Statement against the latest Police violent raid into Temucuicui territory

Press Release - Wall-mapuche, Friday 9 December 2011

In light of the new and violent incursion of police forces on our community’s territory, the Autonomous Mapuche Community of Temucuicui states the following:

  1. Yesterday, Thursday 8 December 2011, about 2 p.m. a helicopter from the Chilean Police Force, began to fly at very low altitude over the mountainous zone of the community in the area of the former estate known as Fundo Alaska. Meanwhile by land, Special Forces that included both Police and unidentified plain-clothes individuals entered the community simultaneously from several different points.

  2. At that hour, the son, Víctor Hugo Queipul Millanao, and nephew, Juan Patricio Queipul Millanao (a minor), of chief (Lonko) Víctor Queipul Huaiquil, were tending to their animals on a hillside. Upon seeing the presence of these youth, the uniformed police and accompanying plain-clothes individuals immediately began to shoot at them with rubber bullets and shotgun pellets. Not understanding what was happening, the youth ran from the area, one of them staying behind to observe the operation from a distance while the other headed down to inform the Community.

  3. The Special Forces of the Chilean Police and unidentified plain-clothes individuals began to hastily gather together some of the community’s animals and remove them from the area, subsequently the police agents themselves withdrew but not before shooting indiscriminately at everyone they came across, leaving several people with symptoms of tear gas inhalation. All of this violent police operation was presumably co-ordinated from the helicopter flying overhead.

  4. On Friday 9 December 2011, early in the morning the chief Víctor Queipul Huaiquil and members of the Community proceeded to gather their animals, encountering injured animals and others in very bad condition as a result of the attack by armoured police vehicles and bullets that the police had fired. Community members also discovered tracks in the ground, indicating that animals were loaded onto a truck and driven away. At this time it is still unknown where these animals have been taken to.

  5. On a number of occasions, the Police Forces have used spurious reasons as a pretext to forcibly enter and search the Community of Temucuicui. Our Community considers this development as a clear ATTACK and THEFT, given that 8 cattle have been removed from the property of Lonko Víctor Queipul.

  6. On several occasions, Police and plain-clothes officers have entered the Community, attacked individuals and stolen animals, something which has been presented in formal complaints against the Police, but  so far the Chilean Justice system has failed to deliver justice or any redress. In 2009, in similar circumstances, Juan Patricio Queipul - a minor - was arrested and arbitrarily detained, and those officials responsible still remain unpunished. Such cases of State and Police impunity are rife.

  7. Our Autonomous Mapuche Community of Temucuicui condemns the violent forced entry and subsequent shooting of members of our Community. We denounce this intimidation and hostage-taking which is typical of repressive policies of a right-wing authoritarian government. Its representatives have as their ultimate goal to stop the process of territorial repossession as well as the exercise of civil and political rights by our Communities in Malleco province.

 

The Autonomous Mapuche Community of Temucuicui.

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Translated by Tej Bhandal
Mapuche International Link

 

 

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