Clashes during memorial of Chile's military coup

Demonstrators and police clashed in the Chilean capital Santiago on Thursday, during the 47th commemoration march of the military coup that ousted the government of Salvador Allende on Septermber 11, 1973.

Protesters threw stones and lit fire barricades while police used water cannon trucks to disperse the crowds behind the cemetery gates, where they gathered to pay respects on the memorial for the "Arrested and Disappeared" people during the regime that ended in 1990.

Dozens of people marched peacefully today, many wearing face masks but failing to comply with the social distancing measures that are in place in Chile due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to government figures, during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, at least 3,095 people were killed and tens of thousands more were tortured or jailed for political reasons.

Chilean courts have appointed special judges on human rights violations, with 447 defendants sentenced and 1,328 more put on trial between 2000 and 2018.

An amnesty law issued by Pinochet in 1978 shielded offenders who committed human rights abuses during the dictatorship's first five years, but has also not been applied since 1990, leading to the prosecution of hundreds of others.

(Image Credit Pixabay)