Heavy Coverage of Sept 11 anniversary. 3,000+ killed remembered. (Chile)

[coda]

In one fell swoop of a quote, Kissinger makes the case for terror, murder, and right-wing dictatorships over democracy.

"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people."

National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger



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CHILE:
Heavy TV Coverage Surrounds 30th Anniversary of Coup

As the 30th anniversary of the Sep. 11, 1973 coup d'etat in Chile approaches, TV coverage of the crimes against humanity committed by the 1973-1990 dictatorship is so heavy that some analysts warn against overload.
Others, however, welcome the new media openness towards issues that remain highly divisive and controversial.


Gustavo González

SANTIAGO, Sep 5 (IPS)-

<snip>

The new focus has even been taken up by TV stations that until recently shied away from reporting on and investigating questions surrounding the 3,000 political murders and forced disappearances committed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet's de facto military regime.

Local stations have not only dusted off their footage of the bloody coup that overthrew democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende (1971-1973), but are taking a new approach to human rights questions, no longer merely echoing the official version of events imposed by the dictatorship.

For example, the media have stopped using terms like the ''alleged detained-disappeared'' or ''supposed torture victims,'' and the right's claim that the dictatorship's human rights violations were an invention of ''international communism'' has been laid to rest.

<snip>

''We have to remember that more than 60 percent of the population of Chile is under 30. That means they did not experience the coup, and perhaps this overkill is compensating for everything that was not talked about or explained during 17 years of military government, when only one voice was heard,'' Pavlovic remarked to IPS.



more....


http://www.proutworld.org/news/sep/20030905chi.htm



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[no name no slogan]

1. It's amazing...

to see Chile actually acknowledging its past in a truthful way. Previously, apologists for Pinochet would be all over the place, denouncing Allende as a Soviet pawn, claiming that Pinochet "saved" Chile from dictatorship and that the "disappeared" either didn't exist or were not as great in number as others claimed.

Maybe Chile will follow Argentina's lead and revoke the immunity of the war criminals that still walk free. Maybe this country could do its part by turning Henry Kissinger over to an international war crimes court for trial.

Maybe some day our country can stop pursuing a corrupt foreign policy that prefers violence and "stability" to human rights and democracy. Maybe we can stop worrying about "our interests" and think about the interests of all humanity.

This year, I'm hopeful, for a change.