In Chile 87 relatives of people who have disappeared since General Augusto Pinochet's military junta seized power from the Marxist government of the late Salvador Allende have staged a hunger strike to draw attention to their cause.

SYNOPSIS: The strikers-80 women and seven men-made their three-day protests in the church of San Franscisco in Santiago. They are demanding action to clarify the fate of their relatives and say that hundreds of people have disappeared "after being arrested by agents of the government's security forces" since the military coup in 1973.

The strikers are close to desperation. They claim to have exhausted all legal channels in their search for information on the fate of their relatives. In a written statement they say they support the recent United Nations resolution which condemned General Pihochet's Government for human rights violations.During the final day of the protest on Saturday (31 December) police arrived on the scene in an attempt to break up the demonstration. Some arrests were made - but the protesters remained defiant.