Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
MAPUCHE CONFLICT: CHILE GOV’T FLIP FLOPS AS ABUSES CONTINUE
Despite the government’s professed openness to resolving the Mapuche
conflict, human rights abuses against indigenous people continue in
Chile.
http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=15735&topic_id=1
Last week JosÈ Aylwin, co-director of the Observatory for Indigenous
Rights (ODPI) and son of former president Patricio Aylwin, submitted a
scathing letter to Interior Minister PÈrez Yoma detailing serious
human
rights abuses committed by the Carabineros police force against nine
Mapuche detainees in the Region IX city of Ercilla. Aylwin’s letter,
based on testimonies from the nine detainees, recounts in detail the
police tactics he says “can be qualified as torture.”
The nine men were arrested early this month during a two-day public
festival celebrating the anniversary of the city of Ercilla.
Carabineros
apprehended the men individually, claiming they were causing a
disturbance. Aylwin cites witnesses who attest that the festival was a
peaceful gathering with no motive of political or social agitation. The
nine men maintain they were attending the festival for celebratory
purposes only. They are now being held at the Collipulli
commissioner’s
office under charges of public disorder and attacking police officers.
Aylwin claims the arrests were “arbitrary detentions” and that
Carabineros acted “without these men having done anything to warrant
apprehension.” The police did not ask for identification when
arresting
the men nor did they offer reasons for the apprehension.
Even more disturbing, however, is the physical abuse endured by the
Ercilla detainees. Four of the men, upon being taken to the
commissioner’s office, were tied to posts and left there more than 13
hours in police custody while being interrogated and beaten by
Carabineros. The report goes on to describe one detainee who had to get
stitches on his head after a police officer beat him with the butt end
of a gun.
In the letter, Aylwin asks PÈrez Yoma to investigate the
Carabineros’
treatment of these and other Mapuche prisoners. He also sent a copy to
Rodolfo Stavenhagen, special relater to the United Nations for human
rights and indigenous liberties. Stavenhagen has been outspoken against
the Chilean government’s indigenous rights policies.
In the meantime, Carabineros have upped police presence in this
northern
district of Region IX. Residents of Temucuicui, a Mapuche town located
12 kilometers from Ercilla, released a public declaration Tuesday
describing a massive influx of special police forces in their small
community of 120 families.
Temucuicui has been a focal point for conflict between Mapuche and the
police forces that regularly patrol the area. Tuesday’s declaration
denounces the unnecessary militarization of this small settlement,
including the presence of helicopters, tanks, air planes, and an
increased force of police officers decked in riot gear.
As human rights abuses continue in Ercilla, the Chilean government is
still vacillating on the issue of how to resolve indigenous conflict.
Government spokesperson Francisco Vidal said this week that Chile is
open to visits from foreign observers to intervene in the Mapuche
conflict. His comment puts an end to the government’s ongoing debate
on
the matter.
The issue arose last week when the United Nations, along with several
international human rights organizations, sent a petition to President
Michelle Bachelet requesting permission to intervene. Interior Minister
Eduardo PÈrez Yoma responded to the request by saying that
intervention
from foreign observers would be “a welcome help for this problem.”
His
statement, however, spurred backlash from government spokesperson
Augusto Prado, who insisted Friday that, “Chile doesn’t need other
people to tell us how to solve our own problems” (ST, Feb. 11).
Vidal, in an attempt to smooth over the debate, concluded Monday that
Chile’s government, as a democracy, maintains an open-door policy to
any
foreign organization that wants to visit Chile. He went on to say,
however, that this does not constitute a formal invitation to these
international groups.
Paulina Acevedo, spokesperson for ODPI, called Vidal’s statement a
small
but important step in approaching resolution. “The current conflict
in
the Mapuche community is the result of a prolonged lack of concern
about
indigenous rights, and only now is the government beginning to address
that shortcoming,” she told the Santiago Times.
The Bachelet administration has also been weighing a proposal made by
the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI) to create
a
Ministry of Indigenous Issues. Two weeks ago Bachelet nominated
Rodgrigo
EgaÒa as commissioner of indigenous issues. CONADI, however, wants the
government to go one step further and create a more permanent office to
deal with the matter.
In a statement to the press Tuesday, Secretary General to the President
JosÈ Antonio Viera-Gallo expressed interest in the proposal, but the
government has yet to take any concrete measures to create the proposed
ministry. (Ed. Note: Please see related feature story in today’s
Santiago Times.)
