Andrei Kuznetsov
4th November 2003, 21:08
Remembering September 11, 1973
The U.S.-Backed Coup In Chile
Revolutionary Worker #1214, October 5, 2003, posted at rwor.org (http://rwor.org/)
We received the following from A World to Win News Service.
15 September 2003. A World to Win News Service.-
For many people around the world September 11 has been a day of mourning for 30 years. On that other September 11 in 1973, the U.S. backed a coup that overthrew the elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende. On that day of infamy and in the months and years that followed, thousands of Chileans and other nationals were herded into sports stadiums, onto islands and into desert concentration camps to be tortured and executed.
No one can say for sure how many people were murdered. At the time, Chilean revolutionaries spoke of tens of thousands of victims. Today's Chilean government says 3,000, but the armed forces that committed that crime still have the last word over political events that displease them and they are not interested in counting. Some estimates say that 400,000 people were tortured. A whole generation of intellectuals and others who could escape was driven into exile.
The dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet ruled with impunity for 17 years. Under laws he made before stepping down, he and other murdering officers still enjoy impunity.
They are not the only ones. President Nixon is dead, but his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who played a central role in the coup has never been called to account. Top Bush officials have explained that one reason why the U.S. refuses to recognise the World Court in the Hague is the possibility that Kissinger would be indicated for crimes that are, after all, a matter of public record. In 1973, Nixon's UN Ambassador George Bush senior stood before the UN and blatantly lied that the U.S. had no role in the overthrow of Allende. Margaret Thatcher considered Pinochet a close friend and harbored him in England. All of these people have much blood on their hands.
In fact, all of today's powers would like to pretend that these things never happened. A few months ago the Chilean Navy almost succeeded in sending the Esmeralda on a tour of the UK and Europe to promote a pretty picture of Chilean-European military cooperation. This sailing ship was once used to train sailors and, in the days after September 11, 1973, as a floating torture chamber. No government raised its voice against this travesty until the ship was turned away from European ports by activists determined not to let its ugly history be forgotten.
More at http://rwor.org/a/1214/awtw-chile.htm
The U.S.-Backed Coup In Chile
Revolutionary Worker #1214, October 5, 2003, posted at rwor.org (http://rwor.org/)
We received the following from A World to Win News Service.
15 September 2003. A World to Win News Service.-
For many people around the world September 11 has been a day of mourning for 30 years. On that other September 11 in 1973, the U.S. backed a coup that overthrew the elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende. On that day of infamy and in the months and years that followed, thousands of Chileans and other nationals were herded into sports stadiums, onto islands and into desert concentration camps to be tortured and executed.
No one can say for sure how many people were murdered. At the time, Chilean revolutionaries spoke of tens of thousands of victims. Today's Chilean government says 3,000, but the armed forces that committed that crime still have the last word over political events that displease them and they are not interested in counting. Some estimates say that 400,000 people were tortured. A whole generation of intellectuals and others who could escape was driven into exile.
The dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet ruled with impunity for 17 years. Under laws he made before stepping down, he and other murdering officers still enjoy impunity.
They are not the only ones. President Nixon is dead, but his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who played a central role in the coup has never been called to account. Top Bush officials have explained that one reason why the U.S. refuses to recognise the World Court in the Hague is the possibility that Kissinger would be indicated for crimes that are, after all, a matter of public record. In 1973, Nixon's UN Ambassador George Bush senior stood before the UN and blatantly lied that the U.S. had no role in the overthrow of Allende. Margaret Thatcher considered Pinochet a close friend and harbored him in England. All of these people have much blood on their hands.
In fact, all of today's powers would like to pretend that these things never happened. A few months ago the Chilean Navy almost succeeded in sending the Esmeralda on a tour of the UK and Europe to promote a pretty picture of Chilean-European military cooperation. This sailing ship was once used to train sailors and, in the days after September 11, 1973, as a floating torture chamber. No government raised its voice against this travesty until the ship was turned away from European ports by activists determined not to let its ugly history be forgotten.
More at http://rwor.org/a/1214/awtw-chile.htm