01/10/2013

"Chile's government is fanning the flames!"

STP warns about an escalation of the Mapuche conflict:

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns about an escalation of violence in the Mapuche areas of southern Chile. "We are extremely concerned about a possible loss of control and resulting violence following the tensions between the native Indians – who are fighting for their land rights – and agricultural companies or forestry businesses that are taking advantage of the disputed Mapuche areas," said the STP's expert on questions regarding indigenous peoples, Yvonne Bangert, in Göttingen on Thursday. "The Chilean government should finally enter an open and honest dialogue with the Mapuche rather than fan the flames by pushing through anti-terror laws enacted during the Pinochet dictatorship or by sending out more and more security forces."

Following the violent deaths of the couple Werner Luchsinger and Vivianne McKay at the end of last week, members of the right-wing activist group Hernan Trizano made the situation worse by threatening the Mapuche. Five years ago, the young Mapuche Matías Catrileo was killed during a peaceful land occupation. The Luchsinger family owns about 1,000 hectares of land that is being claimed by the Mapuche.

Mapuche organizations and the Temuco community invited President Sebastian Pinera and representatives of the civil society in Chile to the 16th meeting of the crisis summit which will take place in Temuco in January. Church representatives and Adolfo Perez Esquivel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, expressed their understanding for the Mapuche and are asking for a fair approach to their demands. The Indians are claiming back at least 700,000 hectares of land which they had obtained by a land reform under Salvador Allende (1970-1973), which was, however, revoked by the Pinochet dictatorship.

The Mapuche in Chile – whose numbers range from 800,000 to 1,400,000 depending on the source of information – are getting more and more frustrated because the Indian CONADI association is not able to fulfill its task of buying back land from private owners and returning it to the Mapuche due to being short of money. What's more, members of the Mapuche land rights movement are being prosecuted as terrorists and convicted to disproportionate fines or imprisonment. In these cases, minors are being treated as adults. Imprisoned Mapuche have repeatedly risked their lives in month-long hunger strikes because they see no other way to create awareness of their situation. The Mapuche have reported extraordinarily brutal raids, beatings and humiliations in detention. They are also complaining that their children are forced to grow up in a climate of fear. Eight Mapuche got killed by security forces during the conflicts since 2002.