BENEFIT AND HUNGERSTRIKE
Mapundial - 30.08.2007 00:20
This project solidarises with the Juan Paillalef Community, as they fight for their human and land rights. This project is organized by Mapundial and supported by people that wish to share their knowledge of dance and support the Juan Paillalef Mapuche community.
Information about courses:
 http://www.mapundial.org/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=&func=details&did=1
Juana and Luisa Calfunao in hungerstrike in the prison of Temuco
From the women prison of Temuco, we declare to the national and international community: On the 7th of August, my sister Luisa Calfunao and I, Juana Calfunao, lonko of the Juan Paillalef community, took the decision to start a dry hunger strike (without liquids).
We decided to start this hunger strike because of the zero political willingness of the Chilean state to recognise the rights and territories of our Mapuche Nation, like for example, the lack of constitutional recognition of the indigenous people and their rights in Chile. We also refer to the absence of the ratification of the ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal People on the agenda of the Chilean Congress, in contrast to what president Bachelet promised during her electoral campaign.
To the above mentioned, has to be admitted the constant negation by the Chilean state of the UN recommendations made to improve the situation of the human rights in relation to the Mapuche people. On the contrary, the Mapuche continue to be persecuted by the different agents of the state, like the Juridical Public Ministry, the police and Gendarmeria (prison guards).
The Juridical Public Ministry of the 9th region, instead, has tried to criminalise our struggle by juridicalising our demands and condemning the Mapuche to jail. Several of them are even accused of terrorist attacks on transnational companies who invade our ancestral territories, while these companies are protected by the Chilean state and its so-called democratic laws, which always work against our people.
In my case the Public Ministry pretends to apply disproportioned sanctions: the public prosecutor is demanding 17, 12, 11 years of imprisonment for me and my family. But I ask myself : “when the police killed el lamieng Alex Lemun, when they enter our communities to steal and torture our children ¿by who are they sanctioned? ¿how come that nobody is imprisoned? ¿Or is it that the life and physical and psychological integrity of a Mapuche isn’t worth anything?
During her trip in Europe, the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, declared that Chile has no political prisoners and that we, the ones that are imprisoned, are common prisoners. I ask myself whether defending my territory, my culture, my genealogy (kepalme), my rights, and not letting seduce me by projects of the government, is a crime? Because as far as I know, not one Mapuche that is imprisoned has stolen, killed, raped, or committed any other crime. On the contrary, we are all imprisoned for a common cause, namely for claiming our rights and territories. That is the real reason why we are imprisoned. ¿Is that what is called terrorism by the Chilean state?
Almost all the members of my family are actually imprisoned or are running the risk of being condemned … my son Waikilaf, prisoner in the High Security Prison of Santiago, has been tortured in jail, for which we presented a complaint to the courts, which is accepted and being investigated. Moreover he was separated from his family …. Recently he is condemned for 500 days, and wasn’t it for his condition of Mapuche he would have been free by now. That’s how the Chilean state and its juridical system is working against the Mapuche who struggle for their legitimate rights… that’s why we stand up powerfully against these injustices that we are denouncing.
I also denounce that they negate us our right to the condition of political prisoners and by consequence we, and our family and friends who visit us, receive the same treatment as the common prisoners. By obliging the people that visit us to hostile and degrading corporal registrations, the Gendarmeria harms our dignity and that of our family. Moreover they don’t respect our traditional authorities like Machis, Lonkos, Werkenes, etc. nor our children and elder people.
On the 2th of August an officer of Gendarmeria slandered to my husband Antonio, my son Jorge and my lamieng Ernesto Lincopan, with the only goal to put the common prisoners against them. Because of this their physical and psychological integrity is currently in serious danger. My son Jorge faced the official criticizing him for his actions, and my son is now being harshly punished for doing so.
My husband and Werken of our community, Antonio Cadin Huentelao, is already 8 months suffering from bladder stones, and in all this period he hasn´t received any medical attention nor the diet he needs to prevent his situation from getting worse.
For the reasons mentioned above, my sister Luisa and I, Juana Calfunao, took the decision to start a dry hunger strike to demand that they respect us and that they recognise us our condition of political prisoners. We demand the same for all the other Mapuche that are imprisoned for defending our rights and territories.
The Mapuche are tired of so much persecution, threats and hostility by the Chilean state against us. What they want in the end is to kill us, ¡¡¡so kill us!!!, but do it openly, without hiding and protecting yourself in state institutions and laws promoting injustice. Let it be clear that the Mapuche are not afraid to die for our ideals, because we prefer to die consequent to our ideals, than living eternally knelled down and being enslaved by the governors of the invading state.
¡¡¡ MARRICHI WEUUU !!!
Juana calfunao
Luisa calfunao
Comunidad Juan paillalef
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