Pinochet Bids Presidency Farewell : Chile: Quayle will be on hand today for Aylwin’s inauguration, ending 16 years of military rule.

SANTIAGO, Chile —  President Augusto Pinochet bade farewell to the nation Saturday night as U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle and scores of other dignitaries arrived for the inauguration today of Pinochet’s elected successor, ending 16 1/2 years of military rule.

Pinochet received the presidents of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in protocol visits, but several other leaders delayed their arrival until today to avoid paying their respects to the 74-year-old army general before he steps down. Quayle planned to make the protocol visit to Pinochet this morning.

Police reported 10 minor bomb explosions Friday night at government buildings and a Mormon Church, leaving three passers-by with impaired hearing. An 11th small plastic-explosive bomb was deactivated. Police said they were tightening the already massive security operation, involving 9,000 officers.

About 50 relatives of political prisoners occupied the national cathedral, where a Mass is scheduled Monday to honor incoming President Patricio Aylwin, and vowed to stay until about 400 prisoners are freed. Aylwin’s aides negotiated with the demonstrators to persuade them to leave.

The incidents illustrated some of the legacies of the Pinochet era that Aylwin will confront during his four-year term, but they appeared to have little impact on the mood of festive expectation on the eve of the transition.

The arrival of delegations from more than 40 countries for what organizers called “the fiesta of democracy” signaled the end of Chile’s pariah status during the Pinochet years. Aylwin plans to restore diplomatic relations today with the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, many of which had offered refuge to Chilean exiles expelled by the Pinochet regime.

The last head of state to visit Chile was the Brazilian military president in 1982. Pinochet had to cancel a trip to the Philippines in 1980 when the invitation was withdrawn while he was in mid-flight.

In a final presidential address to the nation Saturday night, Pinochet appealed to Chileans “to unite our efforts on behalf of the new authorities of the government of Patricio Aylwin, who must carry forward the responsibilities of consolidating all the advances that we have achieved.”

“I want to express our satisfaction and legitimate pride,” he said, in having worked unceasingly “to save our freedom and to build democracy, and make of Chile a country increasingly prosperous and just.

“I was disposed always to confront the enemies of freedom and democracy, with neither fear nor oscillations,” he said. “I am certain that we will once again unite in one single force that will assure the success of the next government.”

Echoing a warning he has issued before, Pinochet added: “Let us not be complacent about the achievements of these past 16 years, because human works can be fragile, and can be destroyed quickly. To advance to new horizons, we must keep ourselves constantly alert in the face of those who are always willing to suffocate the bases of growth and of peaceful coexistence.”

Aylwin, the 71-year-old centrist leader of the Christian Democratic Party who was elected in December, will take the oath of office today in the new Congress building in Valparaiso, 75 miles west of Santiago. Thirty-eight senators and 120 members of the House of Deputies also will be sworn in, thus reviving the Congress that Pinochet disbanded after a coup by the armed forces and police in September, 1973, against the government of Marxist President Salvador Allende.

Under the military-drafted 1980 constitution, Pinochet will stay on as commander of the army after he leaves the presidency, and his relations with Aylwin are tense. The new president will face pressure from human rights groups to prosecute officers for human rights offenses during the dictatorship, including the disappearances of an estimated 772 people. But Pinochet has insisted that he will not tolerate action against “my men.”

An Aylwin aide said that he expects at least a few political prisoners to be released almost immediately. Aylwin, a lawyer and former senator, has said he will review all the prisoners’ cases.

The bombings were considered the work of a small far-left fringe that has carried out periodic attacks, including the killings of policemen, in the months leading up to Pinochet’s departure. Most left-wing groups, including the Communist Party and the Revolutionary Left Movement, have denounced the attacks as senseless in an era of renewed democracy.

Aylwin told reporters: “Acts like this disgust me. One asks who could be doing something like this now. I believe there is a spirit of understanding now to seek peaceful solutions in this country.”

Another blast in a park across the street from the U.S. Consulate proved to be a gas explosion, set off by a gardener who lit a match in his tool shed, a police spokesman said.

U.S. Embassy spokesman James Dandridge added: “We have no reason to think (the bombings) have anything to do with Quayle’s visit. We’ve received no indication, no threats of any kind.”