Clashes break out during Chile coup anniversary
Protesters have clashed with police during a march on the 45th anniversary of the United States-backed military coup in Chile that put long-time dictator Augusto Pinochet in power.
On Sunday, thousands of protesters marched to and gathered around the “Memorial Statue to the Disappeared” at the General Cemetery in the capital, Santiago, to commemorate the victims of the 1973 coup and the cruel 17-year dictatorship of General Pinochet.
Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the protesters, who threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and bottles back at police.
The US-backed coup d'état was staged against Salvador Allende, Chile’s first democratically-elected president, with the backing of the CIA on September 11, 1973. A leftist, Allende refused to leave the presidential palace even as it was bombed by Pinochet’s forces. He reportedly gave a live farewell speech on the radio and then shot himself as Pinochet’s troops approached.
Coup anniversaries have triggered violent protests in Chile in the past, as both Allende and Pinochet are divisive figures in the South American nation.
Nearly 3,200 people died or disappeared in political violence and about 28,000 others were tortured during Pinochet’s dictatorship, which lasted until 1990, according to government accounts.
From 1990 to 1998, Pinochet continued to serve as commander-in-chief of the Chilean army and then became a senator-for-life. However, he was arrested under an international arrest warrant on a visit to London on October 10, 1998 in connection with numerous human rights violations. Following a legal battle, he was released on the grounds of poor health and returned to Chile on March 3, 2000.
In 2004, Chilean Judge Juan Guzman Tapia ruled that Pinochet was medically fit to stand trial and placed him under house arrest.
By the time of his death on December 10, 2006 at the age of 91, about 300 criminal charges were still pending against him in Chile for numerous human rights violations during his 17 years of rule. He was also accused of tax evasion, embezzlement, and illegally amassing at least $28 million.
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