Talk:Death of Salvador Allende

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This article contains a section called 'Official version of the death' which (apart from being an ugly title) doesn't explain what is 'official' about it. Qwertyus 16:00, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I didn't write it, so I can't speak for authorial intent, but it is congruent with both the version put out by the perpetrators of the coup and with what is now generally accepted in Chile under a restored democracy. - Jmabel | Talk 02:10, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
I wrote that originally, and agree with both Qwertyus (it is an ugly title and misleading also) and with Jmabel (it is both the version put out by the military government and the one currently accepted by the democratic government and taught at schools). Mel Romero 03:32, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] witnesses section

In the first sentence: "All sources seem to agree that there at least the following witnesses were present:" should read

  • "All sources seem to agree that there were at least the following witnesses present", or
  • "All sources seem to agree that at least the following witnesses present"
  •  ?

In the last section, following the bullet points, it reads, "Some sources missatribute these statements..."

  • It's unclear what statements are being referred to. The statements of who was present, which are represented by the bullet points? Or perhaps the statements in the preceding "Official version" section?

Death of Salvador Allende#Witnesses

--baxrob 14:50, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

For user Baxrob, you're right, the sentence is not proper. I guess I need to polish more the text. I meant that a great number of sources pre-1990 attributed and based the "official version" on the statements of Dr. Paris, when in fact it was Dr. Guijon. Please, feel free to do any grammatical corrections that seem suitable to make the text clear and tighter. Mel Romero 03:32, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] POV on official version

User Moshe-paz has incorporated his own POV into the text, which since I have removed it, I feel the need to clarify my possition. He indicates:

  • "Supporters of Pinochet agree that he committed suicide, in an attempt to absolve Pinochet of being the intellectual author of Allende's murder." - not only Pinochet's supporters claim suicide in this case, but Allende's own family have recognized several times that they are convinced that he took his own life.
  • "But those who claim he was killed, point to the level of destruction that the Moneda Palace was subjected to within such a short period of time. They claim that among the ensuing, all engulfing fire, caused by an excessive air bombardment of such a small area, which charred the historical building, it would have been impossible for someone to have committed suicide, death via smoke inhalation would have been Allende's most probable cause of death." - Mmmmmm the destruction at La Moneda was never as extensive as that in Berlin during WW2, but no one is claiming that Hitler was murdered. The building was heavily affected in several areas, but was never charred.
  • "The post-mortem done on the charred remains of Allende by a number of physician is also invalid given that it was carried out under the authority of the military junta that executed the coup." - again, a historical mistake. The first post-mortem was carried by the head of the Santiago Morgue (an independent doctor), and witnessed by the heads of the military medical services (and was properly documented.) A "second" post-mortem was carried after the restoration of democracy, when Allende was transferred from Viña del Mar to Santiago. Both arrived to the same exact results: he committed suicide. Another point to consider is that the remains were NOT charred, or affected by fire in any way, as was self-evident when the pics of the body in situ were finally published.
  • "Subsequent lose and fragmented statements, of a highly inconsistent and contradictory nature, by a number of individuals (some who were in the Moneda Palace during the coup, most notably by Dr. Patricio Guijón) were never cross-examined by legal teams or experts in a trial hence serve no basis to make a reliable conclusion on Allende’s death." - The statements are in no way "lose and fragmented" but remarkably coherent and full for a historical event such as this. All the statements are also consistent with each other, and also share the fact that all the witnesses were oppossed to the military. If we needed to cross-examine witnesses for all major historical deaths, we surely could never arrive to any conclusion anywhere. Mel Romero 03:52, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Salvador Allende template.jpg

Image:Salvador Allende template.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 01:09, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] controversy section

please remove "fidel castro referred to it (suicide) as fact." if you read the quotation in the book (partly given in the footnote), you'll discover that it is only meant symbolically, not literally. He is not speaking about Chavez or Allende "killing" themselves, but about the importance of keeping an eye on the military (an action that could kill you), which he tells Chavez is crucial: "You have most of the Army on your side. Don't quit, don't resign."

I can't see how this should in any way mean Castro supports the suicide-side-of-things.-- ExpImptalkcon 10:32, 11 September 2007 (UTC)