Statement Number 8 Mapuche Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike of the community Wente Winkul Mapu

Source: http://paismapuche.org/?p=5230

"It's worth losing our life with dignity, instead of resigning ourselves to a death on our knees for fear of fighting "
September 30, 2012

Statement Number 8 Mapuche Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike of the community Wente Winkul Mapu


Mapuche Political Prisoners of the community Wente Winkul Mapu of Lof Chekenco: Paulino Levipan Coyán, Daniel Levinao Montoya, Rodrigo Montoya Melinao and their spokesman Erick Montoya Montoya, we wish to inform the national and international public opinion the following:

That we salute all those who through different activities have supported our rights to truth and justice. We know that many peñis(brothers) and lamienes(sisters) have shared with us the violence exerted by the Militarized Police, the persecution and the detentions. We are grateful that you share with us and with our families the wish to to push back an unjust state that does not want to solve the underlying problems that our People have and that just reduces our requirements of existence as a free nation to a matter of money. 

We thank all those who understand the need to get out of the corner where they have our communities, who understand that without water and with the advancement of the forestry companies the land dies every day as we die as well.

We thank those who read the story and know of how our people have had to struggle to maintain their culture, their spirituality, their organization, and who know that the fight always has a new beginning. We believe that we still have time to cleanse our AM, our spirit, to regain our identity and to recover the territory which now is in the hands of transnational corporations and landlords who exploit the land thinking only of economic wealth, without realizing that one day she will not have the strength to nourish us or water to quench our thirst.


We continue sequestered, we continue to struggle despite of the chains and that our bodies begin to weaken, but sometimes our minds do not understand. We have learned that it is worth losing our life in a fight while standing up with dignity instead of resigning ourselves to a death on our knees for fear of fighting for what we believe in and love, THE LAND.

Because neither imprisonment nor death will stop our struggle for freedom and territory for our Mapuche Nation.

Mapuche Political Prisoners of Wente Winkul Mapu