MAPUCHE RIGHTS SUPPORTER EMILIO BERKHOFF STARTS HUNGER STRIKE AND ISSUES STATEMENT, CHILE

I, Emilio Berkhoff Jerez, a political prisoner within the framework of the Mapuche struggle, confined in prison in Angol, point out to public opinion that:

1) That the Chilean Gendarmerie has systematically denied my condition as a political prisoner, keeping me away from the Mapuche political prisoners and with a different visiting rights regime as to time and place (in the gymnasium of the prison). To which are added restrictions of movement, communication and entry to Mapuche Political Prisoners module.

2) That according to reports by the Gendarmerie of Angol, these measures are due to an order issued by the National Gendarmerie, whose argument is that I would be prosecuted for ordinary crimes only, and not for political crimes, contradicting the virulent media campaign of persecution against me by the government through the Ministry of Interior. 

3) That for the above I have taken the decision to initiate, starting today, an indefinite hunger strike to enforce the following demands:

- Recognition of my status as a political prisoner
- Incorporation into the Mapuche political prisoners module, in a progressive manner, owing to the current overcrowded conditions.
- The same visiting rights regime of the Mapuche political prisoners module, as to place and time.
- Authorization to participate in sports and cultural activities of the Mapuche political prisoners module. 

 BECAUSE THE PRISON IS ALSO A TRENCH FOR FIGHTING
FREEDOM TO ALL MAPUCHE POLITICAL PRISONERS!