Today marks 50 years since the Chilean coup d'état in 1973, a bloody power grab from Augusto Pinochet which ended democracy in the country and was symbolised by the death of the ousted President Salvador Allende.
From now until 18 October, some 40 events in Brussels will commemorate the sombre coup and ensuing dictatorship which lasted until 1990, Belga News Agency reports.
According to Pierre Galand, President of the Comité National Chili that helped bring Chilean refugees to Belgium, the country was "exemplary" in taking in thousands who fled the Pinochet dictatorship.
Most notably, a commemorative event took place this morning and was followed by a gathering at Brussels City Hall, followed by a march to Gabrielle Petit Square and Salvador Allende Square, where participants were met by leaders of the Socialist Party and the regional FGTB trade union.
Tweet translation: Tribute to Salvador Allende at the City Hall. This great man left us on the day of the coup d'état 50 years ago. Today we remember his fight for a fairer Chile and a fairer world.
Other events include a photography exhibit at the Belgian Museum of Freemasonry in Brussels; an evening of conferences, debates and performances at the Maison de la Laïcité in Tournai; and a day dedicated to Salvador Allende at Brussels' ULB on 18 September.
The overthrow of democracy
Salvador Allende, a marxist candidate for the Popular Unity Party (Unidad Popular), was elected Chilean president in 1970 amid documented American interference.
Relations between the US and Chile worsened throughout Allende's mandate, particularly over his socialist sympathies and the nationalisation of Chilean companies, which also impacted US interests in the country. Between 1970 and the military coup of September 1973, the CIA allegedly spent $8 million in covert operations with the sanctioning of President Nixon and security advisor Henry Kissinger.
200 anti-Pinochet protestors hold a demo against British Minister Jack Straw's proposal to free the 84-year-old Chilean general on medical grounds, February 2000. Credit: Belga / Olivier Matthys
Several other issues, including rising inflation, decreased exports, and food shortages, caused widespread domestic unrest, leading to a first failed military coup attempt by a far-right party in June 1973.
On 11 September 1973, a second coup led by Defence Minister and Army Commander General Augusto Pinochet was successful with the alleged help of the CIA. Allende committed suicide during the siege of the presidential palace in Santiago. Pinochet declared himself president three days later.
The Chilean Congress was dissolved, and the Constitution was suspended. Two years later, in 1975, Pinochet put an end to elections, effectively terminating 46 years of democratic rule in Chile.
The coup, initially supported by the Chilean oligarchy, parts of the middle class, and many Christian democrats, quickly led to concerns over civil repression and mass human rights abuses. During Pinochet's 17-year rule, over 3,000 people disappeared or were killed, and tens of thousands became political prisoners.
Belgian help
In Belgium, the Comité National Chili was created to protect Chilean interests in Belgium, but then dissolved with the Allende's election. It was recreated following the coup in 1973 to rally Belgian civilian, political and institutional support for Chileans suffering under Pinochet's rule.
"At the time of the coup d'état, the Committee helped mobilise left-wing organisations, trade unions and NGOs to welcome thousands of refugees," Galand told Belga. He was one of the leading figures of socialist support for Chilean refugees during the 1970s and 80s.
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In the mid-70s, several associations banded together to create the Chilean Refugee Reception Collective (Collectif d'accueil aux réfugiés du Chili) to organise the reception of Chileans, many of whom were transported by the now-defunct Belgian airline Sabena and were taken in by many Belgian families.
Galand estimates that Belgium gave shelter to at least 8,000 Chileans during Pinochet's rule, though this figure is hard to verify today.
Women of the Association of Relatives of the Disappeared under the dictatorship of Pinochet. March 2001. Credit: Belga / Etienne Ansotte
"Belgium, both the authorities and the population, behaved in an exemplary way," Galand added. "I think we have the capacity in Belgium to go beyond ideological divides to respond to this type of situation. There was a fairly general feeling of respect for what Salvador Allende had put in place in Chile, even if their democratic model was different from ours."
A mission that continues today
"The aim of these commemorations and mobilisations is to remind people of the Popular Unity led by Allende. It is also an opportunity to recall how the West, and particularly the United States, used every means possible to destroy this ideal," Galand added, referring to the US's controversial involvement in the military coup.
"We also need to talk about Allende to the younger generations. Explain his humanism, his intelligence, his closeness to the people. It is not a question of sanctifying or mythologising him, but of recalling what a marker of humanity he was."
The Comité National Chili has since been dissolved, but Galand is now President of the Comité Allende 50, which organised the commemorations for the 50th anniversary of the Chilean coup d'état in Belgium that will run until 18 October.
