What is the Esmeralda?
SOURCE: http://www.amnesty.org.nz/ -
Amnesty International - New Zeland
The Esmeralda is a Chilean tall ship used to train Navy cadets and has sailed
extensively, docking at more than 300 ports throughout the world. This year it
is on a "goodwill" voyage, from 25 July 2001 until February 2002.
The ship is a symbol of the cruel fate of political prisoners in Chile's recent
history, particularly the indiscriminate use of torture by government officials.
Respect for human rights and international law is being debased by the
"Esmeralda's" unacceptable past.
What was the Esmeralda used for?
La Esmeralda was used in 1973 as a floating torture chamber and prison during a
period of systematic and widespread torture following General Augusto Pinochet's
coup d'etat of the democratically elected Allende government.
Gross human rights violations were committed in Chile during the military
government (1973 - 1990).
The Chilean Navy made a special contribution to the new military junta led by
Gen. Pinochet by allowing La Esmeralda, a four-masted Chilean naval ship, to be
used as a prison and torture chamber.
On board "Esmeralda," a specialised Navy unit set itself up with the objective
of interrogating the ship's prisoners as well as those brought from other Navy
detention centers. These interrogation sessions generally included torture and
mistreatment.
According to testimony collected by Amnesty International and the Organisation
of American States, at least 110 political prisoners - 70 men and 40 women -
were interrogated aboard the ship for more than two weeks without charges or
trial.
What happened to people tortured on board the Esmeralda?
According to victims' testimonies, torture victims were tied to the mast and
subjected to electric shocks; they were undressed and beaten.
According to testimony collected by Amnesty International and the Organisation
of American States, at least 110 political prisoners - 70 men and 40 women -
were interrogated aboard the ship for more than two weeks without charges or
trial.
"I was taken to the training ship "Esmeralda" where, without having been asked
any questions at all, I had my hands tied behind my back and was brutally beaten
up, together with three other men whose names I never knew. We were beaten all
over but mainly on the torso and feet. On this occasion, they beat me with feet,
hands, rifles, sticks, etc. This treatment was repeated four times during the
night we were there. I calculated that each session lasted 15 to 20 minutes."
- torture victim
"I was stripped to my shorts and my hands were handcuffed behind me. There was a
post there and they tied me to it. They applied electric shock on my skin, on my
testicles, on my chest and back, also the officers who were interrogating me hit
me 50 times in this part with their fists."
"I couldn't sleep for six days because they woke me up every six minutes, night
and day. We could hear how the others were tortured right where we were."
-Sergio Vuskovic Rojo, former Mayor of Valparaiso
According to a Chilean lawyer held on board, military officials stripped and
savagely beat the prisoners and shot them with high-pressure jets of water that
produced "an unbearable pain in the head, ears, eyes, and lungs".
One of the most renowned victims of torture on the Esmeralda is Father Michael
Woodward, a British-Chilean Catholic priest who died as a result of torture on
board the Esmeralda.
According to the Rettig Report, Michael Woodward was arrested by a naval patrol
in Valparaiso on 16 Sept 1973. He died on 22 September, in the Naval Hospital in
Valparaiso as a result of the torture he was subject to by members of the
security forces.
Information pieced together by his relatives has established that following his
arrest, he was taken to the "Esmeralda" where he was interrogated and tortured.
A ship's doctor was sent to the Esmeralda to attend a "dying priest".
His body was thrown into an unmarked mass grave.
What evidence is there to support allegations of torture on the Esmeralda?
A report by the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
(Comision Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliacion) March 1991, known as the "Rettig
Report", registers a number of navy vessels used as detention and torture
centres by the Chilean navy at the time of the coup lead by Pinochet
In the Rettig Report 1991, the "Esmeralda" is listed together with the "Lebu"
and the "Maipo" as a site of torture. According to the Rettig Report, a special
group of Navy officials "installed a unit for the interrogation of detainees.
Such interrogation included, as a general rule, ill-treatment and torture"
A report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights - Organisation of
American States (July 22 - Aug 2, 1974) identifies the use of psychological and
physical torture on the Esmeralda. The report recommends an exhaustive,
detailed, speedy, and impartial investigation into this.
In June 2000 the Armed Forces disclosed information on 200 cases of victims of
human rights violations. The information was submitted on 5 January 2001 to the
President of the Republic, Ricardo Lagos. The list contains 180 names of victims
arrested between 1973 and 1976, and 20 unidentified victims. The majority of
victims are listed as thrown into the sea, rivers and lakes in Chile.
Why is Amnesty International so concerned about something which happened in the
1970s?
Today, while Chile is taking measures to address the human rights abuses that
occurred during this period, the Chilean authorities continue to deny
allegations of torture aboard the Esmeralda.
No one has ever been prosecuted for these crimes nor the victims
acknowledged.
During Amnesty International's third major campaign against torture, we are
trying to tackle the problem of impunity - of which the continued
unacknowledgement of the Esmeralda's role, and those who died as a result of
torture aboard her, is a glaring symptom. Amnesty International has been
campaigning for justice for the victims of torture in Chile since the 1970s, and
this has included several events in relation to the Esmeralda.
In February 2001 Minister of the Interior, Mr Jose Miguel Insulza stated that a
proliferation of human rights complaints would be detrimental to the country's
social peace, and that investigations should therefore be confined to the cases
of the "disappeared" and the victims of extrajudicial executions.
AI responded with concern that the right to justice of Chilean torture survivors
was at risk. The argument of national unity cannot be used to justify a position
which encourages impunity and is in conflict both with Chilean legislation and
with Chile's international obligations.**
Torture persists because leaders lack the political will to stop it and because
there is insufficient public pressure to force the political will.
Public opinion will force political directives to security forces not to
torture; public pressure will lead to the arrest of torturers and those who
issue the orders.
[...]
Amnesty International is calling for the cooperation of the Chilean Navy in
helping to clarify the events which took place on the Esmeralda and to bring
those responsible to justice
Specifically, Amnesty International is asking the Chilean Navy to allow full
access to the ship's own records from 1973, particularly those which provide
information about individuals detained on the ship; to allow an independent
investigation into reports of human rights violations onboard the Esmeralda;
and, to publicly acknowledge and apologise for the fact that the Esmeralda and
other ships were used as detention
**Chile is a party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights - it is therefore legally bound to conduct prompt and
impartial investigations.
