Chilean police create special teams to police Mapuche communities

WEDNESDAY, 29 MAY 2013 15:15 | WRITTEN BY ALEENA ESMAIL

In an effort to form a connection where clashes have long existed, Chile’s uniformed police force creates special brigades for indigenous communities.

The Carabineros, Chile’s uniformed police, recently announced a new program to try and connect with indigenous communities. Police training academies have begun training officers to reach out to Mapuche populations beginning with those in the Araucanía region.

carabineros
Chilean police recently launched a program to improve relations with Mapuche groups. Photo by Sol Robayo/Flickr

Sixty Carabineros graduated into the so-called Ethnic Patrol after being instructed in the mapudungún language, cultural training and other ways to connect with indigenous communities.

These changes come as clashes continue between Carabineros and the Mapuche community. Mapuche leader Aucán Huilcamán recently demanded an apology for crimes committed against the indigenous group over the years and Chile has been brought to international court for human rights violations against Mapuche political prisoners.

Clashes with police have also been common in the Araucanía Region, where a quarter of the population belongs to the indigenous group. Members of the community say they feel unfairly targeted by the government.

Under the controversial Anti-Terrorist Law implemented under the Gen. Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, accused can be held without bail before trial, receive higher penalties for crimes and be sentenced based on anonymous testimony if their suposed crime is deemed a terrorist act by the government. Cases can also be turned over to military courts. One of the more prominent Mapuche resistance groups, the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), is labeled a terrorist organization by the Chilean government.

Former presidents Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet and the current Sebestián Piñera government have all invoked the law against Mapuche groups in the region.

After a trial period and an evaluation of it’s effectiveness, the new Carabinero program may expand to other areas outside of the Aruncanía Region.

Cristóbal Lira, an Interior Ministry official tasked with crime prevention, said the program was essential for the relationship between law enforcement and indigenous communities to improve.

“It’s for people who know the language, who are close to these communities,” he said to El Mercurio. “What we’re realizing is that we need interaction between the community and the police, we need people to feel close to them.”

According to El Mercurio there are around two hundred Carabineros posted in Araucanía that have links to the Mapuche community. These officers will be among those encouraged to join the new teams.

Source: The Santiago Times

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