Mapuche Chief Juana Calfunao saved at the 11th hour
By Nina Dean - 22 nd October 2007
The Chilean Government finally met with all six demands of Chief Juana Calfunao, a Mapuche ancestral authority and leader of the Juan Paillalef community who concluded her hunger strike on the 9th of October 2007, on the 64th day of her protest, whilst her sister Luisa had ended her protest on the previous day.
Chief Calfunao and her sister had initiated the action on the 7th of August in a bid for the Chilean government to agree to meet the following demands:
the recognition of all Mapuche political prisoners by the Chilean state
to guarantee the physical and psychological safety of Mapuche political prisoners
to cease the practice of maltreatment of Mapuche political prisoners by prison officers
to provide adequate medical attention to sick prisoners in particular Werken (Special envoy) Antonio Cadin
to reinstate access to family visitation rights
For recognition of Mapuche ancestral authorities
Throughout the duration of the hunger strike the Chilean State had observed their protest and their rapidly deteriorating state of health with an attitude of silent disregard, whilst an apparent media blackout in Chile meant that the general public were entirely unaware that according to medical reports both women's lives were in serious jeopardy.
In a letter written by Chief Calfunao on behalf of herself and her sister Luisa addressed to international human rights organisations and supporters issued on 12th Oct she defiantly asserted that ''knowing that, although my body is incarcerated, my mind, my ideals and convictions are not. The prison, the torture and ill treatment does not intimidate me and I will never cease to speak out to the world the injustice and the abuse of human rights which daily are committed in Chile against the most vulnerable and defenceless, such as is the case of us the Mapuche''.
Chilean human rights lawyer Judge Juan Guzman, an internationally acclaimed human rights lawyer who is recognised for his victory landmark case against former Chilean dictator General Pinochet, along with Chief Calfunao's defence lawyer Lorenzo Morales, visited Temuco prison on the 7th of Oct in order to speak with Chief Calfunao and her sister and to learn directly about their experience of the repressive judicial and law enforcement practices which originally led to their incarceration. On Judge Guzman's request, Luisa was subsequently removed to the prison infirmary in a weak and fragile condition where she later ended her hunger strike.
Later in the same week Judge Guzman, stated on national Chilean television news that although he had previously believed that human rights abuse in Chile was a thing of the past, he now realised that it was taking place against the Mapuche people, in particular Mapuche leaders and those who engaged in democratic protest in defence of their ancestral lands. He attributed the reason for the repression of the Mapuche and the theft and exploitation of their territory as the actions of a partial judicial and law enforcement system reinforced by the economic interests of national and trans-national corporations which are wholly supported by the Chilean State. Judge Guzman maintains that Judges frequently meat out over harsh sentences to Mapuche, which do not correspond appropriately to the crimes they commit. Mapuche receive sentences related to terrorist acts for common crimes which do not deserve this level of punishment he says. He identified the case of Chief Calfunao and her family among others as an example of the injustices inherent in the Chilean judicial system.
Judge Guzman's meeting with Chief Calfunao and her sister was followed by further visits with Mapuche political prisoners held in the prisons of Angol, Traiguen, Lautaro,Temuco and Victoria and Mapuche communities including the Juan Pailallef community in order to learn first hand from their experiences of repression and human rights violation in relation to their struggle to defend ancestral territory.
Chief Calfunao and her sisters struggle for freedom and justice and that of all Mapuche political prisoners has received global support from international human rights organisations such as International Federation of Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Mapuche support groups.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was among those of the international community who, through his prayers, supported Chief Calfunao and her sister during their ordeal. Others such as international human rights organisations, fellow Mapuche and Mapuche support agencies watched on with heightening anxiety as their medical condition rapidly deteriorated with alarming consequences, when on the 2nd of Oct Chief Calfunao suffered heart failure due to severe malnutrition.
Chief Calfuano and Luisa's plight was further emphasized in August of this year when on day 14 of the hunger strike a delegation from Mapuche International Link visited the Vatican City in Rome in anticipation of the occasion of the visit of the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet with His Holiness Pope Benedict the 16th, with the intention of presenting a letter addressed to His Holiness outlining the 500 year old historic Mapuche fight for ancestral land rights and the present human rights violations taking place against Mapuche people, activists and ancestral authorities. They later held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Papal residence in order to highlight their concerns for the situation of Chief Calfunao her sister and all Mapuche political prisoners.
On the 10th October seven further Mapuche political prisoners, Ivan Llanquileo, Waikilaf Cadin Calfunao (son of Chief Calfuano), Jaime Marileo, Patricia Troncoso, Jose Millalen, Hector Llaitul, Jose Huenchunao initiated an indefinite hunger strike for an end to the irregularities that led to their detention. European Mapuche support groups last week called for a 'Day of international solidarity with Mapuche people' on the Friday the 26th of October.
Today Mon 22nd Oct Chief Calfunao and her sister are due to face trial after almost a year in detention without sentence as a result of their protest against illicit developments within their communities' ancestral land. They are expecting to receive a possible sentence of between 7 to 12 years. This trial is one of successive court tribunals for which Chief Calfunao has been subject to condemnation under both dictatorial and democratic governance.