[News] Chile: The Coup Against President Allende Was The First 9/11

Wed Sep 11 11:58:20 EDT 2019

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-The-Coup-Against-President-Allende-Was-The-First-911--20190911-0002.html 

  Chile: The Coup Against President Allende Was The First 9/11

September 11, 2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latin Americans remember September 11 as the date in which the 
Chilean Army, supported by the U.S.' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 
carried out a coup against the socialist President Salvador Allende. His 
death marked the beginning of the brutal dictatorship of Augusto 
Pinochet, the general who opened a cycle of neoliberal reforms, 
authoritarianism and violence against the South American peoples.

    /*RELATED:*/

    /*Thousands of Chileans March in Memory of Pinochet's Victims*/
    <https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Thousands-of-Chileans-March-in-Memory-of-Pinochets-Victims-20190909-0022.html>

At 7:30 A.M. on September 11, 1973, the democratically elected President 
Salvador Allende arrived at the Palacio de La Moneda in Santiago to be 
informed about the insubordination of the Navy in the city of 
Valparaiso. In the Chilean capital at that time, there was not much 
traffic or people in  the streets; everything seemed normal

A couple of hours later, however, the armed forces and 
the military police, "Los Carabineros", carried out a coup against the 
socialist government of the Popular Party.

 From the government headquarters, Allende addressed the Chileans at 
9:20 A.M. through Radio Magallanes; this would be his last speech.

    Sep 11 1973 - A military coup in Chile led by General Pinochet &
    backed by USA leads to the overthrow of President Salvador Allende's
    leftwing government. Allende is killed. Pinochet's regime institutes
    mass repression & kills 1000s. https://t.co/x6Uof4rLN4
    pic.twitter.com/jXRKSyfTwt <https://t.co/jXRKSyfTwt>

    — DailyRadical History (@radicaldaily) September 11, 2019
    <https://twitter.com/radicaldaily/status/1171714654323822592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

“I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them 
that I am certain that the seed which we have planted in the good 
conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled 
forever,” said the President who was entrenched in the Palacio de La Moneda.

Two years earlier, in December 1971, while facing sabotage and intrigues 
from the Chilean extreme right, Allende had already anticipated what his 
behavior would be in extreme situations.

“I will not step back. And let them know: I will leave La Moneda when I 
fulfill the mandate the people gave me.”

        The Dirty Hands of the United States

Based on Cold War logic, Salvador Allende's democratic administration 
meant a direct and immediate communist threat.

To overthrow it, then U.S. President Richard Nixon allocated millions of 
dollars, a fact which was confirmed decades later when declassified 
documents revealed the U.S.' participation in the rise of Augusto 
Pinochet's dictatorship, which kiled more than 40,000 people at the 
start of its reign.

"Nixon ordered the CIA to prevent President Allende from taking over the 
presidency," admitted Edward Korri, who was U.S. Ambassador to Chile 
from 1967 to 1970.

In an interview for the “Allende's last decision” documentary, Korri 
recalled that at a meeting with Nixon in Washington, the U.S. President 
spoke of the Chilean socialist politician, stating “how he was going to 
crush Allende, while hitting his hand with his fist. He called him a son 
of a bitch, too."

A few years later, a CIA document dated October 1, 1973, praised the 
coup d'état in Chile and called it almost "perfect."

        The Words that Will Never be Forgotten

For Latin Americans, September 11 is the day when Salvador Allende died. 
This democratic politician and physician was the first Marxist to ever 
be elected to the presidency in Chile.

“I address, above all, the modest woman of our land, the campesina who 
believed in us, the worker who labored more, the mother who knew our 
concern for children. I address Chilean patriotic professionals, those 
who days ago continued working against the sedition sponsored by 
professional associations, class-based associations, which also defended 
the advantages that a capitalist society grants to a few.”

    46 years ago, the U.S. backed a military coup in Chile that
    overthrew the democratically-elected socialist government of
    Salvador Allende and installed the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet,
    who murdered and tortured tens of thousands of Chileans.
    pic.twitter.com/vtqBnWy8ZN <https://t.co/vtqBnWy8ZN>

    — Zach Carter (@zachjcarter) September 11, 2019
    <https://twitter.com/zachjcarter/status/1171755195228983302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

For Latin Americans to forget its 9/11 would be to forget thousands of 
men and women who were tortured, killed and disappeared because of the 
military dicatorships of the 1970s and 1980s.

“I address the youth, those who sang and gave us their joy and their 
spirit of struggle. I address the man of Chile, the worker, the farmer, 
the intellectual, those who will be persecuted, because in our country 
fascism has been already present for many hours -- in terrorist attacks, 
blowing up the bridges, cutting the railroad tracks, destroying the oil 
and gas pipelines, in the face of the silence of those who had the 
obligation to protect them. They were committed. History will judge 
them.”

        Long Live the People! Long Live the Workers!

The coup that ended the life of thousands of Chileans was led by Augusto 
Pinochet, the man appointed by Allende as the Army Commander in 
Chief just a month before the 9/11.

Under his orders the army planes dropped more than 20 bombs on the 
Palacio de La Moneda. President Allende asked his cabinet members to 
leave; they did not. They remained there until their last moments.

Shattered crystals and walls turned into rubble. Dust and fire. One bomb 
after another. All the noise and images of this ignominy were captured 
and remain as historical records.

    In the lobby of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a huge
    display is installed of the broken glasses of Chilean President
    Allende, found after the US-backed coup on September 11, 1973.

    As a reminder of the threat US imperialism poses to this day.
    #NeverForget
    <https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverForget?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
    pic.twitter.com/bwp1WBQG1t <https://t.co/bwp1WBQG1t>

    — redfish (@redfishstream) September 11, 2019
    <https://twitter.com/redfishstream/status/1171770370971430912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Amid the chaos generated by the military's belligerence, Allende 
fulfilled his words: "I am not going to give up." While 
waiting for the final attack, the socialist politician continued 
addressing millions of citizens.

"Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men 
will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. 
Go forward knowing that, sooner rather than later, the great avenues 
will open again where free men will walk to build a better society."

"Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers! These are 
my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain."

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
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