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Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez Introduce Resolution Apologizing for 1973 Chilean Coup (truthout.org)

submitted 1 year ago by tree@lemmy.zip to c/politics@lemmy.world

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The resolution also calls for the declassification of all U.S. documents related to the coup and its aftermath.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and several other U.S. lawmakers introduced a resolution on Thursday that formally commemorates the 50th anniversary of the deadly 1973 military coup in Chile and apologizes for the role the United States played in the toppling of the Latin American nation’s democratically elected government.

The resolution also calls for the declassification of all remaining U.S. documents related to the coup and the events preceding and following it.

“Let me be clear: we must stand up for democracy here in the United States and beyond,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. “And that means we must also acknowledge that the United States has not always defended democracy abroad, and in fact, has sometimes done the opposite.”

“As we mark the 50th anniversary of the horrific coup in Chile, we must make clear that we regret our involvement and commit to supporting Chilean democracy,” he added. “To build the lasting partnerships we need in this hemisphere, we will need to establish a basis of trust and respect. Part of that process includes full accountability for the coup and its aftermath.”

The new resolution comes after Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined a group of U.S. lawmakers on a Latin America trip that included a stop in Chile, where the New York Democrat stressed the importance of declassifying the coup-related documents to shed more light on the Nixon administration’s role in the violent ouster of Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973.

read more: https://truthout.org/articles/sanders-and-ocasio-cortez-introduce-resolution-apologizing-for-1973-chilean-coup/

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[-] njm1314@lemmy.world 57 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You know I was going to say I don't know if this would do any good, but the more I think about it I think it's actually pretty crucial. Because we're seeing a lot of weird talk about the Chilean fascist regime lately. I don't know if you noticed this but it seems almost popular among certain right-wing extremist groups. Lord knows most people don't know much about the Chilean coup. It's a dark part of our history and maybe this would bring attention to it. Education is always best.

[-] jonne@infosec.pub 13 points 1 year ago

It should be tied to a full release of every government document related to the coup, and a one way ticket to Chile for Kissinger.

[-] Eldritch@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Most people know little about any of the multiple coups we facilitated. Just as most people have no idea we stole Hawaii from it's people forcefully annexing it. Turning is people into second class citizens in their own home. And that this wasn't the only place we did that. Not even counting the continental United States.

Most of US history is pretty dark. However as citizens. Were so brainwashed and or history whitewashed. Filled with false hero worship. That we can't really comprehend.

[-] pinkwerdo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Every country has a dark past

[-] Eldritch@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

To some extent perhaps. Not that it justifies anything. But most of them do not Gaslight whitewash or propagandize their citizens as much about it. Americans are particularly under educated about our history of things even as recent as the last 50 years.

[-] thelastknowngod@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

I'd argue it would help a lot if there was a similar apology for the 1953 Iranian coup. Good luck getting that through congress though.. If the vote failed it would probably do more harm than good.

[-] Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago

It’s good they’re doing this, but really feels like that South Park parody of BP’s reactions to the oil spills with “we’re sorry” videos

[-] rbesfe@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 year ago

It's a bit more than "we're sorry", the declassifying part is pretty important

[-] fosforus@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 year ago

I think USA is primarily a good force on this planet, and the fact that resolutions like this are possible emphasizes that somewhat. If it passes, even better, although that's probably way too optimistic.

[-] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 17 points 1 year ago

It's very hard to agree with your first sentence if the second is so hard to become a reality.

[-] andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun 4 points 1 year ago

Secondarily we're a force for evil, so that tracks.

[-] fosforus@sopuli.xyz 0 points 1 year ago

It's easy when you realize that the real world is not comicbook -style good and evil. It's a spectrum.

[-] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You don't read a lot of comic books either, do you?

To finance a military coup and regime in a foreign country, committing or helping to commit magnicide while denying it to your citizens and the world in the name of democracy, is evil. After 50 years, apologizing for it is not absolutely "good", I'd say it's the absolute least you can do about it, after the fact. Seriously, you can do so much better.

[-] fosforus@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Perhaps I wasn't clear. It's a spectrum, and it's relative. We can talk about optimal situation and utopias (sure, I'd love it if none of them were evil at all), but in the real world the big actors are evil countries and more evil countries. Unfortunately we don't have a view into everything they've done, so we have to go by the little we know, and by the gut. My knowledge + gut says that USA is among the less evil countries. Yours seem to say differently.

[-] hark@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Too bad this apology decades after the fact won't undo what happened and won't prevent the US from carrying out actions like this in the present and the future. It's better than nothing, but in the context of the actual global policies of the US, it's fluff. The US has always been good with PR, so I'm not surprised that you think this empty gesture is meaningful in any way.

[-] winky88@startrek.website 3 points 1 year ago

Contrast the op with say, an apology by China for the tienamen square massacre. Oh wait...

[-] hark@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Again, an apology without correcting behavior is meaningless. What's the point of this apology if the US is still invading and couping countries on the regular? I'd rather no apology and just stopping that.

[-] fosforus@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

China and tankies outright deny that it even happened, really. You can see it even here, in some lemmygrad comments. So apologizing for it would be a fine first step since it would acknowledge it.

[-] shroobinator@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

In what way is the USA a force for good? This isn't the only coup that they have orchestrated, they have not only continued to do so since and will likely perform more in the future.

This is not to mention the other countless atrocities committed under its flag.

this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023

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