IPS-English CHILE: Indigenous Group Starving for Rights Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 14:58:22 -0700 ROMAIPS EU LA IP HD IN=20 CHILE: Indigenous Group Starving for Rights By Stefania Bianchi LONDON, May 10 (IPS) - Campaigners are growing increasingly concerned abo= ut the plight of four political prisoners on hunger strike over human rig= hts violations within the Mapuche community in Chile. =94Their health is now in serious decline -- they are experiencing consid= erable weight loss, their basic bodily functions are beginning to fail, t= hey are currently falling in and out of consciousness and are periodicall= y unable to speak,=94 Reynaldo Mariqueo from Mapuche International Link, = an international organisation based in Bristol in Britain told IPS. The prisoners, Patricia Troncoso, Juan Huenulao, Patricio Marileo and Jai= me Marileo have been held in prison since 2001. The woman and three men are charged with starting a fire in December 2001= that burned 100 hectares of pine plantations belonging to the Forestal M= ininco company on the Poluco Pidenco estate in Ercilla, southern Chile. T= he four, together with seven others, were protesting the occupation of th= eir ancestral land by the multinational forestry company. The court sentenced them under a special anti-terrorism law. The four wer= e sentenced to 10 years each in prison, and ordered to pay the company mo= re than 800,000 dollars in compensation. The Mapuche are an indigenous people whose ancestral territory spans the = southern cone of Latin America across Argentina and Chile. According to t= he 2002 census, of the Chilean population of 15.6 million almost 700,000 = belong to indigenous groups, mostly Mapuche. Mapuche people say they are suffering the consequences of social and poli= tical repression, and the imposition of assimilation policies. The existence of the Mapuche people is not recognised by the Chilean cons= titution, nor does Chile subscribe to international agreements to promote= and protect human rights and the rights of indigenous people. This means that neither the legal nor the educational systems are obliged= to make a distinction between the Mapuche and the Chileans. As a result,= Mapuche suffer from poor housing, malnutrition, illiteracy, alcoholism, = tuberculosis and a high rate of infant mortality. The Bristol-based Mapuche campaigners are now demanding a new trial for t= he four prisoners. =94The application of anti-terrorist law against Mapuche activists who pr= otest for the protection of their traditional ancestral lands and in defe= nce of their environment is utilised as a strategy to intimidate, control= and repress their legitimate right to democratic protest,=94 said Mariqu= eo. =94Furthermore the application of this law expresses a bias towards the g= overnment-affiliated transnational corporations who seek to exploit the r= esources contained in the ancestral land of these communities.=94 The case of the four political prisoners symbolises the struggle of the M= apuche people, Mariqueo said.=20 =94If this were an isolated case it would be bad enough, but the Mapuche = have for decades now been casualties of social and legal discrimination. = Other dissenters too have been deemed terrorists and felt the full force = of the law, suggesting that the political needs of the Mapuche nation are= themselves criminalised.=94 In a bid to highlight the urgency of the situation of the four hunger str= ikers, Mapuche International Link organised a series of protests in Europ= ean cities last week. While the main aim of the protests was freedom for = the prisoners on hunger strike, the group is also seeking to raise awaren= ess of the situation of the Mapuche people. Members from Mapuche International Link met members of the European Parli= ament (MEPs) in Brussels last week to press for a resolution against the = Chilean state over human rights violations against the Mapuche people. =94The resolution is being supported by the Green Party and others in the= hope that it will be adopted as a matter of urgency, with great emphasis= on preserving the life of the four hunger strikers. In adopting this res= olution the European Parliament will simultaneously support the universal= standard for human rights within the Chilean state,=94 said Mariqueo. The group has sent an appeal to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. They= say she should be sympathetic because as a socialist she suffered politi= cal persecution under the former Chilean dictatorship. But there has been no response. =94To date our letter has not been acknow= ledged, and the peaceful demonstration in Chile has been violently repres= sed, which has resulted in further injury and detention of many more Mapu= che people,=94 said Mariqueo. =94The only official response came last wee= k when the government issued a statement saying that they will no longer = apply the anti-terrorist law in such cases against Mapuche.=94 The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), an internation= al organisation of indigenous people, is supporting the demands of the Ma= puche political prisoners on hunger strike. It has also appealed to Bachelet to urge =94the review of the political j= udgment issued by the Chilean courts of justice, to drop all illegal and = arbitrary charges against Mapuche members and to ensure the immediate rel= ease of the Mapuche political prisoners.=94 ***** +Mapuche International Link (www.mapuche-nation.org) +Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (www.unpo.org) +European Parliament (www.europarl.eu.int) (END/IPS/EU/LA/IP/HD/IN/SB/SS/06) =20 =3D 05100807 ORP005 NNNN