Justice for the young Mapuche Pascual Pichún Collonao!

The 27-year-old Mapuche Pascual Pichún Collonao has been sitting in the public prison Traiguén (IX. Region) in Chile since February 26, 2010. He, along with his brother Rafael, allegedly set a truck on fire during a Mapuche demonstration in 2002. After an exceptionally long pre-trial custody of 294 days, the brothers were each sentenced to five years imprisonment in addition to a fine. After fierce protests, the prison sentence was changed to a suspended sentence, and the brothers were released shortly thereafter. When in November of 2003 the proceedings against them were resumed and a warrant of arrest reissued, Pascual and Rafael went into hiding. Rafael was discovered and was arrested on July 21, 2005. Pascual fled to Argentina and dedicated himself to fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples. He was rearrested during a visit to his family in Temuco, Chile at the end of February 2010. For his family, the experience is similar to that of many other Mapuche families whose members are engaged in the fight for the rights of their people. Pascual and Rafael’s father has also, on the basis of the anti-terrorism law been sentenced to a long-term imprisonment. The father of the two brothers, Pascal Pinchún Paillalao, is Lonko (church warden) of a small city and is the leading spokesman of the Mapuche Resistance.

Pascual Pichún’s punishment and that of his family members is not an unusual fate among the Mapuche, rather it serves as an example of the suffering that many Mapuche face under the political oppression in Chile. Those who participate in peaceful demonstrations, street blockades, occupations and other non-violent initiatives of the Mapuche land rights movement in Chile quickly find themselves confronted with serious allegations. The standard accusations are „membership in an illegal terrorist organisation,” „terrorist threat,” or „terrorist arson.” Most of the law suits against the Mapuche cite the so-called anti-terrorism law, which dates back to the time of Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990). This relic of a law, Number 18.314, makes it possible for cases to be conducted separately. It further allows civilians to be tried in military court. Anonymous testimonies, so-called faceless witnesses, are permitted as well. In this way, the right to fair defense has been extremely restricted. In addition, the accused can be held for months in pre-trial custody. The outcomes of a conviction are abnormally high prison sentences and fines.

The anti-terrorism law seriously limits the independence of the Mapuche, who are protected by human rights agreements ratified by Chile, including the American Human Rights Convention „San José Pact.” Other bodies of legislation that protect the rights of indigenous peoples are likewise regularly ignored, including the ILO-Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples.

According to data from the Chilian Ethics Commission against Torture (Comisión ética contra la Tortura), there are currently 57 Mapuche detained as political prisoners and 96 on-going proceedings.

Please support our appeal to the President of Chile Sebastián Piñera and the minister of justice Felipe Bulnes Serrano to finally abolish the anti-terrorism law from the time of Pinochet’s dictatorship and to ensure a fair trial for Pascual Pichún Collonao and the rest of the Mapuche political prisoners.

Link for the online appeal