Chile's Senate has voted to abolish September 11 -- the anniversary of the military coup that brought dictator Augusto Pinochet to power -- as a national holiday. Many Chileans wonder if the deep divisions aroused by that date can be eliminated so easily. But Chile's young people -- too young to remember or even care -- are already discovering new reference points for the future. PNS editor Alfonso Serrano F., a native of Chile, is a San Francisco-based journalist.

Can a country declare a collective memory loss?

The Chilean Senate tried to do just that when, last week, it unanimously approved a bill to abolish September 11 as a national holiday. "We have all agreed to eliminate it," declared on prominent politician.

On that date in 1973, General Augusto Pinochet led a military coup that toppled Salvador Allende, the democratically elected socialist president. In the bloody takeover, which forever changed Chile, approximately 3,000 people were killed, thousands were tortured, and scores of others fled into exile.

Chile was already sharply divided along political and class lines when the coup occurred, but Sept. 11, 1973, introduced a new, sharp division between those who profited from Pinochet's regime and those who experienced it as a nightmare.

Twenty five years later, many Chileans regard September 11 as Chile's second independence day (the country achieved its independence from Spain in 1810). In 1988, when Chile voted to end the dictatorship, fully 42 percent of Chilean voters elected to continue Pinochet's rule.

Others, however, regard the date as a day of infamy--one that still haunts them.

The one sector of the population that doesn't seem to care are those too young to remember. "The majority of Chile's new generation has forgotten about the coup," says Christopher Majluf, a 19-year-old engineering student in Santiago. "Very few of them know what really happened, and they don't care."

Those who are curious won't find easy answers. In Chile, history books make no reference to September 11, and the years that followed. Salvador Allende did not exist, the bloody takeover of the Palacio La Moneda (Chile's White House) never took place, and the military regime that governed Chile for 17 years never happened.

Today, Chile enjoys unprecedented prosperity. Since 1988, thousands of Chileans have risen above the poverty line. Unemployment levels and inflation have remained consistently low. Chile is an active and prosperous member of the global economy. Cell phones, lap tops and MacDonalds are as common in Santiago as in any modern capital.

Chile's economic prosperity has increased the distance between the country's youth and the past.

The new generation is indifferent towards politicians and political life. The nation's politicians "are all clowns," says journalism student Andrea Tobar. "I'm not interested in politics, it doesn't offer me anything."

Andrea is one of three million youth who manifested their disdain for politics during last year's municipal elections. They didn't even register to vote. That is a significant number in a country of 15 million where participation in the voting process is expected.

The new generation has not abandoned civic life altogether. "Today, kids want to improve life in this country but not through politics," says Majluf. "Before, people were very egoistic but now we are more concerned. There is more solidarity, especially among youth."

Majluf plans to participate in the upcoming Encuentro Continental de Jovenes, or the Continental Meeting of Youth, to be held in Santiago from October 6 to 11. Youth from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego are invited, and organizers expect up to 400,000 participants, half from Chile itself. Organized by Chile's Catholic Church, the event is intended to prepare participants for the "great challenges of the next millennium and to strengthen a sense of relevance among youngsters throughout the Americas."

Now an older generation of Chileans is emulating young people -- and turning away from history. Perhaps they are just weary of reliving the divisions and hatred of the past. Whatever the reason, Chile will no longer recognize September 11 as a national holiday. Starting in 1999, on the first Monday in September, Chile will celebrate a day of "National Unity."