Feb 03, 2009

Statement from the Mapuche Representative of UNPO


Switzerland examines Mapuches' request for political asylum


by Reynaldo Mariqueo – Friday 23rd January 2009

On Wednesday 21st January, Flor Rayen Calfunao and ten year-old Relmutray Cadin were summoned by the Refugee Office of Vallorbe, Switzerland, in order to confirm their personal details and begin the necessary steps for them to obtain political asylum in the country. Their request was submitted on 10 September 2008, after Flor travelled to Chile to take her niece Remultray out of the country following the arrest of Remultray's parents and brothers by the Chilean security forces.

Flor Rayen Calfunao has been living illegally in Switzerland since 1996. However, her irregular situation has proved no obstacle in her sustained and active campaign to denounce the violation of the human rights of her community and of the Mapuche people. Her campaigning activities are open and effective, and her work has been recognised: in March 2008 she was honoured with the prize for “Femme exilée, femme engagée” (exiled woman, committed woman). This prize was publicly awarded to her by the Mayor of Geneva, Mr
Patrice Mugny.  

The problem affecting Flor's community, and more particularly her own family, is due to the Chilean authorities' abuse of both individual and collective human rights. Faced with injustice, Mapuche communal landowners have used their legal right to peaceful protest, as set out in the Political Constitution of the Chilean State. Through such protests, communal landowners are trying to make their voices heard but the response of the Chilean authorities has been to criminalise their demands.

The request for political asylum is based on irrefutable evidence of the human rights violations suffered by members of Flor's family, which include: intimidation, threats, and physical and psychological repression by large estate owners and Chile's military police. The actions of the police are justified by the judicial authorities who use repressive legislation introduced under the dictatorial regime of General Pinochet, such as the Interior State Security Law, the Anti-Terrorism Law, and military tribunals, which today are all used almost exclusively against the Mapuche.

This petition for political asylum has been supported by a significant number of human rights organisations, based upon the strong criticisms expressed over the last few years by the most important human rights groups in the world. Organisations such as the International Red Cross, the World Organisation Against Torture, the International Federation of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and even the UN's Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues have all sent out reports, made recommendations, or otherwise expressed their concern to the Chilean government over the unjustified repression directed against the Mapuche people.

Switzerland has a long historical tradition of promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms at an international level and a precedent already exists for granting political asylum to Chilean citizens under the current democratic Chilean system. Switzerland granted asylum to Patricio Ortiz Montenegro because it was concluded that the use of torture in Chile meant there was no guarantee that he would be given a fair trial or be able to live safely there. Torture is a practice widely used in Chile, particularly against the Mapuche. On 31 March 2008, Johnny Cariqueo died of a heart attack following a brutal beating by the Special Forces Police of the 26th Precinct of Pudahuel, Santiago. Cariqueo had been arrested during a protest on 29th March, according to the Ethical Commission against Torture.


Political persecution against Mapuche communal landowners



The Juan Paillalef community is situated in the ninth region of Araucanía, the ancestral territory of the Mapuche, and is headed by Lonko (Chief) Juana Calfunao Paillalef. The Juan Paillalef community rules itself according to its own cultural values, including the system of social organisation that is inherent to Mapuche culture. The Chilean authorities do not accept the cultural diversity that exists within the country and therefore deny the Mapuche the right “to be different, to consider themselves as different and to be regarded as such”. This means that Mapuche culture and social organization, and the Lonko's status as a Mapuche authority are not recognised.

Lonko Juana Calfunao and her sister Luisa were detained in the Women’s Prison of Temuco in November 2006. Lonko Calfunao remains imprisoned, while Luisa was released under cautionary measures and has to sign in at the nearest police station every Sunday. Luisa is currently receiving psychological counselling as a consequence of the police repression she has witnessed and suffered since her childhood, and which has been aggravated by the prison treatment and the trauma that her family is still undergoing.

Lonko Calfunao's husband, Antonio Cadin, and her son Jorge are both imprisoned in Temuco Prison. Jorge was released temporarily, but was newly detained on the 24th June 2008 after being set up by the police. Waikilaf (another of Lonko Calfunao's sons) was tortured by officials during his sentence in Temuco and sent to the High Security Prison in Santiago, but was released on 29 December 2007. However, since then he has been arrested twice more. The most recent occasion where he was held for a few days occurred on 2 January 2009. Lonko Calfunao's mother, Mercedes Paillalef, and her daughter Carolina have both been placed under cautionary measures—prevented from visiting their relatives in prison or travelling to other parts of the country.

With the authorities employing false witnesses and judicial set-ups rampant in the region, Mercedes Paillalef fears that the rest of her family could be arrested at any moment and accused of breaking the law. This abusive practice has already been used against them and against other communities that have demanded that their rights be respected.

It should also be noted that Lonko Juana Calfunao's house has been burned down three times. Her uncle, Basilio Coñoenao, died in one of these attacks. In another incident, Relmutray was only saved from the flames thanks to the opportune intervention of a neighbour.

The Juan Paillalef community has been raided repeatedly by the police; almost always without the required judicial authorisation. Lonko Juana Calfunao and her family have suffered recurring police brutality in their community, even in the presence of children. Lonko Calfunao has been arrested for no good reason and tortured by the police. On one occasion, the Chilean judicial authorities had to assign a lawyer to investigate the origin of the bruises and sharp cuts on her face and body after these were filmed by journalists as she exited the prison grounds.

Another case still left unresolved is that of Lonko Calfunao's miscarriage as a result of the torture she suffered at the hands of the military police during her June 2000 detention in the 2nd Precinct of Temuco. She was later accused of “insulting officers on duty”. All of these events have been widely reported by national and international human rights organisations and by the media.

In such a family context, the situation was one of insecurity, repression, and defencelessness for young Remultray. While being watched by only her young sister, she could have been arrested at any time.

If Flor Rayen Calfunao had returned to live in Chile, she would have joined the struggle to defend the rights of her community. This would undoubtedly put her on the long list of Mapuche political prisoners, along with her sisters Juana and Luisa. She never regularised her status in Switzerland because she was waiting anxiously for the day that she could return to the country of her birth—but peace in her community never came.

The Mapuche and many human rights organisations hope that Switzerland will understand their situation and allow them to live in a peaceful, safe, and stable environment, where Relmutray can grow up according to the standards laid out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international humanitarian laws.

We believe that the repression faced by the members of the Juan Paillalef community forced Flor Rayen Calfunao and Relmutray to seek political asylum in Switzerland in compliance with the criteria laid out in the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1975 Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Resolution 3452/xxx/ General Assembly).

Finally, it should be stressed that the Chilean government will not admit that the Mapuches' fight for justice, culture, land, and self-determination is a political struggle for the recognition of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Therefore, neither does it recognise detained Mapuche activists as political prisoners. Curiously, however, although Mercedes Paillalef was politically exonerated for fighting to free her people during the Pinochet regime, today, under a “democratic” government she has been classed as a common criminal for continuing to participate in the same struggle.
 
We call upon the government of Switzerland to grant Flor Rayen Calfunao and Relmutray Cadin refugee status so that they may live a protected and productive life as legal and contributing citizens of the country that has awarded them so much.


Reynaldo Mariqueo
Mapuche Werken  (Special Envoy)