17
pretext of asserting land claims for the Mapuche communities and for the creation of a separate
57
State or autonomous nation, with its own territory and right to self-determination (…).
58
48.
This social representation, which the communications media have helped to create, has
exacerbated the climate of tension surrounding the sociopolitic processes of the Mapuche indigenous
people. Thus, in some quarters of the State and in Chilean public opinion, the Mapuche people’s acts of
violent social protest and political mobilization are viewed as acts of terrorism. The terrorism label
attached to their activities has triggered the application of anti-terrorist legal instruments against them.
3.
The Chilean State’s response and the selective application of the Anti-Terrorism
Law to members of the Mapuche indigenous people
49.
The State has reacted to the situation of social protests and mobilizations of the Mapuche
indigenous people in various ways, which include judicially prosecuting Mapuche individuals for alleged
59
violations of criminal law.
The leaders and members of the Mapuche indigenous people view this
reaction by the State as persecution aimed at repressing their processes of mobilization and protests by
60
way of the courts. Although most of the criminal cases have been prosecuted under ordinary criminal
61
law, a significant number of cases have been prosecuted under Law 18,314 of 1984, also known as
62
the “Anti-Terrorism Act”. This was especially true in the period between 2000 and 2005.
50.
In this context, a number of international human rights organizations have expressed
concern over the existence of a pattern of selective enforcement of Chile’s anti-terrorism laws to
Mapuche indigenous persons, in the framework of their political and social movement and protest. This
pattern is said to have been facilitated by the broad scope of the definition of terrorist crimes under Law
18,314. These observations will be examined at greater length in the analysis of the law, at paragraph
149 below.
51.
At this point, as an example of this concern, the Commission refers to the statement
made by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of
Indigenous People, R. Stavenhagen, who wrote the following in his November 2003 report on his
Mission to Chile:
In the opinion of some experts, this combination of a new criminal procedure, the
57
Report of the Commission on the Constitution, Legislation, Justice and Regulations, prepared by order of the Senate in
connection with the Mapuche Conflict as it pertains to public order and citizen security in certain regions. Bulletin No. S 680-12
(2003). See also: UN – Economic and Social Council – Commission on Human Rights - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, submitted in accordance with
Commission resolution 2003/56. Addendum – Mission to Chile – Doc. UN E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3, November 17, 2003, paragraph
39.
58
UN – Economic and Social Council – Commission on Human Rights - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, submitted in accordance with
Commission resolution 2003/56. Addendum – Mission to Chile – Doc. UN E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3, November 17, 2003, paragraph
55.
59
UN – Economic and Social Council – Commission on Human Rights - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, submitted in accordance with
Commission resolution 2003/56. Addendum – Mission to Chile – Doc. UN E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3, November 17, 2003, paragraph
31.
60
UN – Economic and Social Council – Commission on Human Rights - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, submitted in accordance with
Commission resolution 2003/56. Addendum – Mission to Chile – Doc. UN E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3, November 17, 2003, paragraph
38.
61
Law No. 18,314 which establishes what offenses constitute terrorist conduct and the penalties they carry, published in
the Official Gazette of May 17, 1984.
62
UN – Economic and Social Council – Commission on Human Rights - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Mr. Rodolfo Stavenhagen, submitted in accordance with
Commission resolution 2003/56. Addendum – Mission to Chile – Doc. UN E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3, November 17, 2003, paragraph
35.