ORDER LOGICAL
Under the title "Ordre Logique," Robert Escarpit, the satirical commentator for the Paris daily Le Monde, had the following to say September 28 about the way the Bolivian army opened its trial of Régis Debray:
"The trial of Régis Debray, it would seem, is offering an interesting innovation, since it opened with the summation by the prosecution before the charges were even read.
"The court, in short, has a much clearer idea of the punishment called for than it has of the crimes which it is asked to punish. No doubt at the end of the trial, it will be made known, and perhaps even substantiated, to what degree the defendant is guilty.
"All this is quite rational and ought to be considered a model for all political trials. But Régis Debray ' s attorney is right -- there is one error in the procedure at Camiri. Logically something was missing that should have been placed ahead of the summation -- the sentence."