| May 15, 2004 "Extreme cruelty": The plight of the Mapuche Indians during the years of military rule |
Introduction
During the years of military rule in Chile (September 1973-March 1990), Amnesty International received reports of thousands of cases of human rights violations, including "disappearances" and summary executions during the early years after the coup, cases of torture and ill-treatment, and killings as a result of extrajudicial executions or unnecessary violence. Among the victims of these abuses were Mapuche Indians. Some of them were members of political parties or trade unions; some were peasant landholders or activists asserting what they claimed were traditional rights, including the right to land. Other victims were not known to have had any political affiliation but appear to have been killed or suffered other human rights violations simply because of their ethnic origin.
Human Rights Violations against the Mapuches
In March 1990 democratic government was restored in Chile. Shortly after assuming office, President Aylwin appointed the National Commission of Truth and Reconciliation (CNVR, Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación) to look into cases of serious human rights violations committed during the years of military government. The government defined these to include "disappearances", executions and death as a result of torture.(1)
In March 1991 the CNVR published its findings. It concluded that 957 people had "disappeared" after being detained by the army or security forces and that 1068 people had been executed or died under torture. Of the Mapuche Indians, the CNVR said:
"It is important to emphasize the extreme cruelty with which the Mapuches and their families were treated and the serious difficulty those in the most rural areas have experienced having to live together in the same place, sometimes up to the present day, with the people who caused the deaths of their loved ones. Fear, poverty or despair meant that only a small percentage of these families presented the cases to the courts of justice at the time, or denounced them to human rights organizations."(2)
The CNVR's report includes the cases of nearly 100 Mapuches who were executed or who "disappeared" following their abduction by the army or security forces and of at least 23 Mapuches about whose cases the CNVR could not reach a conclusion.(3) The figure is likely to be higher than this as a number of Mapuche Indians living in isolated communities, some of whom speak little or no Spanish, are still fearful about coming forward with their testimonies. A Mapuche activist interviewed by Amnesty International in June 1991 said that he knew of several cases of "disappearance" that had not been included in the CNVR's report. He also told delegates that in at least one case, the relatives later retracted their statement because they were still afraid.
According to estimates there are about 600,000 Mapuche Indians living in Chile, either in rural communities or urban areas mostly in the Ninth Region in the central southern part of the country. The name Mapuche means "people of the land" ("mapu" - land, "che" - people). The Mapuche have their own language and religion and traditional form of communal land holding. Other indigenous groups in Chile include the Aymaras and the Rapa Nu-í.
A programme of Agrarian reform led by the government of Salvador Allende enabled the Mapuche, who had lost most of their territory since the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century, to regain some of the land taken from them. Steps were taken to set up health and education programmes and in 1972 the Indigenous Peoples Act, intended to improve general living conditions of the Mapuche communities, was enacted.
When the military took power in September 1973 numerous Mapuche leaders, activists and peasants were arrested and tortured. Many others were killed or "disappeared". According to the 1978 report of the United Nations Ad Hoc Working Group on the Situation of Human Rights in Chile, "On the day of the coup, the big landowners, the land barons, the military and the carabineros started a great manhunt against the Mapuches who had struggled and gained their land back;" In 1980 the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America published a report about the Mapuche(4) following a visit to Chile in November 1979. In their report, they described how the Mapuche had been "pursued ... simply because they were Indians" and had "at first tried to hide because all Indians were hunted like animals."
Later, during the 1980s, a number of Mapuche activists were subjected to short-term detention. Others, including José Santos Millao Palacios a leader of AD-MAPU (an organization that campaigns for the rights of Mapuche Indians), were banished (relegado) by administrative order to remote parts of the country for periods of up to three months. Mapuche activists - in the same way as hundreds of other real or perceived government opponents - were also subjected to death threats by clandestine groups, such as ACHA (Acción Chilena Anticomunista, Anti-Communist Chilean Action), which surfaced around 1983. In the years that followed, these groups were responsible for many acts of intimidation and attacks. The way in which they operated, the resources available to them and information, including eye witness testimony, that emerged in court indicated that members of these groups were linked to the security forces.
Today, those responsible for human rights violations during the period of military rule continue to benefit from impunity. An amnesty law passed by the military government in 1978, originally intended to apply to individuals charged with particular crimes following judicial investigation, has been consistently used by the courts to block investigations into human rights violations before the facts about the case have been established and criminal responsibility determined.(5) Despite the amnesty law however, a few civilian court judges have been endeavouring to conduct investigations into the violations that occurred between 1973 and 1978 to clarify the facts and establish criminal responsibility. In addition, several civilian judges investigating cases that occurred after 1978, where the amnesty law is not applicable, have made important progress in their investigations.
