Exactly 50 years ago today, General Pinochet seized power in Chile. Already in the evening, thousands of people remembered the victims of military rule. There were isolated clashes with the police.
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the military coup, there was a memorial march for the victims of the dictatorship in Chile’s capital Santiago de Chile. The march traditionally began in the city center. The approximately 6,000 people marched to the city’s main cemetery, where the grave of socialist President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in 1973, is also located. There is also a memorial in the cemetery commemorating the victims of the military dictatorship.
On the way, the crowd stopped briefly at the La Moneda presidential palace, where then-President Allende was overthrown. According to the government, left-wing President Gabriel Boric also joined the memorial march. He is the first Chilean head of state to take part in the commemoration since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990.
Reports about individuals riots
According to reports and eyewitnesses, there were isolated riots at the Moneda government palace. Masked people then smashed the windows of the government palace. They broke through barriers and damaged the entrance to a cultural center in the basement of the building. Later, incendiary devices were thrown and barricades were set on fire before they were stopped by the police.
Some mausoleums in the cemetery appear to have been damaged, including the grave of a right-wing senator who was killed in 1991. “Those responsible for this violence are opponents of the government,” said Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve. According to him, three police officers were injured. The police used water cannons and three people were arrested.
Demonstrators are hit by a police water cannon as clashes erupt at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of General Pinochet’s military coup in Santiago, Chile.
Mostly peaceful demonstration
However, the majority of demonstrators marched peacefully through Santiago. Many relatives of victims who are still missing, tortured or murdered by the military also took part in the traditional march.
General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende on September 11, 1973 with the support of the US secret service CIA and took power himself. During his 17-year rule, more than 3,000 people were officially killed and more than 27,000 were imprisoned and tortured. The fate of more than 1,000 victims is still unknown.
Pinochet died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 91, without ever being convicted for the crimes under his rule.