The role of the Armed Forces divides the Chilean political system 50 years after the coup d’état

Preparations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1973 coup d’état on September 11 resulted in nuances over the role of the Armed Forces.

While for the left wing, the military must provide information in its possession, right-wing legislators claim that “it can be humiliating” for the uniformed personnel.

In preparations for commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1973 coup d’état in Chile, the Chilean government opened a round of consultations with political parties to agree on the official acts to commemorate the coup against Salvador Allende on September 11.

On the way to a commemoration that honors democracy and contemplates all Chileans, Gabriel Boric’s administration must overcome a major stumbling block: the role of the Armed Forces.

The Minister of Interior and Public Security, Carolina Tohá, daughter of the assassinated former Minister of Interior and Defense of the Popular Unity Government (1970-1973) José Tohá, was one of the government officials who put the issue on the table regarding the current role of the Armed Forces in controlling fires in the Araucanía and Bío-Bío regions (south) and the custody of the unauthorized border crossings in the north.

Tohá commented to Cooperativa radio station that it is impossible to deny the “trauma with the history that there is in Chile with the Armed Forces” for their participation, under the command of Augusto Pinochet (1974-1990), in the coup d’état.

In any case, she remarked that her disagreements with the Armed Forces point to “when the law is not complied with,  the Constitution is violated, and people’s rights are taken away” and not in situations of the legal use of force.

“I have no trauma regarding a Parliament that democratically gives a mandate to the Armed Forces, tells them ‘you have this task’, gives them a legal framework to do it, and demands them to fulfill that task according to the law”, said Minister Tohá.

She added that the next anniversary of the 1973 coup d’état would have the “necessary maturity in society” as a central theme to face this issue.

For the congresswoman of the ruling Communist Party of Chile, María Candelaria Acevedo, the Armed Forces must have in the commemorative acts “a very respectful role towards those of us who suffered human rights violations during the civil-military dictatorship”.

For the legislator, beyond the event, it is “essential” that the military “reveal the information they have, definitively breaking the pacts of silence that have led to the unfortunate relationship that exists between citizens and the Armed Forces”.

On the opposite side of the aisle, the former mayor of Santiago and current congressman of the Independent Democratic Union (right), Jorge Alessandri, was more cautious about the Armed Forces.

“Perhaps telling the Armed Forces to sit at the table may be a bit humiliating since we know that they are not deliberative”, reported Radio Cooperativa.

In addition, Alessandri appealed to the economic argument to express his opinion on the event. For the deputy, “what is important” is that the commemorative event will be financed “with money from all Chileans”, which according to the legislator, implies that “one has to listen to all opinions”.

Many of the accusations regarding the current role of the Armed Forces point to the figure of Maya Fernández Allende, current Minister of Defense in Gabriel Boric’s government and Allende’s granddaughter.

In addition to leading the Armed Forces, the minister must deal with pressures from the left that supports Boric’s government and Human Rights organizations that demand truth and justice for the crimes committed during the dictatorship.

“We need Armed Forces that belong to all Chileans,” the minister summarized in statements to Radio Universidad de Chile, remarking that politics and the Armed Forces must be able to “understand each other and be able to answer back.”

On the other hand, she rejected that the military is used to protect internal public order.

When asked about the best way to commemorate the half-century of the coup d’état, Fernández Allende considered that “respect for democratic values is the greatest lesson we can give to the new generations. We can think differently, and we must be able to dialogue, without violating anyone’s human rights”.

In this line, she vindicated the figure of Salvador Allende, whom she defined as “a deeply democratic man, who believed in democracy, in the respect for human rights”.

With information from Sputnik