Protests in memory of the victims of the dictatorship in Chile resulted in 284 detentions during the celebrations of September 11, the date of the military coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power in 1973. The demonstrations marked the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the dictatorship.
For the first time since the return of democracy to Chile in 1990, there were no official commemorations by the State. This absence of official ceremonies is believed to have contributed to an atmosphere of greater tension during the protests.
According to Chilean authorities, the protests resulted in 198 "acts of violence," reflecting the polarized environment surrounding the country's historical memory. Security forces had to intervene on several occasions to control the incidents.
The detentions occurred in a context of ongoing debate in Chile about how to deal with the legacy of Pinochet's dictatorship, which lasted 17 years and left thousands of victims of human rights violations.
