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dam-l Letter of Support for Pehuenches in Chile
Dear Friends and Activists,
The situation in the upper Biobio River in Chile is extremely tense. We are
writing to request that you fax a letter to Chile's President Eduardo Frei
asking him to support the country's Indigenous Law and the human rights of
the Pehuenches by refraining from interfering in the decision-making
process of Chile's Statutory Indigenous Rights Council (CONADI).
Last week, CONADI was expected to vote on the legality of the land swap
contracts negotiated between 84 Pehuenche families and Endesa, the private
utility company building the Ralco Dam. Conadi's Director, Domingo
Namancura, was expected to vote against the land barter agreements because,
in his own words, he found that the "land exchange contracts were tainted
by the way they were conceived and executed, and that in accordance with
the Indigenous Law they could not be accepted." CONADI is composed of eight
indigenous and eight non-indigenous members, plus the director. When it
became clear that Namancura was going to vote this way, the Frei
administration asked for Namancura's resignation.
Two weeks ago, Frei also asked for the resignation of two other Conadi
members expected to vote in favor of the Pehuenches. These spots have been
filled with members sure to vote for the project. The decision of CONADI
has been postponed for two weeks while Frei replaces the Director with
someone else. Namancura was expected to give the casting vote against
Endesa's land barter contracts.
This is the second time a director of CONADI has been asked to resign when
they have not supported the Ralco Dam project. Mauricio Huenchulaf was
asked to resign last year just prior to the release of a CONADI report
opposing the project. When Huenchulaf was replaced with Namuncura in 1997,
Namuncura was an outspoken proponent of the Ralco project.
After spending more than a year interviewing the families involved,
Namuncura found that he could not approve the contracts in good conscience.
Among other examples, CONADI discovered that Endesa led the Pehuenches to
believe that they had all the needed permits to build the project, and that
the families had no choice but to sign. As one Pehuenche put it, "We don't
have any alternative. They are going to flood our land and we are not
fish."
As in all development projects, the community is at odds on the issue.
There are those who support the project, believing that it will improve
their situation. Others, however, say they will not leave for as long as
they live.
Please feel free to write the letter in your own words, in fact, that is
preferable. But, do ask Frei for the following:
* To desist in interfering with CONADI
* To respect the people on the council and allow them to carry out their
mandate, which is to protect the land rights of Chile's indigenous
population as laid out by the 1993 Indigenous Law
* Support a transparent and unbiased process which allows the Pehuenches to
make an informed decision about their homelands
* Respect the request of the indigenous council members that an indigenous
person be appointed director of CONADI
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear President Frei,
I am writing to respectfully urge you to stop interfering with the
decision-making process of Chile's Statutory Indigenous Rights Council
(CONADI). In asking for the resignation of Domingo Namancura when he was
expected to vote against Endesa's land barter contracts, you interfered
with CONADI's mandate to uphold the land rights of Chile's indigenous
people as established by the 1993 Indigenous Law.
After spending more than one year interviewing all the affected families,
Namancura found that the "land exchange contracts were tainted by the way
they were conceived and executed, and that in accordance with the
Indigenous Law they could not be accepted." This is the second time a
director of CONADI has been asked to resign when he has not supported the
Ralco Dam project. Mauricio Huenchulaf was asked to resign last year just
prior to the release of a CONADI report opposing the project.
I am very concerned that in the develpment of the Biobio River, the
Pehuenche's needs are not being considered, and that consultation has not
been performed in a completely honest, or culturally sensitive manner. I
urge you to support a transparent and unbiased process which allows the
Pehuenches to make an informed decision about their homelands. We also ask
that you honor the request of the indigenous council members that an
indigenous person be appointed as CONADI's director.
Respectfully yours,
Fax your letters to:
Eduardo Frei
President
Fax: +56-2-6904000
cc your letters to:
Carlos Figueroa
Ministry of the Interior
Fax:+56-2-6968740
Empresa Nacional de Electricidad
ENDESA
Fax: +56-2-6354720
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Aleta Brown
Campaign Associate
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
Phone: 1.510.848.1155
Fax: 1.510.848.1008
email: aleta@irn.org
http://www.irn.org