The Chilean army has declared another curfew as it struggles to contain violence that was initially triggered by transport fare hikes in Santiago, but spilled over beyond the capital, fueled by outrage over social inequality.
To prevent looting and arson attacks, thousands of armed troops have been patrolling the capital over the weekend, under the state of emergency introduced in Chile for the first time since the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Following another day of clashes with protesters, the general in charge of security in Santiago announced the extension of curfew until 6am Monday morning.
“This is not an action against the citizens, these are not restrictions for the sake of restrictions,” General Javier Iturriaga del Campo. “We do this to protect people’s lives.”
The death toll from the unrest has meanwhile increased after firefighters found five bodies in the basement of a looted and burnt-out warehouse. Earlier, at least three people were reported killed in two separate arson attacks on supermarkets.
Angry protesters were setting fires to busses and metro stations, as well as looting shops and destroying public property, authorities said, reporting over 100 “serious incidents” in which nearly 1,500 people were arrested across the country by Sunday, including 614 in Santiago alone.
The state of emergency has now been extended to five more cities beyond Santiago – and over 9,000 soldiers were deployed in the streets. Defending the military and government’s heavy-handed response to the crisis, President Sebastian Pinera stated:
Democracy not only has the right, it has the obligation to defend itself using all the instruments that democracy itself provides, and the rule of law to combat those who want to destroy it.
In a bid to defuse the crisis, Pinera hastily reversed the contentious transport fare hike, but it was not enough, as wider public discontent over the government’s economic policies and growing social inequality seemingly reached its tipping point.
Chile is facing it worst unrest in decades amid its year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gatherings, and just as Santiago prepares to greet Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and other world leaders next month.
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October 20, 2019 at 04:16PM
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‘Obligation to defend democracy’: Chilean army extends curfew as death toll in violent riots mounts (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
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October 20, 2019
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