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MAPUCHE INTERNATIONAL LINK |
Demonstration in London in support of Mapuche political prisoners on hunger strike
Press Release – August 18th 2010.
In response to an appeal by relatives of Mapuche political prisoners who are currently on hunger strike, Mapuche International Link (MIL) will express our solidarity by holding a demonstration outside London’s Chilean embassy today.
The situation is given an added urgency by reports which suggest that the health of the detainees, some of whom have been on hunger strike since the 12th of last month, is being seriously jeopardised by the Chilean authorities’ continued refusal to allow independent doctors to conduct a medical evaluation.
Mapuche activists and supporters have been alarmed by reports which suggest that some prisoners have lost ‘between eight and eleven kilos in weight’, are suffering from ‘dizziness, disorientation and stomach cramps’ and are routinely denied access to medical treatment. Aside from their physical condition, the prisoners’ mental health is also of concern, especially as they are currently subjected to humiliating conditions of internment and racial abuse.
The demonstration in support of the prisoners is part of an international campaign which is pressurising the Chilean authorities to withdraw anti-terrorism legislation which was first enacted by the Pinochet regime. This anachronism is entirely incompatible with the state’s supposedly democratic character, as two detainees who recently joined the hunger strike have recognised. Carlos Muñoz Huenuman Painemil and Eduardo Pea therefore observe that the state, its ostensible concern for democracy and the rule of law notwithstanding, is enacting a ‘political and judicial farce’.
At present, anti-terrorist law 18.314 permits dual trial by military tribunals and civilian courts, the use of ‘faceless witnesses’ and detention for indefinite periods of time. The law has been exclusively targeted against Mapuche communities for the past decade. For this reason, amongst others, the Ethical Committee against Torture has called for it to be withdrawn.
MIL has mobilised in response to the sacrifices of the prisoners, who continue to stand in defiant opposition to the state’s continued denial of their political rights and freedoms. MIL’s General-Secretary, Reynaldo Mariqueo, recently declared his solidarity with the prisoners when he led a delegation, which included political prisoners formally incarcerated by the Pinochet regime, to the Chilean embassy to formally register his opposition to the state’s indiscriminate and widespread use of anti-terrorism legislation.
This event, which marked the month which has passed since the hunger strike first broke out on July 12, was intended to highlight the ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike’ which MIL had called for. Both this event and today’s demonstration reaffirm our solidarity with the prisoners and their cause. This solidarity is encapsulated in our demand that the Chilean government:
Negotiate with the political prisoners
Repeal the anti-terrorism law
End the system of simultaneous trials before a military tribunal and a civilian court
Ensure the observance of due legal process
Both events are part of the broader ‘Campaign for the Defence of Human Rights of Mapuche Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike’, which is supported by Mapuche groups from across Europe and the wider world. The hunger strike also enjoys a substantial level of support within the Mapuche community itself; several demonstrations in cities across Chile have already expressed their solidarity with the political prisoners.
The demonstration will begin at 2.30pm today. It will be held in front of the Chilean embassy, which is based at 37-41 Old Queen Street, London in postcode area SW1H 9JA. The nearest underground station is St James’s Park.
We invite you and your organisation to join us at the demonstration, which will be held from 2.30pm to 3.30pm.
