Tear Gas Traps U.S. Envoy at Chile Funeral
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SANTIAGO, Chile — Riot police fired tear gas into the funeral procession of an American youth burned to death during anti-government demonstrations, briefly trapping U.S. Ambassador Harry Barnes.
Angry youths yelled, “We want justice!” and “Fascism killed him!” as the coffin of Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, 19, a Chilean-born resident of Washington, was carried out of the offices of the Human Rights Commission.
Rojas was severely burned by soldiers who set his clothes on fire with gasoline last week during mass protests against President Augusto Pinochet’s military government, witnesses said.
Barnes and his wife, Elizabeth, had joined about 2,000 people to attend Rojas’ funeral service at the Chilean Human Rights Commission. But after they had gathered for the procession to the cemetery, police doused the group with a water cannon, and the hearse was whisked away to the city cemetery by police on motorcycles.
Police also fired tear gas. Barnes and his wife were briefly trapped in the building as choking people took refuge from the gases.
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