Thousands of anti-govt. protesters flood streets of Chilean capital, clash with police
Thousands of protesters have flooded the streets of Chilean capital Santiago and clashed with anti-riot police, as tensions continue to remain high in the Latin American country.
Demonstrators on Friday also attended performances by musical groups in Plaza Italia, the site of some of the largest demonstrations in Santiago.
They burned President Sebastian Pinera’s effigy to express their strong dissent against his government. The protesters also clashed with security forces, torching a police vehicle as officers fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.
According to the UN researchers on Friday, Chilean police responded to recent mass protests in a “fundamentally repressive manner,” resulting in serious abuses, including unlawful killings and torture.
The UN Human Rights Council said Chilean police had failed to distinguish between peaceful and violent protesters, leading to deaths and serious injuries.
The crisis in the South American country erupted in mid-October over metro fare hikes. However, it swiftly unraveled into the most severe outbreak of social unrest since the end of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet some three decades ago.
The anti-government protests have the past two months, the protests at times escalated into violent riots, looting and arson.
However, they say for the most part their movement has been peaceful as they push for efforts to reduce inequality in Chile.
Pinera’s government has promised a raft of reforms to quell protesters' demands, from beefing up the minimum wage to topping off pensions.
Dozens of people have so far lost their lives and thousands more injured in the rallies.
Furthermore, over 2,000 officers have been injured since the onset of protests, about 127 of them seriously, according to police.
The National Human Rights Institute says more than 15,000 people have so far been detained, many of them being ill-treated.
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