Chile coup anniversary pilgrimage sees clashes with police

A traditional pilgrimage to Santiago's General Cemetery on the anniversary of Chile's 1973 military coup was disrupted on Sunday by violent confrontations between demonstrators and police.

Authorities reported at least 29 people were detained and one person injured during the unrest. Protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at riot police, who responded with water cannons. The clashes erupted along the procession route and continued outside the cemetery grounds.

Hundreds of participants had gathered for the annual commemorative march, walking through downtown Santiago to the cemetery to pay tribute to victims of the dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet, which lasted from 1973 to 1990. During that period, thousands were killed, forcibly disappeared, or driven into exile.

Among those attending was Alondra Malhue Alvarado, whose father was a victim of the regime. "It's not only part of my story, it's part of a country, it's part of the history of a country that suffered a lot," she said. "I believe this cannot happen again, and ignoring and forgetting it means allowing this to happen again."

Another attendee, Monica Arias Flores, a relative of a victim, expressed the enduring pain of the era. "It is difficult for me, it is very difficult for me," she said. "I don't think there is a single relative who will forget, who does not want to remember."

Groups also performed tributes at the cemetery, including the "Red Devils of Víctor Jara," who shouted the names of those executed during the dictatorship. Flowers were laid at graves and memorials as part of the remembrance activities.