With the 200th anniversary of Chilean independence coming up this Saturday, September 18, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) once again urgently calls attention to the dramatic situation of the 34 imprisoned Mapuche Indians. The civil rights activists are on hunger strike – many of them for 67 days now – to protest unfair trials, fabricated charges and abusive treatment in prison. They are calling for the abolishment of the notorious anti-terrorism law which was established under the Pinochet dictatorship and under which they have been imprisoned for disputes over land rights. Their health has deteriorated to a point that could become life-threatening at any time.

"For the Mapuche, there is nothing to celebrate," laments Yvonne Bangert, head of the Indigenous Peoples section at the STP. "They still suffer every day from violations of their rights, continuing social conflicts and the complete absence of political co-determination. The Mapuches, the largest indigenous population in Chile, are criminalized en masse because they refuse to give up their culture and traditions and ultimately lose their identity. Many are put on trial in military courts under the anti-terrorism law." This law is currently applied only in trials against Mapuche. A typical charge is "terrorist arson," brought when Mapuches set fire to hay bales, lumberjacks' cabins, or stacks of wood, for example, in an attempt to occupy their ancestral land.

The imprisoned Mapuches began the hunger strike on July 12, 2010. Two adolescents in the juvenile detention facility in Chol-chol joined the hunger strike recently. Labor union leaders, student union representatives, politicians, artists and writers have expressed their solidarity by joining open-ended fasting campaigns. "We have received information indicating that several of the prisoners began a dry fast on September 13, 2010, which means they are now refusing both food and liquids," reports Bangert. This significantly increases the risk of permanent damage to physical health. Many of the Mapuches, held in a number of different prisons, have already been hospitalized for medical treatment. According to media reports, President Piñera has signaled his willingness to engage in dialog with the prisoners and has asked the Archbishop of Concepción, Ricardo Ezzati, to act as a mediator; however, no talks have taken place so far.

The STP has presented appeals to the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous People, James Anaya, the international and Chilean Red Cross, and the ambassadors of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in Santiago de Chile, asking them to visit the hunger strikers, see that they receive adequate medical care, and provide observers to ensure fair trials. At a reception in Cologne the human rights organization presented the Chilean Ambassador, Jorge O´Ryan Schütz, with a petition for the prisoners.

For more information, contact Yvonne Bangert at +49 (0)551/ 499 0614.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford