Chileans Commemorate 40th Anniversary of Their 9/11: the Brutal Pinochet Coup

Today, Chileans are remembering their equally tragic 9/11: the violent Pinochet military coup that took place on September 11, 1973. 

Survivors of the coup are commemorating the tragic date as the U.S. remembers the catastrophic 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans 12 years ago. Today marked the end of the weeklong Chilean commemoration of the calamitous coup that led to the repressive 17-year dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet. 

The Chilean military coup, which was backed by the CIA, ousted democratically elected president Salvador Allende and propped up the brutal dictator, Slate confirms. The military staged the coup by flying jets over Santiago and bombing the presidential palace, killing Salvador Allende, Latin America's first freely elected socialist president. Although Allende's presidency was marked by the repression of dissent and other undemocratic practices, he did not commit the atrocities perpetrated by his successor. 

The new president, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, led a repressive military regime that killed, tortured and exiled tens of thousands of Chilean citizens. AlJazeera America reports that more than 3,200 people were murdered or disappeared under the regime between 1973 and 1990, and 40,000 people were jailed as political prisoners, many of whom were tortured. The autocratic regime thrived economically, but showed blatant disregard for human rights. 

According to Amnesty International, at least 262 Chileans who served in the regime in some capacity have been sentenced for human rights violations. 

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights on Monday. During his visit, the president denounced the coup, but said that it was a "predictable outcome" after "violations of the rule of law" under Allende's government.

AlJazeera America reports that Piñera said he wants to close the "wounds" of the Pinochet regime and asserted his government's promise to promote "a culture of tolerance and respect for human rights."

Piñera referenced a well-known adage about why we must remember the past. "We have to remember," he said, "because when we forget, sometimes we commit the same mistakes."

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, who is running for a second term as the center-left New Majority party candidate, visited the Villa Grimaldi on Monday, the famous building that Pinochet's secret police used to interrogate and torture political prisoners. Bachelet and her mother, Angela Jeria, were imprisoned and tortured at the Grimaldi weeks after the coup. 

"Today I return as a survivor of Villa Grimaldi," Bachelet said. "The families of victims and I hope that we can build a country that's capable of progressing in a more peaceful, just and egalitarian manner."

Bachelet wants a full investigation into the humans rights abuses that were committed during the Pinochet regime. According to reports, Bachelet's father died from a heart attack after being tortured by Pinochet's secret police.

On Monday, thousands of protesters marched through Santiago, most carrying photos of family members killed or disappeared during the regime. When the protesters reached La Moneda, Chile's presidential palace, the crowd of over 1,000 people laid down on the ground in remembrance of the people killed under the military junta. 

After the march, police restrained protesters with water cannons and tear gas. As in previous years, the peaceful marches turn into riots, due to anger over the horrors of the old regime and the dearth of Pinochet criminals being brought to justice. 

Forty years after that tragic day, Chile will continue to exercise their freedom from tyranny with a presidential election this November.