Thirty years ago, on September 11, 1973, the socialist government of Chilean President Salvador Allende was overthrown by a military coup orchestrated by the CIA and General Augusto Pinochet.
Knowing the final assault was imminent, President Allende took his own life. This event sounded the death knell for democracy in Chile and marked the start of a bloody dictatorship.
Chileans still have memories of loved ones who were tortured, disappeared or killed by a regime whose leaders continue to live in total impunity.
Thousands of Chileans fled the Pinochet regime and continued for thirty years to battle for the return of democracy. There are twelve thousand Quebeckers of Chilean origin, among them our former colleague and member for Bourassa, Osvaldo Nunez.
In this anniversary year, the Bloc Quebecois is in solidarity with the people of Chile and with all those who have made Quebec their new home. The Bloc Quebecois is in solidarity with all those who wish to see right, justice and democracy triumph, and who revere the memory of a great president motivated by these profound and fundamental values.