Chile: Marked 40 years since the coup

Chile marked the 40th anniversary of the coup that overthrew the socialist government and killed President Salvador Allende with incidents and calls for reconciliation.

"The time has come, after 40 years, not to forget, but to overcome the traumas of the past," Sebastián Pinjeda, the president of Chile, said at the ceremony in the Presidential Palace, calling for "national reconciliation."

"The best legacy we can leave to our children is to entrust them with a reconciled country," said Pinjera, the first right-wing president since the establishment of democracy in 1990.

Piñera again condemned those responsible for human rights violations in Chile, but also those who could have done more because they had the authority and responsibility, but did not do so.

The left gathered around former president Michelle Bachelet also held several events to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup.

Bachelet called for "building a country capable of progressing in greater justice and equality."

Senator Isabel Allende in front of the monument in honor of her father, the former president, in front of the palace where he was killed on September 11, 1973, said that Salvador Allende "would be proud to see students on the streets, demanding quality and free education".

She also called for "truth and justice" for more than 3.200 dead and 38.000 detained and tortured people under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

Several incidents occurred during the day, and according to police data, at least 68 people were arrested and five cars were set on fire during the riots.

After sharp clashes with the police, a dozen people were arrested, and several members of the order forces were injured.

In memory of the missing, last night about a thousand people gathered at the Santiago stadium, which after the coup was a prison and torture center for more than 40.000 people.

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