Who killed Chilean President Allende?

To honor the day of the victims of the coup d'etat on September 1, 1973, the Court of Appeal of Chile decided to put an end to the matter about the death of Salvador Allende. They agreed with the results of the last exhumation stating that the president had committed suicide and was not killed, as many of his colleagues believed. However, the authors of the appeal argue that the president was killed by "third parties."

The investigation, started by family members in the past year, considered three possible theories: a suicide of the president, involvement of friends or co-workers in Allende's death and the murder by "third parties", namely soldiers of Augusto Pinochet. The Court of Appeal issued a verdict on the appeal of Allende's socialist party (PSA) that did not agree with the conclusions announced in December of last year. It seems that the case was finalized as the "third parties" were not found.

Judge Mario Carros spoke about the president's last day. On Tuesday, September 11, 1973, at about eight in the morning, he came to the Palace of La Moneda from his home accompanied by a bodyguard. Around 9:30AM Allende had a meeting with his military advisers who urged him to leave the country on a military airplane that was waiting for him. However, the president said he would not surrender and would protect himself. He raised his Kalashnikov rifle and motioned shooting.

At 11:50AM an air raid and intense bombardment resulted in a fire and partial collapse of the second floor of the presidential palace. Donning a helmet, a machine gun in hand, Allende and his bodyguards went up to the second floor and assessed the situation. Then he ordered everyone in the building to leave to avoid putting their lives in danger. Then he said goodbye, went to the Independence Hall and shut the door. He sat on the couch, tucked the machine gun between his knees, put the barrel under his chin and pulled the trigger. His death was instantaneous. Witnesses said they heard one or two shots. According to the latest assessment, the cranial vault was fractured with a significant loss of brain tissue. Personal physician of President Patricio Gijon claimed that the President did not have a head above the eyebrows.

Carros told the court that the theory of the involvement of Allende's supporters in his death is not consistent because of the numerable testimonies. As for the theory of his murder by coup soldiers that was in the works for a long time, the witnesses who could testify have either disappeared or died. This theory is also refuted by the autopsy that showed there were no other bullet wounds, and the character of the wounds speaks in favor of suicide.

"The first soldiers who entered with Patricio Gijon and other numerous witnesses confirmed that the president had died without the involvement of a third party," said Carros.

But even if this was the case, it does not mean that "third parties" are free from any liability for the incitement to suicide, said attorney Roberto Avila representing the PSA. He believes that the Chilean justice does not consider an attack on La Moneda a crime, therefore this theory was not considered.

The attorney quoted by the newspaper La Tercera said that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those who jumped from the windows of the twin towers in the US in order to avoid an even more horrible death were victims of murder, not suicide. However, the court did not consider his argument. PSA representatives said they did not agree with the court's decision and will insist on the revision of the case up to the international courts.

National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Henry Kissinger remembers President Richard Nixon saying about Allende's victory in 1970 that he did not understand why he had to stand by and watch how the country was moving towards communism because of the irresponsibility of its own people. Here was a "third party", the true culprit of the death of Allende. It is no secret that he was a victim of the infamous CIA operation "Condor" designed to pursue and destroy the political opposition (mainly communists and socialists) in South America in 1970-1980. But under the current Chilean president Sebastián Piñera it would be impossible to get to the person who ordered the murder. Under Piñera the assessment of the reign of General Augusto Pinochet as a dictatorship disappeared from the textbooks. Now the children are taught that from 1973 to 1990 in Chile there was a "military regime."

What will the world remember about Salvador Allende? He was the first left politician on the continent who came to power through democratic means. He introduced free education, nationalized the copper industry, and began to pursue land and constitutional reforms, set price controls, increased the salaries of state employees.

According to the report of Valech Human Rights Commission given to Piñera last year, in 17 years of the "military regime" over 40,000 people have suffered, over three thousand people were killed or went missing. The testimony was declared classified for 50 years and cannot be used in court proceedings. From 1998 to 2006, Pinochet had been prosecuted, but never as a statesman. He died on December 10, 2006 surrounded by his family.

Lyuba Lulko

Pravda.Ru 

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