Mapuche Conflict Requires Political Will, Says Chilean Ombudsman

Santiago de Chile, Jan 13 - Chilean national ombudsman Georgy Schubert said today that the solution to the so-called Mapuche conflict requires political will and a concrete policy from the Government.

There is no evidence to support the idea that the Mapuche are receiving preferential treatment in the justice system; quite the contrary, the official said in an interview with the Dinamo news web site.

"We can hardly talk about leniency when specialists such as the UN Rapporteurs for Indigenous Peoples, Rodolfo Stavenhagen and James Anaya, and Special Rapporteur on Terrorism and Human Rights, Ben Emmerson, have criticized the way criminal proceedings against members of that ethnic group have been conducted", he said.

According to the official, behind the territorial confrontation there are much deeper complications, which can transcend any response that the justice system and the police may be able to provide.

"There is a consensus that the social conflict behind this problem is historic, intractable and far exceeds the response that the criminal justice system can deliver", he stressed.

Source: Prensa Latina

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