By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 SANTIAGO, Chile – Chilean President Sebastián Piñera recently called for an end to an ongoing hunger strike by indigenous Mapuche inmates.  The Mapuche political prisoners are protesting a Pinochet-era anti-terror law that was used to convict them.

The Mapuche people have clashed with the Chilean government and farmers for years over ancestral lands in the southern part of the country.

The anti-terror law, which has been widely criticized by human rights groups, including Amnesty International, was used to label the inmates “terrorists” based on certain actions, such as setting timber shipments on fire.  The law also allows government witnesses to conceal their identities at trial and permits defendants to be tried by military commissions.

The hunger strike began in July with five prisoners and has since grown to include 34 inmates in various jails throughout Chile.  Many of the prisoners have lost up to 40 pounds during the hunger strike and are experiencing dizziness and low blood pressure. 

Last month, the families of the Mapuche prisoners went to Santiago, the capital, to denounce irregularities in their trials and push for dialogue with the authorities. 

A spokesperson for the Mapuche families stated that the prisoners were at a critical stage in the hunger strike and continue losing muscle tissue and experiencing vital organ failure.

President Piñera said that his government will send two bills to Congress next week to reform anti-terror legislation and the military justice system in an effort to end the strike.  He added, “I want to ask all of those worried about the health of the protesters to help us end this hunger strike.”

The police and military have been accused by human rights groups of using excessive force against the Mapuches in the past.  But the indigenous peoples have come under fire for sometimes violent protests where they have burned crops and the trucks and machinery of forestry companies.

The Mapuches lost their lands to the newly formed states of Argentina and Chile in the early 19th century after having fended off the Spanish conquistadores for centuries.  The indigenous peoples ancestral territory spanned most of the south of Chile and crossed over into Argentina. 

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Chile Wants to End Hunger Strike over Terror Laws – 3 September 2010

The Argentine Independent – Chile: Health of Mapuches on Hunger Strike Worsens – 2 September 2010

IPS – Mapuche Prisoners on Hunger Strike to Demand Talks – 12 August 2010

Intercontinental Cry – Mapuche on Hunger Strike over Chile’s Militancy – 4 August 2010