SOURCES: LA TERCERA, EL MERCURIO
By Alex Cacciari
Mapuche International Solidarity Network
mapucheinternationalsolidarity@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
CHILE: MAPUCHE HUNGER STRIKE OVER, VIOLENCE CONTINUES
http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=15729&topic_id=1
Pro-Mapuche activist Patricia Troncoso was transferred at 1 a.m. Monday
morning from a Chill·n clinic to Region IX’s Temuco Hospital. The
activist ended her 112-day hunger strike last week after the Chilean
government agreed to meet her demands. Doctors say Troncoso is
recuperating well from the harsh effects of her prolonged fast. Troncoso
reached an agreement with President Michelle Bachelet last Wednesday
after some deliberation. The benefits granted Troncoso include weekend
leave for her and two fellow Mapuche activists, as well as the right to
continue her sentence in the semi-open Angol Work Center (ST, Jan. 30).
Despite Troncoso’s good spirits about her recovery, however, her mood
altered last Thursday upon learning that Walter RamÌrez, the police
officer who shot Mapuche activist MatÌas Catrileo in early January (ST,
Jan. 4), has been released from the Special Forces Prison in Angol.
“The Mapuche will never enjoy due process of law because the State has
pre-emptively judged the Mapuche cause,” she said in a communique from
the hospital. “MatÌas Catrileo was assassinated...this case must be
judged in a civilian tribunal.”
Catrileo’s mother, MÛnica Quezada, reacted somewhat differently,
insisting that RamÌrez’ release was not a reversal of justice because
the Carabinero still awaits trial.
Meanwhile, violence continues to ravage Region IX, where people of
direct Mapuche descent make up roughly 25 percent of the population. Two
attacks on trucks occurred last week near Temuco, the regional capital.
The first truck was stopped Friday by seven hooded people shooting
firearms and attempting to blockade the road into Vilc·n. The second
incident occurred just minutes later when a different group of about 20
people forced a driver to get out of his truck on the road to Temuco and
proceeded to set the truck on fire with Molotov cocktails.
Interior Undersecretary Felipe Harboe said there is no proof that links
last week’s attacks to Mapuche groups. “I think it’s not fair to
stigmatize the Mapuche community. It was a violent minority who
committed these acts,” he said.
Archbishop Ricardo Ezzatti has also spoken out about the stigmatization
of the Mapuche. “From the experiences I have had, and this is what I
believe, the Mapuche are a peaceful people,” he said. “I deeply believe
from my experience that (this violence) corresponds to a minority that
doesn't represent Mapuche interests.”
Though government officials hope that last week’s appointment of Rodrigo
EgaÒa as the new presidential commissioner for indigenous issues will
begin a new era of smoother relations between indigenous communities and
the Chilean State, EgaÒa’s role has been heavily critiqued.
JosÈ Santos Millao, an advisor under the National Corporation for
Indigenous Development (CONADI), denounced the creation of EgaÒa’s new
post as an insufficient provision by the government. He called for more
proactive measures in favor of the Mapuche population, including
constitutional recognition and government representation.
In the past several months Mapuche groups have pushed hard for some type
of political autonomy. Last November, the first-ever Mapuche political
party, Wallmapuwen (“Tierra Mapuche”), was formed. The creation of the
new party was strongly influenced and catalyzed by Spanish separatist
groups Batasuna, from Basque Country, and the Galician Nationalist Block
(BNG).
BNG member Bieito Lobeira, a prominent supporter of Mapuche autonomy,
said, “We are not necessarily speaking of independence but of a unique
political structure that would permit the Mapuche community to makes its
own decisions or co-decisions within the states of Argentina and Chile.”
(Ed. Note: See related feature story below – a La Tercera editorial
chastising Bachelet for negotiating with hunger striker Troncoso.)
SOURCES: EL MERCURIO, LA TERCERA, LA NACION
By Alex Cacciari
Mapuche International Solidarity Network
mapucheinternationalsolidarity@gmail.com
http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=15729&topic_id=1
Pro-Mapuche activist Patricia Troncoso was transferred at 1 a.m. Monday
morning from a Chill·n clinic to Region IX’s Temuco Hospital. The
activist ended her 112-day hunger strike last week after the Chilean
government agreed to meet her demands. Doctors say Troncoso is
recuperating well from the harsh effects of her prolonged fast. Troncoso
reached an agreement with President Michelle Bachelet last Wednesday
after some deliberation. The benefits granted Troncoso include weekend
leave for her and two fellow Mapuche activists, as well as the right to
continue her sentence in the semi-open Angol Work Center (ST, Jan. 30).
Despite Troncoso’s good spirits about her recovery, however, her mood
altered last Thursday upon learning that Walter RamÌrez, the police
officer who shot Mapuche activist MatÌas Catrileo in early January (ST,
Jan. 4), has been released from the Special Forces Prison in Angol.
