Chilean president calls for calm after Pinochet decision

Chilean President Eduardo Frei on Wednesday urged political parties to show "responsibility and maturity" over former dictator Augusto Pinochet's decision to postpone his retirement from the Army, the Argentine news agency Telam reported.

"I ask for maturity and responsibility from all the political players involved," the agency quoted Frei as saying.

He added that Pinochet's decision "does not entail any change, nor will it damage civilian-military relations" .

Frei attacked legislators in the lower house of Congress for shouting and exchanging insults on hearing the news, which also resulted in scuffles breaking out in the public galleries.

"I am not going to characterize these acts.

I would only like to say that all those parties concerned have displayed quite a lack of maturity and responsibility," Frei said.

Pinochet announced earlier his decision to postpone his retirement as Army commander in chief.

Initially, he said he would leave his post on 26th January to be sworn in - still in January - as senator for life, a seat created by the Constitution written under his dictatorship.

The Defence Ministry confirmed that the general - who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990 - will not leave his post until 10th March, the deadline established by the 1980 Constitution.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.