Mapuche delegation in Santiago

Call for an end to terrorism trials

The Coordination of Mapuche Organizations and Territorial Identities presented a letter to President Ricardo Lagos yesterday afternoon, in condemnation of his government's acting as plaintiff in the trial against leaders and members of the Mapuche social movement which will begin on Monday 13 th June. The delegation also held a series of meetings with various political, social and human rights authorities in order to gather responses opposing the application of anti-terrorist laws in this and other cases involving Mapuche organizations and individuals in the Southern area of Chile.

By Azkintuwe Noticias / Friday 10 th June 2005

GULUMAPU/ The Coordination of Mapuche Organizations and Territorial Identities is taking several steps to demand that the Chilean government give up its position as plaintiff in the upcoming trial over "unlawful terrorist association", which will take place for the second time in the Oral Tribunal of Temuco Prison. The Supreme Court overrode the previous ruling that had acquitted eight Mapuches of this crime, among them the traditional chiefs Aniceto Norin and Pascual Pichún of the Traiguén zone.

In view of this situation, leaders of the Coordination, including Juan Pichún, the "werken" of the Temulemu community, presented a letter to President Ricardo Lagos yesterday afternoon, in condemnation of his government's acting as plaintiff in the trial against leaders and members of the Mapuche social movement which will begin on Monday 13 th June. The delegation also held a series of meetings with various political, social and human rights authorities in order to gather responses opposing the application of anti-terrorist laws in this and other cases involving Mapuche organizations and individuals in the Southern area of Chile .

According to the leaders of the Coordination, the situation of these Mapuche chiefs is part and parcel of the unjust, abusive and aberrant use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 18.314 by the Chilean state. They claim that this law is only used to judge Mapuches, violating the legal rights of numerous individuals. "It is neither applicable nor acceptable, since it also violates Chile 's juridical obligation to guarantee that the legitimate rights of all are respected", pointed out one of the delegates in the capital.

The Mapuche organizations also consider that the Government should respond to the complaints of international agencies and comply with their requirements, principally with regard to putting an end to the criminalization of the just demands of the Mapuche people, and granting amnesty to all Mapuche political prisoners as proposed by Rodofo Stavenhagen, court reporter of the United Nations. A similar stance has been adopted by numerous human rights organizations, both local and international. "Nonetheless, the Chilean state and the Government in particular have turned a deaf ear to these complaints and recommendations", explains the Coordination.

"The only terrorism in Chile is the timber industry, which causes the destruction of the rivers, of flora and fauna and of eco-systems, and which under the full protection of the Government supports the seizure of the land of communities that are now making their voices heard", maintain the Mapuche organizations. This is a direct allusion to Forestal Arauco and Mininco, the main companies to have entered into territorial conflicts with Mapuche communities. Of the two, Mininco (of the Matte group) is on the prosecuting side in the new oral trial that is soon to commence.

Meli Witran Mapu

Also in the Chilean capital, in a public statement the urban Mapuche organization Meli Witran Mapu (of the Four Points of the Earth) rejected the "systematic" application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act against the Mapuches by the Chilean government. They point out that "over the last two years the Government of Chile and its Judiciary have systematically used the Prevention of Terrorism Act against leaders of the Mapuche Nation, in a bid to criminalize our demands for social change and to break up any type of mobilization in this respect."

"At present, Mapuche leaders and members of communities owning common pastures stand accused under the law that penalizes terrorist activity, in spite of the constant criticism of this situation by human rights campaigners. Several of our brothers and sisters are currently convicted and imprisoned due to this law, in the prisons of Concepción, Angol and Traiguén. Others have been found guilty under common laws, but always in the framework of social conflict between the Mapuche Nation, the Chilean state and the world of business. For this reason we refer to them as Mapuche political prisoners," they contend.

Meli Witran Mapu views the first trial against the Traiguén chiefs as the starting point of this kind of abuse. "The trial of the chiefs marks the beginning of all the juridical aberrations being committed against the Mapuches. This situation repeated itself in July and August of 2004 in the Poluco Pidenco trial, which involved ten Mapuche individuals accused of a terrorist arson attack by the Government of Chile and the timber company Forestal Mininco Inc. In October and November of 2004, another trial took place against sixteen Mapuches charged with the crime of "unlawful terrorist association."

The list goes on. "Continuing with this series of trials, on the 22 nd November 2004, the Supreme Court of Santiago supported the sentence of five years in prison for Victor Ancalaf Llaupe pronounced by Diego Simpertigue, the examining magistrate of Concepción. Ancalaf stood accused of the alleged burning of three lorries in Alto Bío Bío, a charge that was never actually proved. The latest trial involving the Prevention of Terrorism Act was carried out at the beginning of April 2005. This time Juan Carlos Huenulao received the sentence of ten years and one day in jail and was made to pay more than 400 million pesos in damages for the alleged offence of a terrorist arson attack."

"This is the current scenario of juridical aberrations committed against the leaders of our people. The annulation of the verdict of not guilty in the case concerning "unlawful terrorist association" entails the opening of a new oral trial, which will commence on the 13 th June in the city of Temuco . These events lead us to proclaim our utmost rejection of this second trial, especially since over time the Chilean Supreme Court of Justice has amply demonstrated its tendentious attitude, that is to say, that it really does seek to convict our leaders", asserts the organization.

