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Protest marks Chilean tall ship's visit
Esmeralda's past draws controversy
By J. Harry Jones(*)
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
SOURCE: SignOnSanDiego.com
DATE: April 26, 2004
About three dozen vocal protesters aligned with Amnesty International and
several other human rights groups spent the afternoon yesterday protesting the
presence of the Chilean ship Esmeralda, which was moored at the foot of the
Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego.
"Esmeralda not welcome" and "Esmeralda Go Home," they chanted.
The magnificent but controversial tall ship, with its 157-foot mast, quietly
sailed into San Diego Harbor on Saturday with its Chilean Navy crew. Amnesty
International and the Organization of American States claim that the ship, built
in 1954, was used as a prison and torture boat in the early 1970s by the
government of Augusto Pinochet and that more than 100 political prisoners were
interrogated and tortured on board.
The Chilean government has never officially acknowledged the Esmeralda's past,
said Nick Stamon of Amnesty International's San Diego chapter.
"The organizers of this protest demand that the Chilean government officially
apologize to the victims' families and that those responsible for the crimes
committed aboard the Esmeralda be brought to justice," Stamon said.
The public was invited yesterday to tour the ship, which is used as a training
vessel by the Chilean Navy. Most people waiting in line for the gates to open
seemed to have little or no knowledge of the Esmeralda's background, and most
didn't seem to care.
"That guy isn't in power anymore, is he?" said one woman who declined to give
her name.
"I've never even heard of the ship," said Lisa Simpson of Escondido. "But
everybody's got the right to protest."
Controversy has followed the Esmeralda for years. The ship makes annual training
voyages to ports around the world, acting as a roving embassy for Chile.
In 1986, the U.S. Senate approved a resolution urging withdrawal of an
invitation for the Esmeralda to participate in an event connected with the 100th
birthday celebration of the Statue of Liberty.
"The Statue of Liberty would weep at the sight of the Esmeralda entering the
gateway of freedom at New York harbor," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
The Senate measure described the Esmeralda as "the notorious vessel used for the
torture of 112 political prisoners at the time Gen. Augusto Pinochet seized
power in a military coup" in 1973. Pinochet remained in power until 1990. The
ship took part in the Statue of Liberty celebration.
Stamon said yesterday's protest was the third in San Diego. The first two
coincided with visits in 1978 and 1997.
Yesterday's protest almost didn't come to pass because Amnesty International was
made aware of the ship's plans only a couple of weeks ago.
"We call it the 'phantom ship' because it often doesn't announce its plans, to
avoid protesters," Stamon said. He said his organization received an e-mail from
the sister of a man who died after being tortured on the ship, alerting them to
its travel plans.
The Esmeralda's tentative plans are to depart for Hawaii on Thursday and then
continue on to New Zealand and Australia, where Stamon said protests are also
planned.
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*J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
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