By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

EASTER ISLAND, Chile—Indigenous residents of Easter Island have suffered violence at the hands of Chilean authorities who are attempting to drive them out of government buildings they began inhabiting three months ago.  The indigenous individuals, or Rapanui, claim that Chilean officials stole those buildings from their ancestors.  The authorities have been tear-gassing and shooting rubber bullets and buckshot at indigenous individuals, and at least 24 have been injured.  Leviante Araki, president of the Rapa Nui Parliament, suffered two shots and had to be flown to Santiago for medical attention.

The Rapanui have been occupying several buildings such as the Hangaroa Hotel and government offices.  Chilean forces, acting on a court order, have stormed the buildings and subdued the occupants by force before arresting them.

According to the website Saverapanui.org, “When the Rapanui gathered to protest this action, Chilean Special Forces started firing their guns and using tear gas.  The Rapanui responded by throwing rocks.  [The Forces] are hunting for individuals who have been involved with the reoccupation and those they are targeting who have helped share the story with the international press.”

On Saturday, Chile sent a plane to the island to evict the indigenous people.  Filmmaker Santi Hitorangi, who was wounded in a clash on Friday, reported that the indigenous residents have not complied, saying, “The arrival of the C-130 cargo plane with more police and armed swat teams adds to the psychological duress that’s happening here. ”  He alleged that Chile is trying to “stop any attempt of the Rapanui people to reassert their right to the land.  All we’re asking for is title to the land.  It’s a rightful claim.”  He added:   “Many including women were shot in their faces, in their heads.”

Chile’s government has been unsympathetic.  Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter called the acts of the indigenous individuals “illegal takeovers that cause damage to the island,” and said:  “The police forces acted in compliance with a court order.  That’s how institutions function, and we all must follow them.”

Easter Island is located about 7000 kilometers east of New Zealand and was annexed by Chile in 1888.  Each year, approximately 50,000 tourists visit the island, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site and famous for its monolithic sculptures.

There is concern among indigenous people that Chile is not properly regulating immigration to the island, which is incapable of sustaining such a population influx.  Indigenous individuals make up 2200 of the 5000 residents of Easter Island.  Some Rapanui have expressed fear that indigenous residents of the island could be wiped out by such practices.

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand-Rapa Nui activists fear uncertainty as Chilean troops remain on island-6 December 2010

Stuff-24 injured in Easter Island land protests-6 December 2010

Epoch Times-Easter Island Clashes Leaves Two Dozen Injured-6 December 2010

Press Association-Evictions continue on Easter Island-5 December 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Jorge Ivan Laverde, a former Colombian paramilitary chief who confessed to ordering approximately 4,000 murders and using an oven to dispose of some of the bodies, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Laverde, who turned himself in six years ago, led one of the fronts of the right-wing AUC militia federation’s Catatumbo Bloc.

Laverde was originally sentenced to 40 years in prison but his sentence was reduced as part of an amnesty law passed by the Colombian Congress in 2005.  Last week, Laverde was resentenced to the maximum prison term allowable under the law governing the paramilitaries’ demobilization.  He was also ordered to pay $3.2 million in reparation to the victims.

The 2005 Peace and Justice Law was passed to regulate the paramilitary fighters’ reinsertion into society.  Former AUC members face a maximum of eight years in prison if convicted of any of the egregious crimes which they are accused of, including kidnappings, murders and torture.  The law also shields former AUC members from extradition to the United States so long as they cooperate with Colombian authorities.

In Laverde’s case, the former paramilitary leader not only confessed that he ordered some 4,000 killings but he also admitted that he personally carried out 100 of those murders.

The AUC demobilized 31,000 fighters between the end of 2003 and mid-2006 as part of a peace process with then-President Alvaro Uribe.  However, new members have emerged, bringing the group’s numbers somewhere in the range of 4,000-10,000 fighters.  Although the AUC was originally founded to battle leftist rebels, it deteriorated into a “loose association of drug-dealing death squads.”

The aim of the amnesty law was to promote the demobilization of paramilitary groups through promises of relatively insignificant prison sentences.  Nonetheless, the notion of an eight year prison sentence for a man thought to have participated in thousands of killings may very well result in a public outcry.

For more information, please see:

The Herald Sun – Eight Years Jail for Man who Killed 4,000 – 4 December 2010

BBC – Colombia Reduces Jail Time for Paramilitary in Amnesty – 3 December 2010

Colombia Reports – “El Iguano” Convicted Through Justice of Peace Process – 3 December 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Ex-Militia Chief Sentenced Under Colombia’s Demobilization Law – 3 December 2010

STANLEY, Falkland Islands—Argentina has had a recent win in their long-standing struggle to assert sovereignty over the British-held Falkland Islands. The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), which has 12 member countries, agreed with Argentina on Friday that ships headed to or from the Falklands should be denied docking and fuel at mainland ports. This decision could be “very costly” for shippers who do business with and on the islands.

The battle for sovereignty over the islands began in 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falklands but was overpowered by British troops in combat lasting 74 days. Over 1,000 people died.  More recently, Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has revitalized the claim to Las Malvinas, as Argentina refers to the archipelago.

UNASUR’s agreement to block incoming and outbound ships associated with the islands has promised to injure the Falklands’ economy. The heads of state present at UNASUR’s summit in Guyana last week agreed with Argentina that vessels flying “the illegal flag of the Malvinas” should be blocked from using any member nations’ ports. Naturally, shippers and members of the Falklands government are nervous.

