El buque "Esmeralda", símbolo de la impunidad criminal en Chile

 The "Esmeralda" ship, a symbol of criminal impunity in Chile

2001 : Wellington - New Zealand

From Amnesty International - New Zealand - Press release

Media Release: La Esmeralda - Floating torture chamber arrives in port

05 December 2001 - AI New Zealand

Amnesty International members protesting against torture were the first to line up to tour the Chilean tall ship La Esmeralda which sailed into Wellington Harbour on Wednesday 5 December on a goodwill tour.

The Esmeralda was used for torture during a period of systematic and widespread torture following the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet in 1973, according to evidence presented to the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, although this has been constantly denied by the Chilean Navy.

"It is not morally possible for us to tour the ship on the days leading up to international Human Rights Day without acknowledging the torture that took place, the people who died, and the fact that the torturers have never been prosecuted," said Ced Simpson, Amnesty International's New Zealand's director.

"Unfortunately this beautiful ship is a symbol of the ugly fact that torture continues to destroy countless lives worldwide because those who carry it out continue to do so with impunity."

The action by Amnesty International members is part of the human rights organisation's third global campaign against torture, launched by Prime Minister Helen Clark in October last year.

"We are not stopping people from visiting the boat, or opposed to its visit. But we are inviting people to take the tour of the ship and remember what it has been used as. We are asking people to look at the mast, the ropes, the small rooms and think about the one hundred people who suffered a miserable fate on this ship".

Amnesty International members will be present at Queens Wharf on the afternoons of Thursday 6 and Friday 7 December (3-6pm). On Sunday 9 December (9am-12pm) members will also hold a small memorial for Father Michael Woodward who died as a result of torture on the Esmeralda. The memorial will take place at the same time that mass is being held aboard the ship.

Background information

Despite evidence collated by the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation that the Esmeralda was used for torture no-one has ever been prosecuted.

The Esmeralda is amongst the torture centres recorded in the report (the Rettig Report) which also contains records of over 3000 victims of human rights violations during the military government of Augusto Pinochet, including the victims of ''disappearances'', extrajudicial executions and those who died under torture. (This figure did not include the victims of torture who survived their ordeal.)

From : http://www.amnesty.org.nz/

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