SANTIAGO (AFP) -- Former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, celebrated his 88th birthday on Tuesday in a defiant mood after drawing new flak over new comments about human rights abuses.

The octogenarian general gave a rare interview to a Miami television station on the eve of his birthday in which he denied responsibility for the deaths and disappearances of more than 3,000 of his opponents during his 1973-1990 rule.

His unyielding stance provoked renewed criticisms from government ministers and groups representing the victims of his regime.

"I don't have to ask for a pardon from anyone. To the contrary, the others, the Marxists, the Communists, should ask for my pardon," the general said in the interview broadcast on Monday.

"I feel like an angel," Pinochet said. Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza, said however: "Pinochet possesses the same inhumanity as ever." Insulza on Tuesday described Pinochet's remarks as "pathetic."

Pinochet led a September 11, 1973 coup that overthrew the elected government of Marxist president Salvador Allende. He was later declared mentally unfit by Chile's Supreme Court to stand trial on murder and kidnapping charges related to atrocities under his rule.

Pinochet admitted in the interview that excesses had occurred under his rule, but he said they were committed by "people that did not exercise any self-control," blaming junior military officers.

"He continues to be detestable every day, he continues to pass his responsibilities on to his subalterns," complained Viviana Paz, secretary for a group representing the families of those who disappeared under Pinochet's reign.

The general hosted a private birthday lunch with family members and supporters at his private residence at the coastal resort of Bucalemu, 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Santiago.

In his defiant interview with Miami's Channel 22, Pinochet also said: "I send my greetings to the people of Miami and tell them I desire, sincerely, and very soon the liberation from Satan," in reference to Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Conservative lawmaker Ivan Moreira said the administration of Chilean President Ricardo Lagos should not "make a tempest out of a teapot," over the general's remarks.

Pinochet, who suffers from diabetes and age-related ailments, has twice been hospitalized this year.