I know…how is this even possible? (Well, I have an idea, but we’ll get to that in a moment.) While we’re on the subject of all things Chile and Chile-related today (a sheer, strange coincidence), how about this little item from the Beeb?
A Chilean commission investigating human rights abuses under the former military leader Gen Augusto Pinochet says there are many more victims than previously documented.
Commission director Maria Luisa Sepulveda said they had identified another 9,800 people who had been held as political prisoners and tortured.
The new figures bring the total of recognised victims to 40,018.
The survivors will get lifetime pensions of about $260 (£157) a month.
An earlier report by the commission recognised 27,153 people who suffered human rights violations under military rule.
The official number of those killed or forcibly disappeared now stands at 3,065.
So…9/11/73, a terror attack if ever there was one, resulted in many more deaths than 9/11/01. The horror from that day is still deeper and fresher for more people than that of the other 9-11. And I have a feeling that the new, upward-revised victim count is still on the lowball side. This is only what could be verified. Remember, Pinochet’s modus operandi was to “disappear” those who were inconvenient to his purposes. With time, more verifications might well become possible.
This story isn’t over yet.