COUNTING COUP:

September 11 in Chile—clashes on coup’s anniversary (Bill Vann, 14 September 2002, World Socialist Web Site)

In Chile, September 11 was marked by violent clashes between demonstrators and Carabinero military police, resulting in over 500 arrests and scores of wounded.

While the media in the US and Western Europe concentrated exclusively on ceremonies marking the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Chile was rocked by protests in observance of the 29th anniversary of the US-backed coup that inaugurated 17 years of brutal military dictatorship.

That September 11, in 1973, also saw planes flying low over a country’s largest city, leaving one of its most important buildings in flames and its people in a state of shock. But in Chile it was the bombing of the La Moneda presidential palace, where the elected president, Salvador Allende, died. The attack inaugurated a bloodbath from which Chile has yet to recover.

Not recovered? Chile is today a free nation in political terms and one of the freest in the world in economic terms. It is actually the freest in Latin America, followed by El Salvador, where the U.S. likewise intervened, despite the protests of the Left. At the bottom of the list, you'll find nations like Cuba and Venezuela, which such people adore. We always do well to remember that not all those who despise freedom celebrated on 9/11/01, some still mourn 9/11/73. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 16, 2002 7:03 PM