PRESS RELEASE

Bristol, 13 October, 1999

Human rights violations in Chile

The only indigenous mayor in Chile, Adolfo Millabur, will visit the UK from 22 to 25 October. He will hand a file of allegations of human rights abuses against the Mapuche people to Amnesty International. He will also be holding public meetings in London and Bristol to draw attention to the plight of the Mapuche people. His visit to Europe will also include France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Norway.

A public meeting will be held at:

Praxis Pott Street, Bethnal Green, London E2 0EF
4:00 pm Sunday 24 October, 1999

A spokesman for Mapuche International Link says:

"The repression of Mapuche indigenous people under the current 'democratic' government is as bad as it was under Pinochet. This year alone, 450 people have been detained, including women, old people and children."

The Mapuche nation is the last indigenous nation of South America, conquered only 100 years ago by the Chilean and Argentinian states. Much of the Mapuche's land has been taken away in contravention of treaties with Chile and Argentina. Nevertheless, there are still one and a half million Mapuche people living in Chile and Argentina where they exist on small reservations on which it is difficult to maintain their traditional life and culture. As a result of the lack of land and resources, infant mortality among the Mapuches is the highest in Chile, and the average lifespan is ten years less than that of other Chileans. Educational opportunities for Mapuche children are limited and there is a high rate of adult illiteracy.

The drive to modernise the Chilean economic infrastructure via a programme of road building, hydro-electric dams and industrialisation has often been detrimental to Mapuche interests. Many such projects are carried out in contravention of Chile's Law Concerning Indigenous Peoples. According to this statute projects can only go ahead with the permission of the indigenous landowners but in reality the work is pushed through without the consent of the communities concerned.

For further information, contact Mapuche International Link.

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Mapuche International Link
Enlace Mapuche Internacional
6 Lodge Street,
Bristol. BS1 5LR,
England.
Tel/Fax +44-117-927 9391
e-mail: mapulink@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/mapulink
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