UCP’s Rick Strankman says Chilean murderous dictatorship was a “success story”

EDMONTON – UCP MLA Rick Strankman made another “bozo eruption” after he said the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet was a “success story”. 

During a debate about a bill to protect Alberta’s democracy, Rick Strankman heckled that the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet was a “success story.”[1] The UCP caucus has denied Strankman made the remark even though Hansard recorded it.[2] 

Calling Pinochet’s regime that murdered thousands of innocent people “success story” contradicts reality. The Government of Chile found Pinochet’s dictatorship allowed “very serious forms of human rights violations: executions without trial; executions following trials in which due process was not guaranteed; mass arrests of persons who were taken to concentration camps where they were subjected to very degrading conditions of detention and many of whom "disappeared"; widespread torture and ill-treatment”.[3]

Strankman has made these types of remarks before. Last year, he was forced to apologize after downplaying the Ukrainian genocide Holodomor.[4]

Strankman must immediately apologize to the Chilean community of Alberta for his remarks.

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[1] Hansard December 6 2017. pg 2308. http://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_files/docs/hansards/han/legislature_29/session_3/20171206_0900_01_han.pdf

[2] UCP Caucus Twitter. December 6 2017. https://twitter.com/UCPCaucus/status/938490407695945728

[3] Amnesty International, Oct 22 1999. https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/140000/amr220101999en.pdf

[4] Edmonton Journal. June 3 2016. http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/wildrose-blog-post-that-compares-carbon-tax-to-ukrainian-genocide-requires-apology-ndp-cabinet-minister-says