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The Supreme Court orders a new judgment against
Mapuche leaders
Temuco, July 2nd, 2003
The highest court in the land adds its weight to
the policy of criminalizing the Mapuches and their demands, and prescribes
a definite prison sentence for the Lonkos (Mapuche leaders).
In a majority ruling, 4 Ministers of the Supreme
Court of Justice have decided to annul the judgment that acquitted the
Mapuche Lonkos Pascual Pichun, Aniceto Norin, and the Mapuche villager,
Patricia Troncoso - and have called for a new judgement with a clear directive
to the Oral Court in Angol to deliver a guilty sentence.
The ruling of the Supreme Court supersedes the conflicting ones given
by the Oral Court in Angol; it was considered that the judges there did
not adequately weigh up the means of proof and had not clearly and logically
shown the reasoning that allowed the acquittal of the Lonkos. The courts
lack of experience was also noted.
For Noralinea, this is crude and an error on the part of the Supreme Court
inasmuch as, after 12 days of proceedings the State Department, the private
individual Juan Agustin Figueroa and the government hadnt given
any relevant proof of the Mapuches guilt. And yet, the Supreme
Court, in only 6 hours of listening to the partys lawyers, has considered
that there are grounds to condemn.
Sadly the ruling is a signal that will put pressure on judges in future
cases against Mapuches accused of territorial conflicts for land in the
southern regions of the country. Although theres no reference
to those matters, the ruling of the Supreme Court legitimises the use
of anti-terrorist legislation and use of resources such as anonymous,
protected witnesses. With this ruling, the highest court in the land adds
its weight to the policy of criminalizing the Mapuches and their demands.
The annulment of the ruling that acquitted the Lonkos was prompted by
Juan Agustin Figueroa, a well-known public figure who was Minister of
State during Patricio Aylwins presidency and is today one of the
7 members of the countrys Constitutional Court. Furthermore
Figueroa is known to be a large estate owner who has supported the use
of the antiterrorist laws against the Mapuche people.
Translated by
Holly Bembridge
Mapuche International Link
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