By Clinton Porteous BBC correspondent, Santiago

Allende's image appears everywhere

The general's daughter said her father was being falsely portrayed as a demon while Salvador Allende was being turned into a saint.

Thousands of Chileans are paying tribute to the former socialist president, who died during the military coup of 11 September 1973.

The image of the socialist president wearing horn-rimmed glasses appears everywhere from street posters to newspapers.

'Tense time'

More than 45,000 people attended a tribute concert called "The Dream Remains".

But the outpouring of emotion has become too much for the family of Augusto Pinochet.

The general's daughter, Lucia, has claimed that history is being distorted.

The outpouring of emotion has been too much for the Pinochets

They are turning one person into a saint and the other into a demon, she said.

Military leaders have also warned they will not tolerate any lifting of amnesty laws that protect them from charges of human rights violations during the years following the coup.

It is a tense and emotional time as Chile tries to reconcile its past and it will reach a crescendo on Thursday.

This will be the 30th anniversary of the military coup and the death of the president.

Salvador Allende is believed to have killed himself before soldiers loyal to Augusto Pinochet could take him alive.

General Pinochet ruled Chile for 17 years and more than 3,000 political opponents were killed or disappeared.

Usually the 11 September in Chile is marred by demonstrations and violence.