MAPUCHE STRUGGLE

August the 1^st 2010

In regard to the hunger strike that is being carried out by our Mapuche brothers in the prisons of Angol, Concepcion and Temuco following their unfair imprisonment by the Chilean “Justice”, the Association of Mapuche Communities fro the Teodora Schmidt commune “Lafken Mapu Newen” would like to say the following to the public opinion.

1. We energetically/totally back up/support the decision made by our brothers, since unfortunately this is the only way we have left now a days to express by forceful means our utter discontent and contempt towards the injustice that is being perpetrated against the fair demands of our Mapuche people and nation.
2. We declare that our brethren have been arrested without no evidence that could possibly provided (in terms of) by the country's common law. Nonetheless they have now to go through a long time of reclusion/imprisonment without a trial which might have guaranteed a certain procedure of transparent and egalitarian/equal “justice”. All this been done with a humiliating attitude by the Chilean state. This is why our brothers continue to get locked up by means of highly dubious declarations made by “protected” and faceless witnesses and through fabrications engineered by the political and judiciary powers.
3. We declare that today the hunger strike has being going on for 20 days and is bringing about a serious worsening of our “penilangems” (COMRADES?) physical and mental health and integrity. However, neither the current government nor the judiciary have shown any concern towards this situation.
4. We have witnessed with sheer worry and surprise how the president of the Chilean Republic does not hesitate in showing/paying heartfelt consideration towards people from another countries in the same situation as our Mapuche brothers (such as in the case of Cuban political prisoners) while failing to do anything in order to stop the mistreatment and Human Right violations exerted these days upon our Mapuche community.
5. We believe that this government should change the ways in which approaches its relations with the Mapuche since it will never be able to imprison our people's consciousness through fear and repression. This is as trying to cover up the sun with just a finger and only promotes the uprising of our communities which will carry on in their struggle for their rights.
6. We keep following all the current affairs/events as well as seeking the way to publicly denounce them in favour of our rights.
   
   
   
   Signed by:
   Association of Mapuche communities Lafkenche; which gathers 14 Mapuche communities from the “Comuna” (Commune) Teodoro Schmidt.
   “Lafken Mapu Newen”