Concerning the detention of Pedro Cayuqueo
Azkintuwe Newspaper, Declaration
Temuco, Mapuche Country - 3rd June 2005
To the Mapuche organizations of the Gulumapu and Puelmapu
To Mapuche and non-Mapuche civil society
To human rights organizations and organizations for press freedom
Dear friends,
As is public knowledge, on 2nd June 2005 the director of the Mapuche newspaper AzkintuWE, Pedro Cayuqueo Millaqueo, was detained in the town of Nueva Imperial by civil officers of the Chilean police carrying out an order of arrest from the Court of Traiguén in Malleco Province of Chile's Region IX. It appears that the court's surrogate judge issued the order against Cayuqueo, taking into account an unpaid fine imposed with a sanction. This included his arrest for 41 days following his conviction in 2003 for participating in a reclamation of lands usurped from Mapuches in the area of Traiguén.
Although Pedro Cayuqueo's detention is imposed by 'Chilean legality', to the editorial team of AzkintuWE it appears once again to be an act of political hostage-taking and political persecution, targeting him as a media professional and Mapuche activist. His arrest is no coincidence. As the media has stated, Cariqueo was preparing to travel to Canada this week, where he has been invited by indigenous communications organizations of the northern hemisphere. The visit was to provide attendance at a busy agenda of conferences in a number of Canadian cities. His arrest and detention, which entails the overnight detention of Mr Cayuqueo for a continuous period of 41 days, was notified to us today. This has meant that Pedro Cayuqueo has not been able to travel to Canada or to undertake his communications work.
As is known, Pedro Cayuqueo is a journalist and known opponent of the indigenous policies of the current government. Under his directorship, the newspaper AzkintuWE has been outstanding in its development of a responsible critique of the indigenous politics of the present government as well as enriching contemporary Mapuche political thought through his tireless intellectual work. Similarly, through the pages of AzkintuWE he has been a critique of the partiality of the Chilean courts shown in the judgements against Mapuche community members as well as the use of widely condemned sinister procedures including application of the Antiterrorist Law, the presence of covert witnesses, and the violation of right to presumption of innocence (the Mapuche of Chile are considered guilty even before being brought to trial).
In view of the above and because we believe in the partiality of the Chilean judicial authorities, we believe that a political agenda accounts for his detention. We thus appeal to you to for solidarity in trying to obtain justice in this matter as quickly as possible and to avoid further time delays preventing our director from exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression and movement both within our country and abroad. We believe that a letter from you written to the political authorities of the country as well as to the Court of Traiguén would help apply pressure for Pedro Cayuqueo to regain complete liberty and for the Chilean courts to end, for once and for all, this judicial process against him which has been dragging on - at the government's convenience- for more than five years. The addresses for your letters are shown below.
Thank you for your willingness to show solidarity with us. We are very grateful for your help.
Wladimir Painemal
Subdirector
Mapuche Newspaper AzkintuWE
Jaqueline Caniguan, José Marimán and Pedro Carimán
Editorial Team
Mapuche Newspaper AzkintuWE
ADDRESSES:
S.E. Ricardo Lagos Escobar,
Presidente de la República,
Palacio de La Moneda,
Santiago, Chile
Tel. (+562) 690 40 20
(+562) 699 03 94
Email: ricardolagos@lagos.cl ; redlagos@icono.cl ; internet@presidente.cl
Centro Detención Penitenciaria Traiguén
Coronel Gregorio Urrutia No. 129,
Traiguén, IX Región, Chile
Fax: (+5645) 861768 / Teléfono: (+5645) 861768
With copies to:
Sr. Rodolfo Stravenhagen,
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties for Indigenous People, High Commission of the United Nations for Human Rights,
OHCHR, United Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
e-mail: perspiniella@ohchr.org
Tel: +41 (0) 22-9179413/ Fax: +41 (0) 22-9179010
Colegio de Periodistas de Chile
Consejo Nacional,Calle Amunategui 31, Of. 51, Santiago, Chile
Tel: (+562) 6968827 / Email: colegiodeperiodistas@transtar.cl
Federación Latinoamericana de Periodistas (FELAP)
Nuevo León # 144 interio 101 Colonia Hipódromo Condesa - CP 06170 Mexico D.F.
Tel: (5255) 52866055
Fax: (5255) 52866085
E-mail: felpa@laneta.apc.org / ernestocarmona@vtr.net / ciap@ctcinternet.cl