By Sarah de Sainte Croix, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A commemoration by the military of Brazil’s 1964 military coup ended in chaos yesterday after it was hijacked by activists demonstrating on behalf of the people who were tortured or went missing during the military regime.
Reports suggest that between 300 and 400 protesters gathered outside the Clube Militar in downtown Rio, shouting that the military were murderers, torturers and cowards.
Protesters harangued military men arriving at the event, throwing eggs and in some cases physically accosting them.
They also threw a bucket of red paint over the front steps of the club to symbolize the blood shed by the military.
One protester was arrested and another was reportedly taken down by a police ‘stun gun.’ Police reportedly used tear gas to try and disperse the crowd.
In an O Globo report, the Governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Tarso Genro, said, “[The military] are being provocative; it is an affront to democracy and the Brazilian Constitution. This sort of thing is unacceptable after having achieved democracy.”
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