Documents from the Mapuche resistance in Chile

For the past 15 years, a violent conflict has been taking place in Chile between the government and the Mapuche indigenous people.  The tension between the Mapuche and government has been long-running, ever since their land was taken from them in the 19th century. 

Source: Vice News

The Mapuche's concerns and demands are to see a return of their ancestral lands, as well as greater political autonomy.  On the other hand, the current landowners and big businesses in the region are concerned with the worsening security situation and lack of policing. Presently, the Mapuche people with a population in Chile of about 600,000, occupy only 5% of their ancestral lands, and suffer from widespread poverty. 

Source: Getty Images

Anti-terrorism law in Chile was first introduced under Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, and has since been applied to crimes related to the Mapuche activism movement.  The legislation currently allows for extended detention of terrorism suspects without bail before trial, greater sentences upon conviction, and anonymous witness testimony allowed as primary evidence.  Over the last few years, several Mapuche activists have been killed during clashes with military police, and many have been imprisoned, charged with offenses that fall under the anti-terrorism legislation.

Source: The Santiago Times

In the regions of Biobío, La Araucanía and Los Ríos, Mapuches accused of arson attacks against an evangelical church in 2016 have been imprisoned under terrorism charges.  Benito, Pablo and Alfredo Trangol, who stand accused of these attacks, entered a 117 day hunger strike to protest the use of the controversial anti-terrorism legislation.  The hunger strike ended in September 31, 2017, after Minister of Interior Mario Fernandez vowed the government would not use the anti-terrorism bill against the activists, however, it was once against restarted after the trial was postponed and the activists continued to be held under the same terrorism charges. 

Click to read the Mapuche public declarations and communications regarding the Hunger Strike.