European based Mapuche Organisations send letter to the Chilean President

European based Mapuche Organisations send letter to the Chilean President

Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet Jeria,
President of the Republic,
La Moneda Palace,
Santiago, Chile.

Europe , 4th September 2006

Your Excellency:

The purpose of this letter is to express to you our deep concern about the continual encroachment of the human rights of the Mapuche people.

In Europe many people are aware of the narrow minded exclusion and anti-democratic policies of some Latin American governments. This notion is substantiated in the case of Chile and brought about disappointment in a huge number of trustful people who had shown their active solidarity and support to the return of a democratic system. Today these people cannot understand why there are still political prisoners and why the individual and collective rights of the Mapuche people are not respected.

The hunger strike that four Mapuche political prisoners have maintained for seventy days gave rise to a huge solidarity movement and caused alarm in the European and the wider democratic community that have commercial, cultural and other links with Chile.

We deplore the fact that the commitments made by Your Excellency Mrs Bachelet and the former Minister Mr Andrés Zaldivar with the Mapuche people to modify the anti-terrorism law N° 18314 and subsequently free the Mapuche prisoners as a matter of urgency, have not yet been honoured. It is necessary to emphasize that this law was introduced during the military regime and today it is singularly applied against Mapuche leaders. These contradictions demonstrate a double standard in the Chilean judicial system, which refuses to defend Mapuche people, but conversely strenuously defends the economic interests of non-Mapuche who formerly settled in the Mapuche territories. However this law is applied strictly and results in police raids of the Mapuche communities, to the persecution of its leaders and to imprisonment and torture of anyone who fights to defend his lawful right to regain possession of the territories which were taken with the complacency of the establishment.

For these reasons, we declare:

We demand the freedom of all Mapuche political prisoners and the urgent reform of the anti-terrorist law.
We require respect for the life of children, the elderly, women and youth and for the integrity of the whole Mapuche people: an end to the violence and killings during police actions and with searches against Mapuche communities. AN END TO ARBRITRARY POLICE RAIDS OF MAPUCHE COMMUNITIES.
WE REQUIRE democratic participation, REAL AND CONCRETE PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE POVERTY.
We require a serious and complete inquiry into the killers of the young Alex Lemún and of the 71-year-old Mapuche José Domingo Collihuin Catril, killed on 27th August 2006. We require every action of the police to be brought on the basis of a no-discriminating judicial warrant.
We denounce the abuse that navy and police forces make of their weapons and of their authority towards defenceless Mapuche communities. We also deplore the refusal of the Government of Chile to ratify convention N° 169 of the ILO that recognizes some of the basic rights of indigenous people.

We state publicly the fact that the Mapuche people have the right to breathe democracy and live in peace, not to wake up in the night because of police searches; that families may forget the nightmare of physical and psychological terror; that their homes may be full of joy and not of tears for their imprisoned, bullets-riddled or persecuted relatives.

One of the main pillars of democracy is the freedom of speech. When a people wishes to participate in the building of a secure and improved future for his children, those who rule must listen and enhance their quality of life, rather than suppress it.

We, the signatories of this letter, demand democracy with full participation, tolerance without exclusion and equality for all.

We ask for justice and respect of human rights, respect for all indigenous people and their territories, their autonomy and their self-determination.

Reynaldo Mariqueo
Enlace Mapuche Internacional

Jorge Calbucura
Centro de Documentación Mapuche, Ñuke Mapu

Violeta Valenzuela
Alleanza Mapuche Internazionale
Coordinadora MIL - Italia

Nora Zeliz Pirillo
Contacto Mapuche Indígena en España

Sebastian Sepúlveda
Asociación CULTURA MAPUCHE
Gotemburgo, Suecia
Personalidad Jurídica sueca:
802433-2481

Oscar Loncochino
Asociación Puentes Culturales
Umea, Suecia

Gaston Lion
Comité Belga-América India

Islainfinita
Pablo Neruda y sus luchas
http://islainfinita.altervista.org

Centro per la Pace A. Tonelli
Integrazione interetnica e interculturale

A copy will be sent to Senators of the Republic of Chile, Mapuche and not Mapuche organizations, national and international press, national and international organizations of Human rights, National and International Red Cross.