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dam-l Resolution concerning the violation of the rights of the Mapuche people of Chile.



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Subject: Resolution concerning the violation of the rights of the Mapuche people of

Chile.

Source: Mapuche International Link 

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For immediate release


PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS


Resolution concerning the violation of the rights of the Mapuche people of

Chile.


The European Parliament.


- following its previous resolutions concerning indigenous peoples


A.  Whereas the Mapuche people in Chile comprise 10% of the total population

of the nation (1,200,000 people), 


B. Whereas their traditional lands extend from the Bio-Bio River in the north

to the island of Chiloe in the South, included in the VIIIth, IXth, and Xth

regions of Chile,


C. Whereas, until their forced annexation by Chile in 1883, the Mapuche people

were a sovereign nation, recognised as such by  Spain since 1641,


D. Considering that the loss of sovereignty and the usurping of these lands

have reduced the Mapuche people to their current level of extreme poverty,


E. Aware that the efforts for social justice for the Mapuche carried out by

the government of President Allende were revoked by the seventeen years of

dictatorship which followed,


F. Considering that, despite numerous representations from the Mapuche people

since the reestablishment of democracy, no substantial political change has

come about,


G. Concerned about the deterioration in the situation in the VIIIth  and IXth

regions of Chile, where conflicts over land have degenerated into acts of

violence by the police against several Mapuche communities, leading to

numerous injuries, detentions and a series of complaints,


H. Concerned about the partisan attitude of the Chilean judiciary system,

against the Mapuche people, which, in the upper Bio-Bio, has ordered the

repression and detentions of those families who were protesting against the

installation of the Ralco hydro-electric dam on their lands, despite the

undisputed legitimacy of their land-titles, 


I. Aware that, in addition to ancestral rights and treaties, the Mapuche have

additional evidence to underline their claims for the recovery of their

expropriated land, the first being property titles issued at the time of the

annexation by Chile, the second referring to lands restored to them by the

government of Popular Unity, which were removed from them by agrarian counter-

reform under the Pinochet dictatorship,      


J. Concerned that the current conflicts, which have already continued for

several months, may grow and develop, as in the situation in Kosovo,


1 Calls on President Frei and the government of Chile to bring an end to

police repression and the militarisation of Mapuche lands, as well as refrain

from implementation of the law of internal State Security inherited from the

dictatorship.


2 Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Mapuche who have

been detained, for an end to legal actions and for the right to freedom of

movement for all in Chile.


3 Demands a public enquiry and immediate punishment of police officers who act

outside the law and also asks that measures be taken to identify and eradicate

institutional racism in the police force.


4 Demands the opening, without delay, of negotiations between the government

and the co-ordinating committee of Mapuche communities, with the aim of

resolving the conflicts and restoring lands taken by private land-owners,

businesses and forestry companies.


5 Asks for constitutional recognition for the Mapuche people in Chile and the

ratification by Chile of Convention No. 169 of the ILO, concerning indigenous

and tribal peoples.


6 Demands respect for the human rights of all in Chile, as well as state

respect for rights and democratic principles in the functioning of the

National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI).


7 Recognises those who have made peaceful moves towards an equitable solution

to the current crisis, in particular Mr Adolfo Millabur, mayor of Tirua

commune, currently the only Mapuche mayor in Chile; as well as the Mapuche

lawyer Mr. Jose Lincoqueo, who is trying to find a just solution to the

numerous land problems through legal channels.


8 Instructs its President to communicate this resolution to President Frei ,

to the government of Chile, to the governors of the VIIIth, XIth,  and Xth

regions of Chile, to the director and council of CONADI, to the mayor and

community council of Tirua commune.



Gaston Leon,

Comite Belga America India

Rue du Fond des Cuves 19, 

B-5190 Jemeppe sur Sambre, Belgica.

Tel/Fax: +32-71-785652 	

gaston.lion@skynet.be


Ramona Quiroga,

Mapuche International Link 

Faktorij 53

1825 HB ALKMAAR

Holanda

Tel/Fax: 31-72-5618496


Jorge Calbucura

Universidad de Uppsala

Departamento de Sociología

Proyecto de Documentación Ñuke Mapu

P.O. Box 821, S-751 08 Uppsala, Sweden

T:+46-18-4711504 	F:+46-18-4711170

jorge.calbucura@soc.uu.se


Reynaldo Mariqueo

Mapuche Inter-regional Council

International Coordination

6 Lodge Street, 

Bristol BS1 5 LR, 

England. 

Tel/Fax: 44-117-9279391

E-mail: MAPULINK@aol.com	


Paginas Mapuche:


http://members@aol.com/mapulink

http://linux.soc.uu.se/mapuche

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rehue




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