Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

February 4, 2010

Mapuche: Government Vows To Hunt Down School Arsonists In Southern Chile

As the violence continues in Mapuche territory, acting Interior Minister Patricio Rosende on Monday (01 February 2010) vowed to prosecute those responsible for the recent fires in the southern Chile’s Region IX “to the full extent of the law.”

Below is an article published by: The Santiago Times

A rural school was set alight by arsonists early Monday (01 February 2010) morning and police believe the same arsonists started a second fire on private land moments later to cover their escape.  Witnesses heard shots before discovering a granary owned by local farmer Julio Molina ablaze. Damage to the granary is estimated atUS$50,000. 

The intentionally started fires are the latest in a spate of incidents reported in Malleco Province so far this year. Previous attacks in the area have targeted forestry vehicles, farm equipment and a bridge.   Police sources believe the incidents relate to the on-going struggle between local Mapuche groups and land owners. But police also noted that no Mapuche-related material was found at either of the two recent crime scenes. 

Acting Interior Minister Rosende also refused to pin the blame on Mapuche groups, and instead praised indigenous communities for rejecting violence. “These attacks go against efforts made by local communities, which only want to move forward, progress and develop, so they can move out of poverty,” Rosende said.

Land rights issues are a sore point in much of southern Chile, where the indigenous Mapuche culture once ruled – until finally overthrown by the state of Chile in the late 1800s. Local indigenous groups are fighting farmers and businesses over the ownership of ancestral lands which they claim were taken from them by the Chilean state.  Mapuche activists have launched numerous land occupations in the past to draw attention to their cause. Regional land owners have taken to building ditches and fortifications to protect their land, while protestors are often injured or seriously hurt after clashing with police.

Last month Carabinero Walter Ramirez was imprisoned for two years for the 2008 death of Mapuche protestor Matias Catrileo. Catrileo was shot in the back while participating in the occupation of a field in the same region as the recent outbreak of fires. Another activist - Jaime Mendoza Collío - died at the hands of police following a similar incident last August 2009. Charges have yet to be brought against any of the Carabinero’s allegedly involved in the death.

Regional motorway traffic has also been a target in the past, with Mapuche groups blamed for attacking highway toll booths and trucks. The fears of motorists and business leaders prompted the government to install security cameras along the nation’s main “Route 5” highway where it passes through the Araucania region. An activist arrested after a recent attack on motorway traffic is currently on hunger strike, protesting torture he allegedly received while in state custody.

Eduardo Osses Moreno claims to have been forcibly submerged in human excrement and urine by police interrogators. His Mapuche supporters insist that this torture is condoned by high ranking officials in the police and government. 

Last year President Bachelet’s representative on indigenous affairs Jose Viera Gallo announced a plan to beef up and expedite the government’s land redistribution program in the Aruacania region, with US$70 million paid to landowners in compensation (ST. Oct 12, 2009). Critics at the time expressed doubts over the efficacy of this policy in preventing further violence.  President-elect Sebastian Piñera claims he will put an end to Mapuche related  violence in southern Chile.