MSPs are to read out the names in parliament of the Chilean "disappeared" under plans to mark the 40th anniversary of the violent coup that put dictator General Augusto Pinochet in power.

On September 11, 1973, the general's forces ousted the elected president, Salvador Allende, leading to 17 years of dictatorship. Thousands were tortured, killed and disappeared.

One million people were forced into exile, and about 500 fled to ­Scotland sponsored by trade unions and workers including miners.

Those connected to the Chile: 40th Anniversary campaign said they wanted to thank the Scots people for helping them.

The campaign's chairman, Edinburgh councillor Gordon Munro, is asking MSPs to mark the day by reading out names of the disappeared, the title given to the 3200 people who were never seen again after being taken by government forces.

Sonia Leal, whose family settled in Fife after escaping the coup, said: "The Chile 40 Years On network plans a series of events leading up to and following the September 11 anniversary that will recognise the support shown for the regime's victims and the support spearheaded by the Scottish labour movement.

"We do not have any money to publicise so are relying on our networks to get the word out there, and have set up a Facebook page.

"We ask our Scottish friends, workers, artists and citizens to work with us to commemorate the events that brought us together in 1973. We know that from these horrific events in Chile there grew an abundance of creativity in arts, music, poetry, theatre and dance. We may have been exiled but we were never silenced."

Events are already being planned for Edinburgh, Glasgow and East Kilbride, where Rolls-Royce plant workers were among those to back the refugees by refusing to service Chilean warplanes.

Pinochet was arrested while travelling to the UK for medical treatment in 1998. He was later returned to Chile and declared unfit for trial. In 2006, aged 91, he was again ordered to house arrest but died within days without being convicted of any crime.

Events so far include a day of Chilean-themed cinema at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh on September 11, poetry and film evenings, Fringe events next month and a cultural event at Summerhall, Edinburgh, on September 7.

On Saturday September 14 there will be a Scottish Trade Union Congress exhibition, film screening and cultural evening in Woodlands Road, Glasgow.