“If all South American ports do decide to block all access to Falkland Islands-flagged vessels,” Adam Cockwell, a manager of Work Boat Services Ltd. said, “then it raises a serious issue for us as we will not be able to go to any ports for our dry docking requirements.”

Stuart Wallace of Fortuna Ltd. voiced concerns that “if such a policy were to be implemented it would have the unfortunate effect of a significant loss of business for some South American ports. It would inconvenience Falkland vessel owners, but we would deal with any new circumstances.” He added: “Perhaps most importantly, such an aggressive blanket ban would make it clear internationally that we face a tightening blockade aimed at destroying our economy.”

Gavin Short, member of the Falklands’ Legislative Assembly stated: “If anyone was in any doubt about the hostile intent that Argentina has towards us and their drive to blockade us then [this new development] should dispel those doubts.”

For more information, please see:

UPI-Argentina wins wider Falklands blockade-29 November 2010

MercoPress-Unasur ban ‘huge negative impact’ on Falkland Islands?-29 November 2010

FIS-Unasur countries prevent entry of ships flying the Falklands flag-29 November 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

 BOGOTA, Colombia – Former head of Colombia’s DAS security agency and retired military general Miguel Maza Marquez was arrested for the 1989 assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan.  The arrest comes days after Colombian prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for the 73-year-old Maza Marquez.  Maza Marquez is officially charged with murder for terrorist purposes and a crime against humanity.

Maza Marquez had beens arrested last December in connection with the assassination; however, he was released in April after the prosecution failed to meet the indictment deadline. Prosecutors began to revive the case in September.

Daniel Suarez, Maza Marquez’ attorney, told Caracol Radio that Maza Marquez “has no interest in evading justice” and would “immediately” turn himself in following the indictment.  Maza Marquez has steadfastly asserted his innocence.

The DAS domestic security agency that Maza Marquez was in charge of provides bodyguards for politicians, human rights activists and others, including Galan.  Prosecutors in the case claim that Maza Marquez made changes to Galan’s security detail mere hours before the candidate was killed at a campaign rally in the Bogota suburb of Soacha on August 18, 1989.

Former officials with the demobilized AUC paramilitary federation have said in sworn statements that Maza Marquez played a central role in Galan’s murder.  According to the prosecution, additional evidence “points to the participation of several state servants who, like the retired general, learned in advance of the attack being planned against the presidential candidate and, instead of averting it, aided in its commission.”

Galan’s presidential campaign was a crusade against Pablo Escobar and other drug lords who essentially controlled Colombia through violence, killing hundreds of judges, journalists and police in a bid to avoid extradition.  It is theorized that the assassination was carried out primarily due to instigation from politicians and drug kingpins.

Galan was the favorite to win the election and would have likely been elected President had it not been for his untimely death.

For more information, please see:

www.poliblogger.com – Arrest Warrant Issued for ex-DAS Chief in Galan Assassination – 27 November 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Colombia Charges Former Spy Chief in 1989 Assassination – 26 November 2010

Washington Post – Colombian ex-Police Chief Charged in Killing – 25 November 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—After a week of combat between drug gangs and Brazilian security forces, over 45 people have been left dead.  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva has lauded the operation as the beginning of the end for Rio’s notorious drug gangs, stating confidently:  “We will win this war.”

The military operation against the gangs took place in the favela (shantytown or slum) called Complexo do Alemao in Rio.  The favela had been a virtual stronghold for drug gangs, with little police presence for decades.  The mission culminated on Sunday when approximately 2,600 armed officers and paratroopers swarmed on the favela.  Armored vehicles and helicopters were in tow.

Officers seized weapons and drugs, especially marijuana and cocaine.  They also arrested over 40 suspected gang members, including important leaders.  Eliseu de Souza was one of these, found guilty of the 2002 torture and killing of journalist Tim Lopes.  Officers canvassed the favela’s 13 neighborhoods and tracked suspects into the sewers.

This week’s series of violent clashes are part of Brazil’s plan to make Rio safer for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.  Yet many human rights defenders are critical, accusing the nation of being too tough in the approach.

“The police so far this week in operations in other communities have killed over 50 people, including in a tragic accident a 14-year-old girl,” Patrick Wilcken, a researcher with Amnesty International, said.  “And one has to remember that this community has a long history of these very militarized campaigns by the police, and in 2007 the police did a huge operation, stormed the community and shot dead 19 people, and then left.”

Many innocent residents of the favela were caught in crossfire during the police operations.  Health officials have reported that the age range of those wounded was from 2 to 81.

Jose Pereira, a 33-year-old bricklayer, took a bullet in the leg.  “They fight,” he said, “but we’re the ones who suffer, the residents.  How am I going to work now [with my injury]?  I have three children.  How are they going to eat?”

Complexo do Alemao has a population of about 65,000 who inhabit only 18,000 dwellings—mostly tin-roofed brick shacks.  Fifteen percent of these residents live without any access to proper sewage.  Since the violence began last week, electricity has been lost and many residents have lost the food they kept in their refrigerators.  When asked about the police’s capture of the favela, one mother said, “No, it’s not worth it.  Before, we lived our lives, [the gangs] lived theirs.”

Despite the problems that police operations have created in the favela, many are hopeful that the drug traffickers are on their way out and that a more peaceful time is to come.

“I hope this will be the rebirth of this community,” a grandmother expressed after the violence ceased.  “Things had to change.  We have to hope.”

For more information, please see:

BBC-Brazil’s Lula hails Rio police operation-29 November 2010

Washington Post-Rio slum dwellers caught in battle to pacify city-29 November 2010

Reuters-Analysis: Rio raids a critical step for Brazil’s economy-29 November 2010