Brief an den Generalsekretär der Vereinten Nationen, Ban Ki-moon:
Hunger strike of Mapuche prisoners in Chile
Dear Sir,
On 22 September, the Chilean President Sebastian Piñera is participating in the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.
We write to you as Members of Parliament to raise the urgent human rights issue of the Mapuche hunger strikers in Chilean prisons and to ask you to intervene with President Piñera to demand an end to the human rights abuses which the Chilean government is perpetrating.
Thirty four imprisoned Mapuche activists are currently on hunger strike in Chilean prisons, most of them since July, in protest against the political oppression of the Mapuche people. As you can understand, their health situation is extremely grave.
The Mapuche are an indigenous people whose territory primarily spans the South- central regions of Chile. Approximately 6.8% of the Chilean population is Mapuche, many of whom currently live in “reserves.” The Mapuche people have protested against being forced off their land, often at the hands of major multinational companies, and political oppression. In our view, the response of the Chilean state in the face of their political, cultural, social and territorial demands has been one of criminalisation, prosecution and the incarceration of the Mapuche.
The Chilean government has ratified the UN convention 169 of the ILO, which legally binds Chile to consult indigenous people on matters that affect them and to give its indigenous people fair and unbiased representation in these negotiations. The government is clearly in breach of this requirement.
The prisoners on hunger strike now demand that the Chilean government should:
1. Bring an end to the use of the Pinochet-era antiterrorist law against the Mapuche, which has been condemned by the UN Human Rights Council.
2. Bring an end to the use of Military Law against civilians and repeal of the double jeopardy rule.
3. Guarantee the right to a fair trial.
4. Demilitarise the Mapuche lands and cease the use of excessive police force in raids.
5. Free the Mapuche activists currently imprisoned.
These demands coincide with the recommendations made to the Chilean state since 2004 by various organisms connected to the UN, for example the Committee on Human Rights (2007), the Human Rights Council (2009), the Committee Against Torture (2009), the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2009) and the Special Rapporteur of Indigenous Rights (2004, 2009).
We support these demands and urge you to intervene immediately with Mr. Pinera to ensure a positive resolution to these issues and avoid any deaths of hunger strikers.
Yours faithfully,
Joe Higgins MEP
Nikolaos Chountis MEP
Bairbre de Brún MEP
Takis Hadjigeorgiou MEP
Jacky Henin MEP
Jürgen Klute MEP
Patrick Le Hyaric MEP
Sabine Lösing MEP
Jean-Luc Mélenchon MEP
Willy Meyer MEP
Helmut Scholz MEP
Søren Bo Søndergaard MEP
Eva-Britt Svensson MEP
Marie-Christine Vergiat MEP
Sabine Wils MEP
Frieda Brepoels MEP
Catherine Grèze MEP
Ulrike Lunacek MEP
Sevim Dagdelen MdB (Member of German Parliament)
Heike Hänsel MdB
Andrej Hunko MdB