By Dave Sherwood and Aislinn Laing
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's left-leaning opposition declined to meet with President Sebastian Pinera following riots that have left 15 people dead and led to the arrest of more than 2,600, citing concerns over abuses by security forces.
Protesters gathered in central squares in Santiago and in other cities by early afternoon on Tuesday as the demonstrations against high living costs and inequality showed little sign of ending. Police in places began to disperse the crowds with gas and water canons.
Ten cities have been placed in a state of emergency and under a night curfew overseen by the military after riots broke out on Friday in the worst unrest in decades in one of Latin America's most stable countries.
Frustrations over the high cost of living and public transport fare hikes in Santiago have become a political flashpoint against Pinera's center-right government, prompting calls for reforms on issues from the country's tax and labor codes to its pension system.
As pressure on the government mounted, Pinera said he would meet with opposition leaders Tuesday to forge a "new social contract."
But all of the key left-leaning opposition parties declined Pinera's invitation, saying the government had failed to "safeguard" the human rights of protesters, or inform the public about details regarding the 15 deaths.
"It is unacceptable that we still don't have clarity about what happened," the Socialist Party said in a statement.
The party, a key pillar of Chile's center-left political movement, said Pinera also needed to expand the list of social groups invited to the talks.
The president's spokeswoman, Cecilia Perez, said their absence in the meetings was "unfortunate," and hoped they would reconsider.
"We hope and continue to believe that we can all work as a team here," Perez said.
"NOTHING TO HIDE"
Amnesty International on Tuesday said in an open letter to Pinera that it was concerned over human rights violations, and limitations imposed by the military during city-wide evening lockdowns.
"The sole fact that some groups or people have committed acts of violence in a protest does not authorize security forces to dissolve them with the use of force," Amnesty International Americas director Erika Guevara said.
The military general in charge of security in Santiago said he was aware of videos circulating on social media suggesting brutality by police or the military in dealing with protesters and vandals.
"We are investigating every one of these situations. We're not going to hide anything," General Javier Iturriaga told reporters.
Interior ministry sub-secretary Rodrigo Ubilla declined to identify the 15 people killed since last Friday.
In a heated exchange with reporters, he said 11 people had died in arson attempts, looting and rioting in Santiago, while two people had died of gunshot wounds. Two others died in vehicle-related accidents, one outside of Santiago and one, further south, in the port city of Talcahuano.
The Chilean Institute for Human Rights said by Monday night it had registered 84 people injured by firearms.
U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, called on Monday for independent investigations into the deaths in weekend protests, citing "disturbing allegations" of excessive use of force by security forces.
SLOW RECOVERY
The widespread protests sowed destruction across the city. Street cleaners and working parties of volunteers on Tuesday struggled to tidy and repair Santiago's central Plaza Italia, the focal point of much of the unrest, was littered with broken glass and stone, graffiti and still-smoldering fires.
By mid-day, protests had resumed anew there.
Many downtown streets still reeked of tear gas, and the majority of schools across the city remained closed on Tuesday.
Traffic and public transportation were snarled across the city during the morning commute.
Roxana Yanez, 56, a factory worker, said she had had a difficult commute.
"On the one hand, we support these protests. We don't earn much, just enough to pay our bus fare," she said. "What we don't support is disorder, riots, looting. That doesn't help."
The protests were sparked by an increase in public transport fares in early October. But they reflect simmering anger over intense economic inequality in Chile, as well as costly health, education and pension systems seen by many as inadequate.
"This won’t stop until people see real change," said Brandon Rodriguez, 25, a security guard. "Governments of the left and right have come and gone...but nothing changes for ordinary people.”
The unrest has yet to dock copper output in Chile, the world's top producer, mining officials said.
Workers at BHP's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, nonetheless initiated a 5-hour strike Tuesday morning, union officials told Reuters.
At Santiago's international airport, many passengers were stranded after hundreds of flights were canceled by major airlines over several days and airlines laid out camp beds on the airport forecourt to accommodate them.