“The Mapuche will never enjoy due process of law because the State has
pre-emptively judged the Mapuche cause,” she said in a communique from
the hospital. “MatÌas Catrileo was assassinated...this case must be
judged in a civilian tribunal.”
Catrileo’s mother, MÛnica Quezada, reacted somewhat differently,
insisting that RamÌrez’ release was not a reversal of justice because
the Carabinero still awaits trial.
Meanwhile, violence continues to ravage Region IX, where people of
direct Mapuche descent make up roughly 25 percent of the population. Two
attacks on trucks occurred last week near Temuco, the regional capital.
The first truck was stopped Friday by seven hooded people shooting
firearms and attempting to blockade the road into Vilc·n. The second
incident occurred just minutes later when a different group of about 20
people forced a driver to get out of his truck on the road to Temuco and
proceeded to set the truck on fire with Molotov cocktails.
Interior Undersecretary Felipe Harboe said there is no proof that links
last week’s attacks to Mapuche groups. “I think it’s not fair to
stigmatize the Mapuche community. It was a violent minority who
committed these acts,” he said.
Archbishop Ricardo Ezzatti has also spoken out about the stigmatization
of the Mapuche. “From the experiences I have had, and this is what I
believe, the Mapuche are a peaceful people,” he said. “I deeply believe
from my experience that (this violence) corresponds to a minority that
doesn't represent Mapuche interests.”
Though government officials hope that last week’s appointment of Rodrigo
EgaÒa as the new presidential commissioner for indigenous issues will
begin a new era of smoother relations between indigenous communities and
the Chilean State, EgaÒa’s role has been heavily critiqued.
JosÈ Santos Millao, an advisor under the National Corporation for
Indigenous Development (CONADI), denounced the creation of EgaÒa’s new
post as an insufficient provision by the government. He called for more
proactive measures in favor of the Mapuche population, including
constitutional recognition and government representation.
In the past several months Mapuche groups have pushed hard for some type
of political autonomy. Last November, the first-ever Mapuche political
party, Wallmapuwen (“Tierra Mapuche”), was formed. The creation of the
new party was strongly influenced and catalyzed by Spanish separatist
groups Batasuna, from Basque Country, and the Galician Nationalist Block
(BNG).
BNG member Bieito Lobeira, a prominent supporter of Mapuche autonomy,
said, “We are not necessarily speaking of independence but of a unique
political structure that would permit the Mapuche community to makes its
own decisions or co-decisions within the states of Argentina and Chile.”
(Ed. Note: See related feature story below – a La Tercera editorial
chastising Bachelet for negotiating with hunger striker Troncoso.)
SOURCES: EL MERCURIO, LA TERCERA, LA NACION
By Alex Cacciari
Mapuche International Solidarity Network
mapucheinternationalsolidarity@gmail.com
Friday, February 1, 2008
Chile's Mapuche Indians in new battle for lands
29 Jan 2008 17:40:08 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Antonio de la Jara
TEMUCUICUI, Chile, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Chile's Mapuche Indians, the fierce opponents of Spanish conquerors five centuries ago, have renewed their ancestral land demands in a series of clashes with police and private businesses.
Groups of the Mapuche, which means "Earth People" in the Mapudungun tongue, have occupied and burned forestry and farming lands in recent weeks and cut off highways to demand territories they say were stolen from them over the past 500 years.
One Mapuche student was shot dead in a clash with police in southern Chile earlier this month. His funeral was attended by angry youths bearing long sticks called chueca, a traditional weapon of Chile's largest indigenous group.
Faced by mounting protests and a well publicized hunger strike by a jailed indigenous rights activist, Chile's government agreed on Monday to create a high commission for indigenous rights.
The activist, 38-year-old Patricia Troncoso, then ended the 110-day hunger strike during which she lost 26 kg (57 pounds) and was kept alive by intravenous drip.
But the Mapuche want more than a rights commission and are demanding the return of lands taken from them by decrees from the colonial conquests to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
As Chile's economy booms, they accuse the center-left government of protecting corporate interests and repressing their demands with hard-handed tactics like the ones used by Pinochet's police 20 years ago.
"For us there has been no change since democracy started and the military dictatorship ended," said Jorge Huenchullan, a spokesman for the Mapuche in Temucuicui, some 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
Temucuicui is a small settlement with only scattered, rustic buildings and a small school, but it is the focal point for a conflict between the Mapuche and police that constantly patrol its forested hillsides and wheat fields.
"The biggest (police) raids, the most violent, have occurred during the democracy," Huenchullan said.
RESISTANCE
The Mapuche were famed for their resistance of Spanish conquerors and it was a young Mapuche chief, Lautaro, who captured and executed Pedro de Valdivia, Spain's royal governor of Chile, after the Battle of Tucapel in late 1553.
