Chile's Interior Minister Felipe Harboe on Sunday announced a new anti-crime package, aiming for strict supervision of illegal possession of guns.
Harboe said the plan was a response to extreme violence seen in Santiago on Sept. 11, a national day of remembrance for the nation's 1973 coup.
"We don't want an armed society in this country," he said. "What we saw on Sept. 11 is not the real Chile and it is not the Chile we want either. We have to take control of the situation," he said at a public ceremony in La Granja, a southeastern Santiago neighborhood which suffers many social problems.
He said that gun control would focus on the areas where arms were used during nighttime demonstrations, adding that the authorities would restart a previous gun amnesty program, under which guns could be handed over to churches and police stations without fear of being prosecuted.
The Chilean government will also submit a new bill to the congress in early October, which aims to restrict ammunition sales and oblige gun owners to renew their permits once a year, the minister said.
Source: Xinhua
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