Kolonialismus im Land der Mapuche in Chile amerika21.de - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from amerika21.de Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Juan Jerónimo Lemus, Cherán, México
On May 4, Mapuche spiritual leader Machi Celestino Córdova, imprisoned in Chile’s Temuco prison, launched a hunger strike to demand respect for Indigenous rights as enshrined in international law. Several Mapuche in another prison joined him. Weeks later, the total number of Mapuche on hunger strike behind bars in the cities of Temuco, Angol, and Lebu rose to 27.
The hunger strikers called on the Chilean state to fulfill obligations outlined in the International Labor Organization Convention 169. The convention outlines the right of Indigenous peoples to free, prior, and informed consent for projects on their territories. However, it also stipulates that authorities and courts must take into account Indigenous peoples’ “customs…in regard to penal matters” and give preference to “methods of punishment other than confinement in prison.”