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MAPUCHE INTERNATIONAL LINK |
Royal House of Araucania and Patagonia
Mapuche Appointed as New Representative for Foreign Affairs
Press Release – 30 march, 2010
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Leading members of Mapuche International Link (MIL) were recognised for their contribution to the Mapuche people (1) struggle during a royal ceremony last week. Image: Reynaldo Mariqueo, Prince Philippe and Nina Dean Photo: Archive MIL |
The Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia’s annual roll of honours, which took place in Paris, France on March 20, saw Reynaldo Mariqueo (2) and Nina Dean (3) respectively receive the Knighthood of the Royal Order of the Steel Crown and the Commemorative Medal of Honour. During the event, it was also announced that Count Mariqueo of Lul-lul Mawidha will assume responsibility for the foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia (4).
Nina Dean’s award by royal decree highlighted and celebrated her important contribution to the promotion and protection of Mapuche human rights over the past decade. After accepting her award, Ms Dean reaffirmed that she will continue to campaign for the universal values which are embodied in the Mapuche struggle. She said: ‘I remain faithfully committed to the goal of Mapuche self-determination and to the protection of human, civil and political rights.’
Count Mariqueo’s knighthood, meanwhile, commemorated both his work at the UN and his open challenge, evidenced in his seminal research, to the distorted accounts of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia’s history promoted by the Argentinean and Chilean states which effectively legitimise the dispossession and oppression of the Mapuche Nation.
After accepting his award, Count Mariqueo affirmed that ‘’his accolades and his appointment were received to serve the Mapuche Government in exile’’; he accepted these he said "with humility and gratitude, in recognition of the heroic deed initiated by the Mapuche Lonko* and Orelie-Antoine de Tunens, founders of the monarchical government.” He also emphasised “the profound respect which Prince Philippe inspires in him.”
While acknowledging the challenges which will face him in his new role, he also drew attention to the eternal symbolic and practical importance of the Kingdom. He said: ‘Despite this being a difficult period in our people’s history, our authorities had the vision to create a free independent sovereign state, embodying principles which our ancestors have tirelessly defended in hundreds of battles throughout past centuries.’
In keeping with tradition, the state function coincided with Prince Philippe’s birthday celebrations (he was 83 this year). A host of royal supporters, hereditary peers and international officials and dignitaries attended the high-profile, black-tie function.
In his Royal address at the historic Parisian Palace "Le Pavillon Dauphine", Prince Philippe celebrated the heroism of King Orelie-Antoine I, the Kingdom’s first monarch, whose dedication and perseverance inspired the royal generations that were to follow. Prince Philippe’s speech further highlighted the significant potential for the Royal House to play its part in the internationalisation of the current Mapuche struggle.
Nina Dean explained that this international dimension is “crucial, particularly while the states of Chile and Argentina consistently fail to recognise the Mapuche right to self-government within their own land, a right which is enshrined in several international instruments, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.
In recent years, a significant number of Mapuche leaders have been in favour of strengthening the work of the Royal House as a unifying and evolutionary strategic measure, since they view the Royal House as an institution that symbolizes stability and continuity. This objective involves the active participation of Mapuche leaders in developing contemporary progressive fields of work, crucially taking into account the new challenges posed by current global and national conditions.
To revitalize the international relations policy is needed, in order to contribute to the fulfilment of the aspirations of the Mapuche people, particularly when the states of Chile and Argentina demonstrate a consistent failure of guarantees to respect the rights of the Mapuche to establish self-government in the Wallmapu* as demanded by international laws.
In recent years the Chilean government, in particular, has indiscriminately cracked down on Mapuche communities who struggle for their social, political, cultural and territorial rights (5). Nonetheless, the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people is endemic in both Argentina and Chile, as is shown by the fact that international human rights organisations have consistently condemned both countries.
For further information please contact Reynaldo Mariqueo at mil@mapuche-nation.org or on 0117 927 9391.
The Mapuche are an indigenous nation which straddles Southern Chile and Argentina. Their population is estimated to be around two million. They are the only South American indigenous nation whose sovereignty and autonomy were formally recognised during the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the continent. To this day, the Mapuche continue to struggle against the repression of their legitimate cultural and territorial rights by the Argentinean and Chilean authorities.
Reynaldo Mariqueo is also a werken (Mapuche envoy) to the European Union, Count of Lul-lul Mawidha, Counsellor to the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia and General Secretary of Mapuche International Link.
Nina Dean is vice secretary of Mapuche International Link (MIL) and regularly participates in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia was founded on November 17, 1860 by the Mapuche authorities and a citizen of French origin, Orelie-Antoine de Tounens who, after living with the Mapuche people, managed to earn the trust and esteem of the highest Mapuche authorities. The constituent assembly (Futa Kollog) that sanctioned the Kingdom’s constitution was approved after extensive debate in the Mapuche nation’s various territorial entities, which were then known as Araucania and Patagonia and which are today known as Wallmapu (Mapuche ancestral territory).
The Chilean state, which has previously evidenced its capacity for brutality and barbarity, has further compounded this reputation through its treatment of Lonko (chief) Juana Calfunao, who is currently serving a sentence of four years for the ‘crime’ of civil disobedience. She is detained along with other Mapuche political prisoners, 37 of whom are detained under Chilean anti-terrorist laws which were first enacted under the Pinochet regime. The use of this law has been broadly condemned by national governments, global human rights organisations and international organisations such as the United Nations.
(*) Lonko = chief, Mapuche authorities
(*) Wallmapu = Mapuche ancestral territory also known as Araucania and Patagonia
