Call for the release of Mapuche political prisoners
By: Lucia Sepulveda Ruiz, 6 January 2004
One hundred and forty-seven distinguished European intellectuals, among them Edgar Morin, Alain Touraine and Jose Saramago, have signed a letter asking for an end to the repression of the Mapuche people. The letter, circulated by the humanitarian organisation Amities Franco-Chilliennes (Franco-Chilean Friendships), was addressed to President Lagos. The executive has not as yet responded to the letter whilst in the judicial arena the very matters causing concern to this group of intellectuals have worsened.
In the last few weeks, in a ruling preceded by a hitherto unheard of level of political lobbying and criticised in human rights circles, the Supreme Court ratified the five year sentences given to Aniceto Norin and Pasucal Pichun, two lonkos (chiefs) from Mapuche communities. The sentences were for 'threatening' Juan Agustin Figueroa, a lobbyist close to the Concertation government and owner of lands which have been reclaimed by these people. Later it became known that another Mapuche spokesman, Victor Ancalaf, had received a sentence of ten years at the first petition. All of this has taken place under the auspices of the much publicised Reform of the Penal Process, a change in the application of justice which came into force two years ago, specifically in the Region of Araucania, where the majority of Mapuche communities are based.
In face of the official silence with regards to the letter, the film director Carmen Castillo, who lives in Paris, took action. She, along with Cristina Painemal, of the Association of the Families of Mapuche Political Prisoners, which was created in December 2003, publicly released the letter in Santiago. It had originally been presented to ambassador Marcelo Schilling in Paris last May by Odile Marchand, president of the organisation Franco-Chilean Friendships.
The call, which came from both this organisation and from the organisation Solidarite Laique (Lay Solidarity), was supported by a total of one hundred and forty-seven distinguished personalities. Among their numbers are Regis Debray, Gilles Perrault and Regine Desforges. They were also joined by leaders well known to President Lagos, such as ex Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, the ex First Lady Danielle Mitterrand and the President of the General Council Jean Louis Bianco, as well as current members of parliament: Robert Badinter, Henry Emmanuelli, Michel Dreyfus-Schmitt, Tony Dreyfus, Julien Dray, Francois Holande, Segolene Royal and Sami Nair. The film director Costa Gavras, the actors Guy Bedos, Bernard Giraudeau and Marina Vlady and the musicians George Moustaki, Miguel Angel Estrella and Rodolfo Parada Lillo (of Quilapayun) also took part, along with Jean Ziegler, special UN envoy for the right to food.
The letter expresses their concerns about what they consider to be a 'repressive solution' to the Mapuche problem, in place of the political solution which they are advocating. It also requests that laws created during the dictatorship should not be applied to social campaigners and that the International Agreement on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Declaration regarding the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination both be respected.
Fifteen Mapuche political prisoners
The Association of the Families of Mapuche Political Prisoners released a list of fifteen prisoners in Angol and Concepcion - three of them women - who have been charged with 'belonging to an illicit terrorist organisation'. Meanwhile, around thirty members of the community are affected by so-called 'preventative measures' which mean severe restrictions on their freedom of movement and, in many cases, virtual house arrest.
'Chile once again…..It is not a matter of a war nor of a massacre but of a situation which now cuts across the Mapuche people. Communities have been abandoned, sometimes persecuted and their leaders are imprisoned for fighting against the prospect of the complete destruction of their peoples as a result of neoliberal policies'. These comments formed part of the letter with which Carmen Castillo rallied support from the signatories to the request. Many of them were active participants in Chilean solidarity campaigns during the years of the dictatorship and their names are therefore familiar to politicians of the Concertation government and particularly to members of the Socialist and PPD parties. Furthermore, Jose Saramago was an official guest at La Moneda in 2003, delivering an address to members of the presidential cabinet and President Lagos himself.
Carmen Castillo believes that it is now vital to support efforts towards the construction of a multicultural, free and democratic Chile, an opportunity which judging by the government's silence, La Moneda does not appear to be willing to capitalise upon.
This is the letter to which Lagos has failed to reply
Paris, 20 May 2003
Mr. Ricardo Lagos
President of the Republic of Chile
Mr President
We are writing to you with the aim of expressing our concern with regard to the current situation of the Mapuche people, in particular the situation of the leaders and members of these communities who are detained in the prisons of your country.
On successive occasions, different national and international Human Rights organizations have denounced the violations of fundamental rights to which members of the community and the organizations of these people have been subjected.
We are appalled at the experiences faced by many Mapuche political prisoners and respectfully ask you to intervene in order to secure a political rather than a repressive solution to the demands of the Mapuche community, in particular:
An end to the judicial persecution of the leaders and members of these communities.
The release of all Mapuche political prisoners prosecuted under laws brought in during the dictatorship.
Respect for indigenous law No. 19.253 regarding the protection and development of indigenous peoples; the application of the International Agreement on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights along with the UN Declaration regarding the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
Ratification of ILO Convention No.169 for the full recognition of indigenous peoples.
We are convinced that your preference as a democrat would be to seek out conditions which will allow for a dialogue with the Mapuche people.
Yours sincerely
Odile Marchand,
Franco-Chilean Friendships
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