Destroyed - The Altar of Lleupeco of Mapuche shaman, Machi Sonia Cheuque
A lawsuit is held after damage and outrage caused by police raid
January 16 2007
On behalf of the watchdog for the rights of indigenous communities, legal adviser Richard Caifal Piutrin and lawyer Antonio Collados Sariego have brought a criminal lawsuit against all those responsible for the damage and offence caused during a raid conducted by police officers on the home of shaman Sonia Cheuque Aedo located in the municipality of Padre las Casas, Lleupeco on 26 December 2006.
The raid was ordered by public prosecutor Vania Arancibia as part of an investigation into a fire and the illegal transportation of arms last December for which Roberto Painemil Parra has been charged. The fire destroyed machinery of timber company Mininco in the area of Chol Chol.
As well as taking this legal action, the advisors have made it absolutely clear that they are in no way attempting to hinder the investigative work of the Prosecution. Their main goal is to establish who is responsible for the damage and offence aimed at the affected families, which left an altar completely destroyed. The destruction of the altar has been interpreted as a serious assault on the institutional nature of the Mapuche community and on its most sacred cultural symbols as well as a clear violation of a fundamental right established in article 19, number 6 of the political constitution (No 6 - freedom of conscience, allowing all beliefs and faiths to operate as long as they do not oppose morality, respectability or public order).
The altar was destroyed because police thought that arms or explosives may be hidden within it. This judgment by the police resulted in a taunting of the Mapuche people and an aberrant act that must be condemned by all sectors of society since this sacred element of the Mapuche community must be protected in every way. We cannot leave its symbolic meaning or sacred character to the discretion of a mere police officer.
As well as putting up with the heavy handed treatment employed by police officers, not at any time did the affected families see a search warrant or were given a copy of it, which would suggest some kind of legality to the action taken. This documentation has been requested from the police on numerous occasions.
On the other side of this is the fact that police officers caused more outrage as, at the same place of the raid and without the presence of a legal representative or any other authority, they interrogated a minor of less than five years old. This violates all laws that protect minors and which are deliberately established within our legislation and in international agreements. It has therein caused psychological trauma to the minor which, due to lack of economic resources has not yet been dealt with by a specialist.
Finally, it is necessary to make clear that it is impossible for any part of society to protect the irresponsible and unjustified action of the institutions and police officers that acted beyond what the law allows, abusing their authority and therefore provoking a situation in which rights were violated. This is particularly so when dealing with the traditional authorities of the Mapuche community and symbols or objects of religious sanctity within a culture.
It is now therefore necessary to get the attention of the authorities in order to prevent a repeat of these actions and to establish a consistent and just criteria for police action. This action, until now, has been out of all proportion as seen in the numerous cases of abuse at the hands of the police in this region and which would suggest an extreme policy of repression against indigenous communities and not a few isolated events as certain authorities would have you believe. This inevitably leads us to question not only the police officers but also the political authorities that have not known how to confront nor respond to the demands of the indigenous world.
Source - Richard Caifal P.
Translated into English by Emma Bell