulties must be resolved.
Many governments have taken the refugees into "camps" and have so far provided only menial jobs to people who have good professional experience. Many of the refugees have become frustrated and are beginning to talk of themselves as "the industrial reserve army."
In Chile, attention now focuses much more intensively en the human rights concern. The Churches' Committee for Peace in Chile, jointly chaired by Bishop Fernando Ariztia and Bishop Frenz, has an important task to fulfil in helping the families who are being victimised, in making legal defence available to those who have been arrested, and in caring for those thrown out of work.
The W.C.C. is now seeking £260,000 in support of the committee's work and to aid ecumenical committees working among the thousands of refugees in other countries of Latin America, both Chilean and non-Chilean, who arc still seeking definite resettlement.
Archbishop Casaroli in Warsaw talks
Archbishop Agostino Casaroli, the Pope's "Foreign Minister," arrived in Warsaw on Monday for three days of talks with the Communist Government on Church-State relations. It was his first official visit to Poland, although he was there unofficially in 1971.
He has had discussions with Mr. Stefan Olszowski, the Foreign Minister, and Mr. Aleksander Skarzynski, deputy minister responsible for religious affairs.
Mr. Olszowski initiated the new approach by Poland to the Vatican in November, when he became the first official representative of the communist regime to be received by the Pope.
Although observers in Warsaw said it was probably too early to talk about an establishment of diplomatic relations, they thought the Vatican might agree to post an observer in Warsaw.
Poland's Catholic bishops arc hoping the negotiations will also lead to an improvement in the lot of believers in Poland, whom they estimate to number 30 million.
They have complained about restrictions on religious freedom, harassment of priests, insufficient permits to build new churches and lack of recognition of the Church's role in national life.