While no one is calling for armed rebellion now, Church leaders and international human rights groups warn the current conflict will escalate unless the government addresses the land issue.
"Lets hope the Commission can advance in resolving the fundamental issues of this conflict for Chilean society as a whole," said Bishop Alejandro Goic, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church.
Marches are planned this week in Santiago to support the Mapuche cause and protest the jailing of four Mapuche activists and Troncoso under a Pinochet-era anti-terrorism law.
The five were all sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2002 for setting fire to private lands.
The government insists Troncoso and the others jailed with her are not political prisoners, just people who committed crimes when they burned fields and forests, and business groups want a firmer government hand in dealing with the protests.
"This cannot be tolerated and the government must enforce the law. The guilty must be punished by the justice system," said Fernando Leniz, president of Corma, an industry group of Chile's major forestry companies.
In Temucuicui, where police patrol an area that is home to 120 Mapuche families laying claim to 600 hectares of lands, local leaders call the forestry companies "colonists," like the ones who took their lands five centuries ago.
"The colonists must go, there is no other way," said Huenchullan, the Mapuche spokesman. "We are going to defend our Mapuche rights on the lands that belong to us ... We are decided and will not cede ground." (Writing by Pav Jordan)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29600521.htm
Mapuche International Solidarity Network
mapucheinternationalsolidarity@gmail.com
29 Jan 2008 17:40:08 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Antonio de la Jara
TEMUCUICUI, Chile, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Chile's Mapuche Indians, the fierce opponents of Spanish conquerors five centuries ago, have renewed their ancestral land demands in a series of clashes with police and private businesses.
Groups of the Mapuche, which means "Earth People" in the Mapudungun tongue, have occupied and burned forestry and farming lands in recent weeks and cut off highways to demand territories they say were stolen from them over the past 500 years.
One Mapuche student was shot dead in a clash with police in southern Chile earlier this month. His funeral was attended by angry youths bearing long sticks called chueca, a traditional weapon of Chile's largest indigenous group.
Faced by mounting protests and a well publicized hunger strike by a jailed indigenous rights activist, Chile's government agreed on Monday to create a high commission for indigenous rights.
The activist, 38-year-old Patricia Troncoso, then ended the 110-day hunger strike during which she lost 26 kg (57 pounds) and was kept alive by intravenous drip.
But the Mapuche want more than a rights commission and are demanding the return of lands taken from them by decrees from the colonial conquests to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
As Chile's economy booms, they accuse the center-left government of protecting corporate interests and repressing their demands with hard-handed tactics like the ones used by Pinochet's police 20 years ago.
"For us there has been no change since democracy started and the military dictatorship ended," said Jorge Huenchullan, a spokesman for the Mapuche in Temucuicui, some 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of the capital Santiago.
Temucuicui is a small settlement with only scattered, rustic buildings and a small school, but it is the focal point for a conflict between the Mapuche and police that constantly patrol its forested hillsides and wheat fields.
"The biggest (police) raids, the most violent, have occurred during the democracy," Huenchullan said.
RESISTANCE
The Mapuche were famed for their resistance of Spanish conquerors and it was a young Mapuche chief, Lautaro, who captured and executed Pedro de Valdivia, Spain's royal governor of Chile, after the Battle of Tucapel in late 1553.
While no one is calling for armed rebellion now, Church leaders and international human rights groups warn the current conflict will escalate unless the government addresses the land issue.
"Lets hope the Commission can advance in resolving the fundamental issues of this conflict for Chilean society as a whole," said Bishop Alejandro Goic, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church.
Marches are planned this week in Santiago to support the Mapuche cause and protest the jailing of four Mapuche activists and Troncoso under a Pinochet-era anti-terrorism law.
The five were all sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2002 for setting fire to private lands.
The government insists Troncoso and the others jailed with her are not political prisoners, just people who committed crimes when they burned fields and forests, and business groups want a firmer government hand in dealing with the protests.
"This cannot be tolerated and the government must enforce the law. The guilty must be punished by the justice system," said Fernando Leniz, president of Corma, an industry group of Chile's major forestry companies.
In Temucuicui, where police patrol an area that is home to 120 Mapuche families laying claim to 600 hectares of lands, local leaders call the forestry companies "colonists," like the ones who took their lands five centuries ago.
"The colonists must go, there is no other way," said Huenchullan, the Mapuche spokesman. "We are going to defend our Mapuche rights on the lands that belong to us ... We are decided and will not cede ground." (Writing by Pav Jordan)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29600521.htm
Mapuche International Solidarity Network
mapucheinternationalsolidarity@gmail.com
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