In a six-point army communique broadcast on Chilean TV, Colonel Alfredo Ewing also criticised anti-Pinochet protesters.

He said: "The Chilean Army has been deeply affected by the news. It is certain this is an abusive and humiliating measure, incompatible with basic legal principles that apply to someone who is an ex-head of state, ex-Commander-in-Chief of the Army and a senator."

The army had made it clear to the authorities that it took the development as an affront to Chile's sovereignty, he said.

"We Chileans are the victims of a process that is currently taking root, and is clearly an injustice and an affront to national sovereignty," he said.

"This is a situation the army has made clear to the highest authorities of the state and through all the bodies and channels the Constitution establishes for this purpose."

He said the steps taken by the Chilean government had not achieved their aims.

"A contributing factor has been the stance of people who have repeatedly undermined the steps taken at events inside and outside Chile," he said.

"As a result, the task of defending what the president has called a question of principle and what the President of the Supreme Court has said amounts to stamping on our sovereignty is incomplete."

He warned that the Army had taken note of the stance adopted by various figures during the Pinochet affair.