[Onthebarricades] CHILE: Mass protest by Mapuche

[Andy]

News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

http://tinyurl.com/2zxnoe
MAPUCHE PROTEST IN CHILE DRAWS THOUSANDS
Marchers In Santiago Aim To Confront "500 Years Of Denial"
(Oct. 16, 2007)

Thousands of supporters of Chile's indigenous Mapuche population 
peacefully took to the streets of Santiago on Monday to demand 
government recognition of their grievances and the liberation of 
imprisoned Mapuche activists throughout the country.

While most Chileans enjoyed a day off in commemoration of the annual 
Indigenous Peoples' day holiday (Día de la Raza), protesters at the 
annual march loudly and vibrantly filled large portions of Central 
Santiago's foremost avenue - the Alameda - for several hours throughout 
the morning and afternoon.

The crowd of approximately 4,000 marchers included hundreds of Mapuches 
in traditional dress, supporters from left-wing and anarchist political 
organizations, and brightly-costumed dancers and musicians. Gathering at 
the center of the Plaza Italia at the east end of the Alameda, the 
Mapuche commenced the day's events with a traditional prayer. Press 
photographers present at the event largely respected the request by 
organizers to not photograph the prayer ceremony. Mapuche activists then 
led a highly-organized procession several kilometers west down the 
Alameda to the Santa Lucia hill.

The annual march has been held since 1990 to call attention to the 
issues of concern for the Mapuche rights movement in Chile. Organizers 
said the purpose of this year's march is to highlight the failures of 
the current government to recognize the territorial rights of the 
Mapuche to land in southern and central Chile, and the government's 
refusal to grant Mapuche communities some degree of self-determination.

"The government is denying the existence of a people. They are denying 
one of the most fundamental rights of life, and we are demonstrating 
against this," Felipe Curivil of the Mapuche organization
Meli Wixan Mapu told the Santiago Times. "We have had no response from 
the state at all, and this confirms how the repressive Chilean state is 
denying Mapuche rights."

Under Chile's current constitution, indigenous groups such as the 
Mapuche have no official recognition or status, and none of the nation's 
legislators are of indigenous origin although most official estimates 
suggest the Mapuche and other indigenous groups account for about 10 
percent of Chile's population. Meanwhile, much of the land originally 
belonging to the Mapuche is owned by large-scale businesses or 
threatened by energy development. The continued plight of the Mapuche 
and the mistreatment of their ancestral lands, say activists, is a 
blight on the nation's history.

"There has been 500 years of denial and 500 years of the confiscation of 
our land and the abuse of our people. We want to condemn this and we 
want to condemn the Chilean state which represses our communities," said 
Jorge Huenchullan of Meli Wixan Mapu. "The Chilean state continues to 
repress the communities that are struggling and fighting legitimately."

Many at the march loudly called for an autonomous Mapuche state. The 
cries of "Liberty for the Mapuche!" were frequently heard throughout the 
day's events and displayed on numerous banners hoisted by marchers. 
Organizer Felipe Curivil echoed the sentiments of the protesters' chants 
by calling for Chile's government to allow Mapuche-run governments to form.

"Our communities have every right to organize themselves autonomously," 
Curivil told the Santiago Times. "We want to tell the state to leave us 
in peace and to let us carry on as a Mapuche people."

Earlier in the week, Mapuche activists in the southern town of Araucania 
seized and occupied property there, claiming it originally belonged to 
their ancestors. After police intervention, 39 of the activists were 
arrested and detained. This is just the latest in incidents that have 
continued for years. In May, 14 Mapuche occupied offices belonging to a 
top foresty industry executive, arguing that he had invaded Mapuche land.

Protesters on Monday also loudly demanded freedom for these detained 
Mapuche activists, which they called "political prisoners."

The turnout for Monday's protest was noticeably larger than earlier 
public demonstrations this year, such as the August 29 labor union 
protest and the marches commemorating the September 11 anniversary of 
the 1972 military coup. Still, the Mapuche march received little 
coverage from Chile's three predominant daily newspapers - El Mercurio, 
La Nacion, and La Tercera - which previously gave extensive 
minute-by-minute coverage of the August 29 and September 11 events.

While the August 29 and September 11 demonstrations were marred by 
significant violence and police crackdowns, Monday's march was peaceful, 
with police and protesters interacting cordially. Police officials told 
the Santiago Times that Monday's demonstration was entirely peaceful, 
and no arrests were reported.

The presence of the Mapuche people in the territory now recognized as 
Chile predates the 16th century. Organized Mapuche groups offered fierce 
resistance to Spanish colonization, but in the mid 18th century the 
Mapuche fell under the rule of the Chilean Republic. Thousands of 
Mapuche were killed and nearly all their territory seized. Approximately 
one million Mapuche presently live in Chile and Argentina, many 
clustered in Chile's Regions VII, VIII, and IX.

By Trey Pollard and Rob Bartlett (editor at santiagotimes.cl)

-- 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/onthebarricades/attachments/20071016/209a74f6/attachment.html>