2023-09-11 07:29:56
September 11 marks half a century since the overthrow of President Salvador Allende by a military coup led by Augusto Pinichet. This marked the history of Chile, as it was the beginning of 17 years of a dictatorial regime that left more than 40,000 victims, including imprisoned, disappeared, tortured and murdered.
The events that commemorate this date began this Sunday, September 10, with demonstrations in Santiago, Chile. On his Twitter account, the president, Gabriel Boric, stated that he participated in the marches that were organized by victims’ associations.
“Today the relatives of the disappeared detainees, tortured and politically executed by the Dictatorship participated in a march in which, after a long time, passage through Morandé 80 was authorized. I proudly participated with them because I am convinced that thanks to their tireless fight for truth and justice is that today we are here. We still owe them a lot as a country and that is the deep meaning of the National Search Plan,” he began writing.
(Also read: ‘Boric makes a mistake by being inspired by Salvador Allende’: former communist leader).
He also added: “At the end of this march, small groups of black hooded men sought to break up the demonstration. They broke windows and attacked groups and militants of political parties such as the JS, the PC and CS among others. They then caused chaos in the road and ended up brutally violating graves in the general cemetery, among them that of former senator Jaime Guzmán and the Carabineros Mausoleum.
These acts of vandalism were condemned by the President, because “their intolerance and violence should have no place in democracy and those who have participated in these acts must face the law and the rule of law,” he assured.
(Be sure to read: The links between Washington and the coup d’état in Chile that secret files point to).
However, he concluded that “there are many more of us who want to, and we are going to advance through social transformations in peace and dialogue.”
Today the relatives of the detainees who disappeared, tortured and executed politicians by the Dictatorship participated in a march in which, after a long time, passage through Morandé 80 was authorized. I proudly participated with them because I am convinced that thanks to their struggle…
— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) September 10, 2023
In Santiago de Chile there were several points of the demonstrations, but the most symbolic was in front of Morandé 80, the door of the Moneda Palace through which the body of President Allende, who ended his life during the attack of the coup forces.
Another important point of the commemoration was in the cemetery, where the traditional offering of flowers took place in front of the wall of the disappeared detainees. In that place, a poster with the faces of some victims was placed and the base was decorated with red carnations and candles.
What was Pinochet’s coup d’état like and what was the dictatorship like in Chile?
DANIELA LARRARTE ASAAD
DIGITAL SCOPE EDITORIAL
TIME
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