On the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup in Chile on September 11, 1973, several Chilean-Canadian organizations, human rights organizations and Latin American solidarity groups held an all-day rally at Parc des Amériques in Montreal. The organizers called on everyone to sign and circulate the petition “Freedom to All the Political Prisoners in Chile. They said:

“On September 11, 1973, the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende Gossens was overthrown in a military coup supported by Washington. The country then fell into a bloody dictatorship that lasted more than 17 years and left thousands dead. Tens of thousands are imprisoned and tortured while tens of thousands are deported or forced into exile.

“On October 18, 2019, thousands of people took to the streets to denounce the economic precariousness and the great social injustices maintained by the governments that followed the Pinochet dictatorship. The repression of Pinera’s government is brutal. Military and police violence resulted in deaths and hundreds of people were maimed. Tens of thousands of people are arrested and imprisoned under new laws that criminalize protests.”

To sign the petition click here