Santiago, Mar 31, (RHC), – The Chilean government has been urged to condemn a new art school that promotes the principles and iconography of Nazism.

Human rights groups and activists including the Anti-Defamation League have expressed shock and outrage at the school in Chilean Patagonia, which is named after former dictator Augusto Pinochet and will teach the ideology of Adolf Hitler.

The institute, set to open within days, will also make widespread use of the swastika.

Although the General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte school is not recognised by Chile's Ministry of Education, any prohibitive measures may be hampered by national law, which places no restrictions on the spread of Nazi ideology.

Marcelo Isaacson, executive director of the Jewish Community of Chile, said: “Chile currently lacks regulation condemning these kind of activities. These Nazis hide themselves behind the right of freedom of expression."

In the Santiago Times, Isaacson also claimed that far-right views and behaviour are "not uncommon" in his country.

However the school's founder, Godofredo Rodriguez Pacheco, was unrepentant, telling local media: "My ultimate goal is to form a political party, a nationalist proposal designed from Chile, and I don't mind if people tell me I'm a Nazi."