Chile applies dictator-era law to Indian violence

TEMUCUICUI, Chile — Small groups of Mapuche Indians have so rattled Chile by seizing forests, burning buses and attacking police to demand land and autonomy that the leftist government has turned to dictatorship-era measures to quell the violence.

The government of President Michelle Bachelet is prosecuting Mapuche activists with secret evidence, protected witnesses and other tough aspects of an anti-terrorism law inherited from Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who jailed and tortured Bachelet’s father and sent her into exile.

The police crackdown has left a stain on Bachelet’s otherwise strong human rights record, with UNICEF, the UN Human Rights Commission and other international organizations expressing concern that elderly people and children are being abused… more

Email Article

Email Us

Print friendly

Admin  Bio

Admin Most recent columns