Letter from Switzerland

The leading representatives of the International Defence of Peoples' Rights (DIDEPU) sent an open letter from Geneva , Switzerland , addressed to Ricardo Lagos Escobar, President of Chile, and Mr Hernán Álvarez García, President of the Supreme Court of Justice. This missive is reproduced in full below:

"We wish to express our deepest concern at the constant attempts by the Chilean state to criminalize the Mapuche movement and its intention in its process of reconstruction as a Nation, and at the dubious legal measures employed to this end. Violence, repression, torture, physical attacks, police brutality, etc. are all part of the State's policy aimed at holding up the Mapuches' claims. We regret that the Government ignores the outcry of international public opinion, of human rights organizations and of the United Nations, and that it refuses to advance in the search for real solutions in response to the Mapuche people's demands for rights.

On the 6 th April 2005, under pressure from those who hold the economic and political power in the country, the Chilean Supreme Court of Justice once again intervened, overriding the verdict of not guilty in the trial over "unlawful terrorist association" carried out in October 2004 in the city of Temuco . This trial aimed to charge the Coordinating Committee of Mapuche Communities in Conflict Arauco-Malleco as an organization intended to commit unlawful acts. A new trial is under preparation for the 13 th June, in which the fate of those accused has already been decided.

The Supreme Court of Justice has not only annuled the verdict of not guilty, but has also issued opinions that demonstrate its bias and lack of neutrality before the facts, as can be seen in the following statement: "It is clear that a detailed analysis of the submitted evidence, which necessarily must be undertaken in another oral trial, will lead to a completely different ruling with regard to of some or all of the accused."

The Prevention of Terrorism Act has such far-reaching powers that it deprives those under accusation of a whole range of legal rights and does not guarantee a fair trial. It can be used to call anonymous and unseen witnesses, pay out large sums of money for "witness protection", extend precautionary measures, make use of long periods of preventative detention and monitor phone calls and written and electronic messages over an indefinite period of time. It can also be used to hold evidence in secret for six months, try a person twice for the same offence, etc. All of the powers mentioned above have been used against Mapuche social activists on various occasions.

Some of the provisions of this law infringe fundamental legal rights protected by the Pact of Civil and Political Rights and the South American Convention of Human Rights. On top of this, in the case of the trial over "unlawful terrorist association" the accused have had to go up against the Chilean state (both the Prosecution and the Home Office) the town council of Temuco and transnational corporations such as Forestal Mininco, among others. How can the Chilean state guarantee the Mapuche people fair trials when they are confronted with such omnipotent power?

The new oral trial against the Mapuche social activists demonstrates yet again the partiality of the Chilean justice system, the deep-seated racism that exists in national institutions and the close alliance of the Chilean state with national and international economic powers. An alliance that in its attempts to implement an exclusive and predatory system cannot allow the constitutional recognition of indigenous peoples and their individual rights as a community, nor permit that they exercise their rights to self-determination and to claim possession of their ancestral territory.

We reiterate that a conviction for "unlawful terrorist association" not only violates the rights of the Mapuche people, but also creates precedents for directing accusations of terrorism at any form of social expression or political organisation opposed to the Neo-Liberal model.

It is inconceivable that a State that calls itself democratic and modern should continue to criminalize the social struggle, and that its prisons should continue to fill up with political prisoners. Nor is is understandable that a body of laws created by the despised military dictatorship should continue to be applied, as is the case with the Prevention of Terrorism Act 18.314 and its variants. We would like to remind you that this very law was widely criticised and condemned during the years of the dictatorship - by the international community and by those who govern the country today.

Considering the current situation in Chile and faced with the refusal of the Government to seek solutions in response to the just claims of the Mapuche Nation, we demand: 1. Immediate and unconditional freedom for all Chilean and Mapuche political prisoners. 2. The closing-down of all trials in which Mapuches are being prosecuted. 3. The annulation of the new trial of Mapuche social activists for "unlawful terrorist association". 4. An end to the repression and police presence in Mapuche territory and an end to the criminalization of their organizations, as in the case of the Coordinating Committee of Mapuche Communities in Conflict Arauco-Malleco. 5. The beginning of a process of participatory and open dialogue with Mapuche authorities, organizations and communities, with the objective of finding permanent solutions to the issues of historical debt, constitutional recognition and the right to self-determination.

We would also like to remind the rulers of Chile that the Mapuche people paid a high price during the bloody military dictatorship and were at the forefront of the struggle to reestablish the democracy that the country enjoys today. Those of us who now defend the rights of the Mapuches did not hesitate in the past to support various members of the present Government when they were being persecuted by the dictatorship and by the same "laws" that are now being used to persecute Mapuche social activists.

For this reason, we will maintain an attentive and vigilant stance toward the development of the situation and will increase the denouncements, protests, demands and investigation directed at the Government of Chile, international public opinion and human rights organizations.

Signed: Ana Vera / President - Jaime Valdés / General Secretary - DIDEPU / Geneva , Switzerland , 9 th June 2005." / Azkintuwe

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Translated from Spanish by Anna Harvey
Mapuche International Link

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