Last Tuesday, Spain stripped Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet of the Grand Cross for Military Merit awarded to him in 1975, when the country was ruled by General Francisco Franco.
The decision to revoke Pinochet’s award was taken during the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the current Spanish government, led by socialist Pedro Sánchez.
Spanish government minister and spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez emphasized that the award was given to Pinochet by another dictator, Francisco Franco.
Today’s decision is in line “with democratic obligations, with democratic values, with rights and freedoms” and prevents “the continuation of demonstrations within the Spanish legal system that recall another moment in history that is contrary to these values, these rights and these freedoms,” said the Minister of Territorial Policy.
In a post on the social network “
“It is time to right a historical injustice,” Sánchez added, before announcing the decision to revoke Pinochet’s Grand Cross for Military Merit.
Last week, the Spanish executive declassified documents related to the coup in Chile on September 11, 1973 and handed them over to the Chilean government.
Led by General Augusto Pinochet, the coup overthrew the government of President Salvador Allende, who died during the military attack on La Moneda Palace.
Allende had won the 1970 elections, supported by the left-wing coalition Unidad Popular (UP).
Chile’s military dictatorship (1973-1990) resulted in the torture and imprisonment of approximately 40,000 people and the execution of more than 3,000 opponents, a third of whom are still missing, according to official data.
Source: DN
