SANTIAGO – The remains of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, who died unrepentant for the mass torture and murder during his regime, were cremated late Tuesday following a military ceremony attended by thousands.
President Michelle Bachelet, whose father was tortured and died during Pinochet’s 1973-1990 regime, and who herself was tortured alongside her mother, denied the former de facto ruler of Chile a funeral befitting a former head of state. Guests and relatives of the late dictator, who died Sunday due to complications from a heart attack at the age of 91, crammed into a patio at the Santiago Military School for a military funeral.Despite repeated attempts Pinochet was never brought to trial for the 3 000 people killed during his regime.At the funeral mourners jeered Defence Minister Viviane Blanlot – the sole representative of Bachelet’s Socialist government – and cheered when Pinochet’s grandson spoke to justify the bloody coup.Nampa-AFPGuests and relatives of the late dictator, who died Sunday due to complications from a heart attack at the age of 91, crammed into a patio at the Santiago Military School for a military funeral.Despite repeated attempts Pinochet was never brought to trial for the 3 000 people killed during his regime.At the funeral mourners jeered Defence Minister Viviane Blanlot – the sole representative of Bachelet’s Socialist government – and cheered when Pinochet’s grandson spoke to justify the bloody coup.Nampa-AFP
