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Riots in Chile lead to 100
arrests
One hundred people were
arrested and dozens more were
injured during the riots from
Sunday night to early Monday in
Chile after the death of former
President Augusto Pinochet.
Vice Minister of the Interior
Felipe Harboe condemned on
Monday the violent acts in
Santiago and urged people to
exert "social responsibility" in
order to avoid further
incidents.
"Security measures will be
enforced and we will demand
accountability from those who
try to exert violence. In this
country there is a right to
demonstrate, but not the right
to violence," he said.
Of the scores of people injured
during the riots, 43 were
policemen, he added.
Former President Augusto
Pinochet, 91, died on Sunday
without being held accountable
for any of his crimes, which
include the torture and murder
of thousands of leftist
opposition members.
"This is a national event, but
there is no reason for not
functioning in peace and calm,"
he stressed.
The government has planned a
wide security operation around
the Military School where there
will be a vigil over Pinochet's
remains, for fear that it might
become a violent scenario in the
capital.
Harboe reaffirmed the government
backs police actions in order to
prevent demonstrations from
getting out of control.
"Everything was provided for
thousands of people to express
themselves in a peaceful manner,
but a minority group did not
understand this and committed
acts of violence. When they
tried to overcome the police's
ring and to arrive near Morande
street (nearLa Moneda), the
carabineros had to proceed to
dissolve the group," Harboe
said.
On Sunday afternoon and evening
in Santiago, some 5,000
demonstrators took to the street
and about 1,000 people across
the country also participated in
the demonstration.
Supporters and opponents of
Pinochet gathered around the
Santiago Military Hospital where
the former president died.
On Sunday afternoon, Pinochet's
supporters attacked passing-by
vehicles around the hospital
with stones and Chilean police
were deployed on the street to
keep order.
Thousands of Chileans danced in
the streets to celebrate his
death, and police fired water
cannon and tear gas on
anti-Pinochet demonstrators who
threw back metal bars and
bottles and lit car-sized
bonfires on downtown streets.
Pinochet, who came into power
through a U.S.-supported coup in
1973, died Sunday at the
Military Hospital a week after
suffering a heart attack. He
will be buried with military
honors but without a state
funeral or national mourning.
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