Pinochet victim marchers
clash with Chilean
police
Chilean marchers clashed
with police Sunday
during their annual
demonstration in memory
of victims of the
controversial former
ruler Gen. Augusto
Pinochet.
Police blocked an
estimated 5,000 marchers
from passing by the
presidential palace,
triggering a riot in
which protesters threw
rocks at the police, who
in return used water
cannons and tear gas.
The government feared a
repeat of last year's
incident at the palace,
where demonstrators
attacked the building
with a firebomb.
The latest clash ended
with 147 people arrested
and one police officer
injured, local media
reported.
Violent protests over
the former ruler have
occurred annually for a
number of years.
President Michelle
Bachelet said last year
that Pinochet had split
Chilean society right up
to his death.
Pinochet, who died on
Dec. 10, 2006 at the age
of 91, deposed President
Salvador Allende on
Sept. 11, 1973, in a
violent coup. Pinochet
eventually stepped down
on March 11, 1990.
He was charged with
torturing and murdering
thousands of leftwing
opposition members
during his 17-year rule.
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