Remains of former Chilean President Allende exhumed for investigation

Remains of former Chilean President Allende exhumed for investigation

2011-05-23 23:04:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANTIAGO, CHILE (BNO NEWS) -- Chilean authorities on Monday exhumed the remains of former President Salvador Allende as part of an investigation to determine his cause of death, La Nacion newspaper reported.

Until now, it is believed that Allende committed suicide inside La Moneda Palace in Santiago after the September 11, 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power for the next 17 years.

However, many believed that Allende was killed in order to place Pinochet at the helm. His daughter, Senator Isabel Allende, said that she hoped that the exhumation will clarify the events surrounding the death of her father once and for all.

The body of the former leader was removed on Monday morning from the General Cemetery in an operation supervised by Judge Mario Carroza, who is leading the probe on Allende's controversial death.

Carroza and a team of 12 experts, five of them foreigners who came as international observers, said that the exhumation process was successful. The remains were transported to the Servicio Medico Legal (SML) where the necessary tests will be conducted.

Furthermore, judge Carroza said that the investigation will attempt to clarify one of the most relevant events in the history of Chile. However, he ruled out staging a re-enactment of the 1973 coup at the Moneda Palace.

The investigation was ordered after court prosecutor Beatriz Pedrals presented 726 cases of complaints by victims of human rights violation committed since September 11, 1973 until March 11, 1990, among which is the death of former President Allende.

The case arose in 2010 after the Minister of the Supreme Court, Sergio Muñoz, detected that there were many cases of victims that were not being investigated.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-05-23