Constitutional Recognition of the Mapuche People Asked in Chile
Santiago de Chile, Apr 30 — Chilean Araucania Bishop, Manuel Camilo Vial, asked today constitutional recognition of the Mapuche people, after describing what is happening in indigenous communities as a serious situation.
He expressed concern about police violence taking place in indigenous communities, which he considered a bad sign of Chilean society.
Vial statements occurred after the leaders of the Auraucania community of Temucuicui submit an application for protection to the Appeal Court of Temuco, capital of the region, caused by police abuses in the area.
Temucuicui spokesmen reported that on April 20, four Mapuche, including a minor, were injured because of shots fired by police special forces in a raid.
Accompanying the complaint, lawyer Karina Riquelme, of the Southern Defense and Research Center, recalled the words of the Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation which rejects the use of force or coercion against indigenous peoples.
Source: Prensa Latina
