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Remembering
the Atrocities of 9/11 - 34 Years Ago
By NY Transfer
09/11/07 "ICH"
--- - Some of us have been marking the atrocities of
September 11 for 34 years. On September 11, 1973, Nixon,
Kissinger and their pals at ITT went beyond "making the Chilean
economy scream" and enjoyed a full-blown military assault
against Chile which began the bloody fascist coup there. Here is
a very brief history of that September 11 from Wikipedia, which
offers extensive links to some other basic readings and
chronologies. (See sources at the end). On September 11, 2003,
people asked "Why Do they hate US?" The events of September 11,
1973 were just one good, ironic example. - NY Transfer
***
Salvador Allende (1905-1973) died on September 11, 1973 The
Democratically elected Socialist President of Chile (1970-1973)
was overthrown and died during the US-backed Pinochet fascist
coup when La Moneda Palace in Santiago was bombed by the Chilean
military.
Brief Wikipedia Summary
On September 11, 1973, a military coup d'etat removed Allende.
The intervention was extremely violent from the very beginning.
The military surrounded La Moneda with tanks and infantry troops
and bombed it with Hawker Hunter fighter jets. The president and
some of his aides were besieged in the palace. Allende refused
to surrender, and addressed the nation for a last time in a
potent farewell speech
(see below).
The worst violence occurred in the first few months after the
coup, with the number of suspected leftists killed or
"disappeared" soon reaching into the thousands. In the days
immediately following the coup, the National Stadium was used as
a concentration camp holding
40,000 prisoners. Some of the most famous cases of "desaparecidos"
are Charles Horman, a U.S. citizen who was tortured and killed
during the coup itself; Chilean songwriter Víctor Jara,
murdered while held prisoner at the Chile Stadium immediately
after the coup, and the October 1973 Caravan of Death (Caravana
de la Muerte) where at least 70 persons were killed.
Approximately 130,000 individuals were arrested in a three-year
period, with the number of dead and "disappeared" reaching into
the thousands within the first few months. Most of the people
targeted had been supporters of Allende.
*** Allende's Last Speech
My friends, Surely this will be the last opportunity for me to
address you. The Air Force has bombed the antennas of Radio
Magallanes.
My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be
a moral punishment for those who have betrayed their oath:
soldiers of Chile, titular commanders in chief, Admiral Merino,
who has designated himself Commander of the Navy, and Mr.
Mendoza, the despicable general who only yesterday pledged his
fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has
appointed himself Chief of the Carabineros [paramilitary
police].
Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to
workers: I am not going to resign! Placed in a historic
transition, I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life.
And I say to them that I am certain that the seeds which we have
planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of
Chileans will not be shriveled forever.
They have force and will be able to dominate us, but social
processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is
ours, and people make history.
Workers of my country: I want to thank you for the loyalty that
you always had, the confidence that you deposited in a man who
was only an interpreter of great yearnings for justice, who gave
his word that he would respect the Constitution and the law and
did just that. At this definitive moment, the last moment when I
can address you, I wish you to take advantage of the lesson:
foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction,
created the climate in which the Armed Forces broke their
tradition, the tradition taught by General Schneider and
reaffirmed by Commander Araya, victims of the same social sector
who today are hoping, with foreign assistance, to re-conquer the
power to continue defending their profits and their privileges.
I address you, above all, the modest woman of our land, the
campesina who believed in us, the mother who knew our concern
for children. I address professionals of Chile, patriotic
professionals who continued working against the sedition that
was supported by professional associations, classist
associations that also defended the advantages of capitalist
society. 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 act. They were committed. History will judge them.
Surely Radio Magallanes will be silenced, and the calm metal
instrument of my voice will no longer reach you. It does not
matter. You will continue hearing it. I will always be next to
you. At least my memory will be that of a man of dignity who was
loyal to his country.
The people must defend themselves, but they must not sacrifice
themselves. The people must not let themselves be destroyed or
riddled with bullets, but they cannot be humiliated either.
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 and free men will walk
through them to construct 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, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be
a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason.
Santiago de Chile, 11 September 1973
Source: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d'%C3%A9tat
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Salvador_Allende%27s_Last_Speech
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