Public Statement by the Mapuche political prisoners of the communities of Ercilla, currently imprisoned in the jail of Angol, Chile

Public Statement 31/01/2013

The Mapuche political prisoners of the communities of Ercilla, currently imprisoned in the jail of Angol, to our people and the national and international public opinion, we state the following:

1. - That in the last few days we have been informed that a number of members of human rights organizations and international observers visited the Angol prison to observe the conditions that the Mapuche political prisoners find themselves in.
2.-We regret that these organizations have not taken notice of the persecution and abuses suffered by us, those who resist, who fight, and suffer the attack of the political repression and imprisonment by the Chilean state.
3. In particular, we regret that they have not interviewed Fernando Millacheo Marín, peñi of the Lof Chequenco, on hunger strike since over a month, with a weight loss of more than 12 kilos. This peñi has been imprisoned several times, always being acquitted of the setups of the prosecution and police.
4. We make notice that the repressive strategy led by the prosecution anti Mapuche Collipulli, is imprisoning young people from the communities of Ercilla, with gross setups of common crimes, with protected witnesses who only recognize the voice or body type, but that is enough to keep us in unjust imprisonment.
5. We reaffirm that we are members of communities, that we only owe it to them and from them we draw our strength to resist. We will not give up our struggle for the recovery of ancestral territory, not for the imprisonments nor for the setups.
6. We call on all communities of all traditional Mapuche Lof to lead a worthy fight for our territory and autonomy, to no allowing ourselves to be deceived once again with supposed dialogs where the demand for territory of the Mapuche Nation is not heard.     

Fernando Millacheo Marin: Lof Chequenco
Cristian Levinao Melinao: Lof Rayen Mapu
Jaime Marileo Saravia: Lof Cacique José Guiñon
Jorge Mariman Loncomilla: Lof Cacique José Guiñon
Luis Marileo Cariqueo: Lof Cacique José Guiñon
Leonardo Quijón Pereira: Lof Chequenco
Rodrigo Montoya Montoya: Lof Wente Winkul Mapu
Guido Bahamonde Gallardo: Lof Rayen Mapu

Stop the setups and Political Repression!
Freedom for the Mapuche Political Prisoners!