Rights row over Chilean torture boat at Amsterdam nautical festival

Article published the Thursday 20 August 2015 - Latest update : Thursday 20 August 2015

Rights row over Chilean torture boat at Amsterdam nautical festival


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Chilean school navy ship, Esmeralda
Wikimedia / Denis C. Cantrell
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By RFI

Human rights campaign were up in arms this week over the presence of the Chilean ship Esmeralda at festival for historic boats in the Dutch town of Amsterdam because political opponents of General Augusto Pinochet were tortured on it during the 1970s military dictatorship.

This is the first time that the Chilean school navy ship is included in Sail Amsterdam and it has brought controversy to the event. Some Chilean exiles felt uncomfortable at the idea of the vessel being somehow celebrated when coming to the Netherlands.

Mapuche, a Dutch-Chilean association of exiles, said in a statement that it looked as if Chile was trying to cover up the Esmeralda's past since at least 100 people were tortured or raped on board during Pinochet's 1973-1990 rule.

Amnesty International also expressed disappointment at the fact that the boat's dark past was still taboo and was not mentioned on the official Sail website.

More:
http://www.english.rfi.fr/sports/20150820-historic-vessels-and-torture-boat-amsterdam-nautical-festival

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141183811