By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, CHILE—Protesters and activists demonstrated infront of the National Service for Women and Gender Equality demanding information concerning the deteriorating health of Mapuche spiritual leader, Francisca Linconao. Demonstrators were met with water cannons used by Chile’s militarized police. Many protesters were arrested and claims have arisen that the police used heavy-handed methods against them.

The demonstrations come after Linconao began a hunger strike on December 23rd. She was recently rushed from the detention center to the hospital with chronic gastritis and weighing less than 100 pounds. Reports have surfaced that her health is reaching a life-threatening state. Linconao and 10 others were arrested in March of this year accused of arson for a fire that killed two powerful landlords, Werner Luchsinger and Vivianne Mackay. The evidence used for her arrested under the Chilean anti-terror law remains suspect. Most recently, the main witness retracted her statement. It is believed that Linconao’s arrest is part of the governments campaign to deny the Mapuche community their rights, including territorial rights.

The Mapuche is the largest indigenous population in South America and makes up 10 percent of the Chilean population. They have suffered struggles in defending their native land and traditions. Linconao has emerged as a leading activist and is known for being an important spiritual leader and Mapuche doctor. Linconao continues to claim her innocence “ I have already said that I was willing to go to the trail and prove my innocence, I will not be a fugitive because I am innocent and because I am a Machi who has a role to fulfill in this world: help and cure those who needs me.” Additionally, international organizations like Amnesty International have called for her release while she awaits her trial. On December 14, the court agreed to  transfer Linconao to house arrest while she awaits her trial, but the court retracted its decision.

For more information, please see:

Yahoo News—Police Arrest Protesters Rallying for Release of Mapuche Leader in Santiago—27 December 2016.

Telesur—Mapuche Activists Demand Chile Give Info on Linconao’s Health—26 December 2016.

La Nación—Machi Francisca Linconao Anunció Que Iniciará Una Huelga de Hambre—23 December 2016.

Telesur—Indigenous Groups Demand Freedom of Mapuche Leader in Chile—12 December 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Report, South America

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA—The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader, Rodrigo Londono, also known as Timochenko, signed a revised peace deal ending fifty-two-years of war. The new signing comes after the previous deal was rejected by the citizens of Colombia on October 2. The new deal will not be put to a popular vote, instead the deal will be given to Congress for approval.

Unlike the previous signing of the deal, which was attended by 2,500 people including dignitaries, the new signing took place in a ceremony of 800 attendees in Bogota at the Colon Theatre. The revised deal includes the concerns of the citizens who voted against the previous deal. President Santos reminded Colombia of the urgency to approve the deal and ending Colombia’s civil war. He stated, “This new accord allows us to work together as a nation to recover the most affected regions due to conflict, to reconcile ourselves, to make use of new opportunities for growth and progress.”

The revised deal includes changes to fifty-seven points in the original document such as: the FARC will need to hand over its assets to the government, which the government will use to compensate victims of the war; Family values were addressed in accordance to the concerns of religious communities; a 10 year limit was put in place for the transitional justice system; FARC must provide information in connection to drug trafficking; the deal will not be integrated into the constitution.

The deal did not include tougher penalties and sentences for the FARC nor did it bar the FARC from political participation.

Congress is expected to vote on the deal within the next week. The deal must receive majority votes. Former president Uribe and his party, the Democratic Centre, will cast a No vote. They claim that the revised deal does not address their concerns, including harsher penalties against FARC members. They are also demanding for a popular vote. It is believed that the deal will pass since the president’s party holds the majority within Congress.

For more information, please see:

Wall Street Journal—Colombia’s Santos Inks New Peace Deal With FARC—25 November 2016.

AL Jazeera—Colombia Signs Revised Peace Deal With FARC Rebels—24 November 2016.

BBC—Colombia Signs new Peace Deal with FARC—24 November 2016.

