Mapuche: Bachelet Urged to Heed Hunger Striker
Below is an article written by Alex Cacciari published by The
Prison guards decided Monday [21-07-2008] to sedate and administer intravenous feeding to Troncoso without her consent, a move that human rights groups decried as a violation of her rights. Troncoso has been fasting more than 100 days to protest a stiff arson conviction she received in 2002 under Pinochet-era terrorism laws. She has repeatedly denied intravenous feeding and stated that if she must die, she will.
Sergio Laurenti, Amnesty International’s
Though prison officials claim that it is within their institutional mission to intervene if a person in their custody is at risk of dying, Laurenti believes that they violated Troncoso's rights and are taking advantage of her weakened condition. “This is a cruel and potentially dangerous response because it was not what she wanted,” he said.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer and leader of Tuesday's [22-01-2008] protest, Hugo Gutiérrez, told the Santiago Times that force feeding Troncoso is, “a violent decision on behalf of the State. Patricia Troncoso is carrying out a personal struggle against State repression of the Mapuche people and this response is an unfortunate one.”
The Mapuche community is equally upset by what it perceives as disrespect for Troncoso's demands. Pro-Mapuche news source, Mapu Express, cites a World Medical Association Declaration which states, with respect to hunger strikes, “forcible feeding is never ethically acceptable. Even if intended to benefit, feeding accompanied by threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment. ”
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Troncoso and four other Mapuche prisoners at
This is not the first time the Chilean government has ignored requests made by Troncoso in recent days. When her medical team recommended moving Troncoso to a