Category: Letter
Amnesty Netherlands: Urgent Action
Chile, respect freedom of expression!
Since October 18, 2019, mass demonstrations have been taking place in the streets of Chile in response to the price increase for metro tickets. Chileans are furious about the high cost of living and inequality. The President of Chile has declared a state of emergency and has set a curfew. The army was deployed to keep demonstrators under control. At least 15 people have already died and 1,400 people have been arrested, including minors and dozens of peaceful demonstrators.
Letter to the President of the Republic Sebastian Piñera and the Ambassador María Teresa Infante
November 8th of 2019.
Chilean & Mapuche community in Holland supporting protestors in Chile.
The Hague, The Netherlands.
Letter directed to President of the Republic Sebastián Piñera and the Ambassador Maria
Teresa Infante, representative of the government in the Netherlands.
The Chilean community and the Mapuche community who reside in the
Netherlands are demonstrating our support to the citizens of Chile, who
have exercised their legitimate right to protest for their justified and
historic demands for equality and social justice, and we categorically
reject the repressive actions of the government. Through the testimonies
of our family members, friends and social organizations, we have
witnessed how human rights are systematically violated in today’s Chile.
The thousands of videos that show the brutal repression and figures
submitted by human rights organizations provide evidence which
demonstrates that Chile is not a democratic country and that the police
continues to act as it did in the times of the Dictatorship.
We demand that the government changes its policy of repression and heeds
the legitimate demands of the people that does not want noncommittal
measures but real change in the system and above all a new Constitution.
A pluri-national Constitution that is in accordance with the times, and
that does not only consider the family as the fundamental core of
society, but that also includes all citizens; that also includes the
autonomy and self-determination of the Mapuche nation.
It is very evident for the entire world that Sebastián Piñera’s
government has not been able to manage this social outcry and that he is
not interested in listening to the demands of the people. Now it is time
to step aside and recognize that it is necessary to create an Assembly
of Constituents.
We demand justice of the victims and that the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights investigate the human rights violations that have
occurred during these last weeks, and we also demand freedom for Mapuche
political prisoners.
We demand an investigation into and the deep reform of the Police and
the Armed Forces so that stop practices such as torture and learn to
respect human rights. Furthermore, we demand an end to the
militarization of Mapuche communities.
We demand the respect of and the compliance with international treaties,
which include the respect of democratic principles and human rights.
Signed by,
Chilean community in The Netherlands:
Mapuche Foundation | FOLIL The Netherlands:
Answer to demands: more repression
Today we have learned that the answer the government has given to the demands the president has humbly listened are nine measures towards enforcing the Armed Forces, Military, Intelligence Agencies and civil actions (team of lawyers) to keep fighting “this war”. A war most chileans don’t recognize.
Deception, rape, horror, destruction. A disturbed life for everyone and a deep awareness whirl is happening in most of chileans nowadays. A variety of common awareness has been triggered in all citizens to even understand what kind of society we have had and which one we want. And we also get the worst of some psychopaths given extreme violence has been already reported. These are reminiscences of the civil-military dictatorship (1973-1990) getting real for the young and a vile second version for those who survived the state terror and massacre.
It is sad to count today these flagrants violations to Human Rights:
The INDH (National Institute of Human Rights) at November 6th, 12 hrs. reports:
- Legal Actions: 219.
- Persons detained: 5.012.
- People wounded in hospitals: 1.778.
And also an infamous world record: People with ocular wounds are 180 (editor’s note: had to augment this number twice in one hour to be precise). The disastrous number is followed in the world ranking by the Palestine-Israeli conflict who has had to regret so far about 150 cases in six years. We reached this outrageous record in twenty days. These events are -wickedly ironic- blind in the eye of the government and authority. The Human Rights violations, even documented and flagrant are perpetrated and ignored systematecally. Our leaders and authorities need to invest much more in resources to end the crimes of an unlawful, organized and ruthless enemy: chilean people. The president runs an administration that shows a support of 13% and rejection of 79% in the latest CADEM poll. The lowest score for a president since return of so called democracy returned to the country.
There is so much to show that only looking at how the people from the Academia responds (even before this distastrous announcement): you have reached world fame, stop getting people blind, respect Human Rights, let’s have a dialogue, let’s reason…
But… the government only has measures according to the second half of our national emblem phrase: “Por la razón o la fuerza” (By the reason or the force). Yes. We praise force, as a country, allowing the duality of one side abusing and exploting the other, and profiting from resources, consuming the decency of people in mass scale. Today everyone is a reporter and there are many more ways to overwatch Human Rights which are crimes against humanity not subject to statue of limitations.
The demands are quite clear from the citizens: a new Constitution democrately created, Plebiscite, Constituent Assembly. We see that many crave for a better country but the rotten bourgeoisie keeps trying to perpetuate the abuse and precarisation of life that most chileans get to live by.