The New York Times—Colombia and FARC Sign New Peace Deal, This Time Skipping Voters—24 November 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Lima, Peru—The Indigenous community located at the basin of the Marañon River in the Amazon are protesting the latest oil spill in the district of Urarinas—the cost of damage has yet to be released. This is the tenth oil spill since January 2016 in the Amazon. The indigenous community began their protest on September 1st.

The latest protest was led by seven indigenous federations in the Northwest region of Peru by blocking the Marañon River, an important transportation route. The communities are demanding action from the Peruvian government. The communities are seeking an end to the contamination, an end to the oil spills, measures to protect the environment and compensation for those affected by the spills. They are also demanding an independent third party to monitor the area and the impact of oil extraction in the region. The community leaders known as the Apus released a letter addressed to the government stating, “we are carrying forward a just struggle to peacefully push a platform of fair social development that guarantees the right to a safe environment and water that sustains our people.”

Petroperu is the company overseeing the pipelines and oil extraction. The company has attributed the spills on third parties intentionally breaking the pipes. Petroperu released a statement after the most recent spill stating, “the people who are causing the spills to stop because you are putting the health of people in the area at risk as well as affecting the surrounding environment.”

The Apus, a day after the spill, have finally arrived to an agreement with the government to a meeting with the president of Peru Pablo Kuczynski or Prime Minister Fernando Zavala. The protestors will continue blocking the passage way until action is taken.

For more information, please see:

Telesur—Amazon Indigenous Block Peru River Traffic to Protest Oil Spill—14 November 2016.

Peru This Week—Tensions Rise in the Amazon—27 October 2016.

Telesur—Peru Officials to meet Indigenous Protesting Amazon Oil Spills—28 September 2016.

Peru Reports—Oil Spills Contaminate Major River in Peru’s Amazon—13 February 2016.

By Cintia Garcia

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia—International NGOs, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and  Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), are voicing their concerns over the Colombian government’s nominees for military promotion. The nominees include five senior officials that have been linked to credible evidence demonstrating their implication in extrajudicial executions and abuses. They will not be promoted until the senate approves the promotion.

Human Rights Watch linked credible and convincing evidence of the nominees’ involvement in abuse, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of civilians during the civil war from the years 2002-2008. The killings are known as ‘False Positives,’ in which civilians were killed or forcibly disappeared in order to increase the reported number of guerrilla fighters killed during combat. The military followed this practice for promotions and benefits. José Miguel Vivanco, the HRW director of the Americas stated, “The Colombian Senate should review these promotions carefully and ensure that any officer against whom there is credible evidence of abuses is not promoted.” He continued by emphasizing, “Otherwise, it would reinforce the longstanding message that senior officers in Colombia can get away with murder.” In addition, HRW, has found that many of the brigades, led by the commanders in line for promotion, were involved a number of these killings. In these cases, the commander of the brigade “at least knew or should have known about the wrongful killings, and therefore may be criminally liable.”

WOLA expressed similar concerns earlier in the year by sending a letter to Colombian officials. Adam Isacson from WOLA stated, “Colombia is finally nearing an end to its decades-long armed conflict, and is holding more and more human rights abusers accountable, but promoting these officials without first letting the criminal justice system do its work would represent a setback.”

Colombia has in the past convicted an estimated 800 low-ranking army members involved in extrajudicial killings. Yet, Colombia has failed in prosecuting high level military officials—instead they have been promoted to higher military ranks.

For more information, please see:

Telesur—Colombia Criticized for Promoting Corrupt Army Generals—16 January 2016.

WOLA—Colombia Set to Promote Military Officers Linked to ‘False Positives’ Scandal, Other Abuses—14 January 2016.

Human Rights Watch—Colombia: Disqualify Criminal Suspects from Army Promotions—10 November 2016.

La Prensa—HRW Pide a Colombia ‘Frenar’ Ascenso de Militares por Ejecuciones Extrajudiciales—10 November 2016.