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News briefs from San Diego County
SOURCE: San José Mercury News
DATE: April 26, 2004
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Activists from Amnesty International and other human rights
groups are protesting the visit of a Chilean naval ship, the Esmeralda, which is
widely believed to have been used as a prison and torture boat during the
administration of Augusto Pinochet.
About three dozen protesters spoke out against the ship Sunday, chanting
"Esmeralda Go Home." The ship, which was open for public tours, is moored at the
foot of the Broadway Pier and is expected to depart Thursday for port calls in
Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia.
More than 100 political prisoners are believed to have been interrogated and
tortured on the tall ship in the early 1970s.
The Chilean government has never officially acknowledged the ship's past, said
Nick Stamon of Amnesty International's San Diego chapter.
In 1986, the U.S. Senate called for the withdrawal of an invitation to have the
Esmeralda to participate in an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the
Statue of Liberty. The Senate measure described the ship as "the notorious
vessel used for the torture of 112 political prisoners" during Pinochet's
administration, which ended in 1990. Despite the resolution, the ship took part
in the celebration.
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