Since 1990, new evidence has resulted in the opening of several investigations into the "disappearance" and extrajudicial execution of Mapuches during the 1970s. One such investigation led to the short-term arrest of two former carabineros and a civilian at the beginning of 1992 on charges of abducting two Mapuche Indians in 1974. (For further details see Members of security forces charged in connection with "disappearance" of Mapuche Indians in 1974 - AI Index: AMR 22/02/92.) The men were subsequently released on bail and lawyers for the accused have presented a complaint to the Supreme Court against the Temuco Appeals Court for putting the three men on trial. In some of the other cases currently under investigation, criminal complaints were presented to the courts during the 1970s. However, these earlier investigations had either been formally suspended for lack of evidence or, when the information pointed towards the responsibility of the police or military, the civilian judges had declared themselves without jurisdiction and passed the cases over to the military courts where no case was ever resolved.
The wife of Carlos Cayumán, one of 15 people who "disappeared" from the small community of Liquiñe in 1973, recently recounted to representatives of the human rights organization Comité de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo (CODEPU, Committee for the Defence of the Rights of the People), how the loss of her husband had affected her:
"All these years I have had to live with hunger, poverty, exploitation and above all fear, confusion, doubt, distrust, loss and loneliness"(6)
The fifteen people from the Liquiñe community, some of whom were of Mapuche origin, had never presented a complaint to the courts about the "disappearance" of their loved ones. For some, it was only after the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation had been created in 1990 that they gained the courage to explain what had happened to their relatives seventeen years earlier.
Amnesty International's Concerns
Amnesty International remains seriously concerned about the impunity benefitting those responsible for human rights violations during the former military government and continues to campaign for those responsible to be brought to justice. The organization believes that the 1978 amnesty law (Decree Law 2191), which has been used to block full judicial investigations into abuses committed before 1978, should be repealed. The impunity which this law affords to those responsible for the most serious of human rights violations can encourage the recurrence of such violations. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances concluded in its 1990 report that "perhaps the single most important factor contributing to the phenomenon of disappearances may be that of impunity" and that "perpetrators of human rights violations, whether civilian or military, will become all the more brazen when they are not held to account before a court of law".(7)
"Disappearance" and Extrajudicial Execution of Mapuche Indians
The cases in this section are among the many that have been reported to Amnesty International. The information is based on reports received over the years by Amnesty International as well as new details that emerged when the country returned to civilian rule and the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation began its investigations.
1. Bernardo Nahuelcoi Chihuaicura, 32, member of the Socialist Party; Mauricio Huenucoi Antil, peasant; Francisco Segundo Curamil Castillo, 18, peasant; Francisco Pascual Porma Cheuquecoy, 42, activist in Socialist Party. Bernardo Nahuelcoi Chihuaicura, Mauricio Huenucoi Antil and his nephew Francisco Curamil Castillo were among a large group of peasants from the settlement of Puerto Saavedra arrested in October 1973 by members of the army based in Temuco. Francisco Pascual Porma Cheuquecoy was detained from his home in Puerto Saavedra by carabineros (uniformed police) and taken to the local police station.
Bernardo NAHUELCOI CHIHUAICURA and children
Carabineros informed Bernardo Nahuelcoi's family that he had been transferred to Temuco but his wife later found his body near the seashore. His face had been destroyed by the impact of a bullet and his teeth were missing. Mauricio Huenucoi Antil was found four days after his detention on the banks of the estuary of the Imperial River. Francisco Segundo Curamil and Francisco Pascual Porma were found in similar conditions; the body of Francisco Porma was found on a beach, his skull destroyed.
2. Nelson Wladimiro Curiñir Lincoqueo, 22 years old, was detained during the night of 5 October 1973. He was a student at the State Technical University in Temuco (Universidad Técnica del Estado) and an activist in the Communist Party. A heavily armed group of men in air force uniform entered his home, threatened the rest of the occupants and told his family that they were taking Nelson Curiñir to the Maquehua air force base and that he would then be transferred to Temuco prison.
Nelson Wladimiro CURIÑIR LINCOQUEO
Although his family were unsuccessful in successive attempts to locate him both at the base and prison, they were assured by officials that he was in detention and that he would shortly be released. In mid-October the family heard a radio announcement according to which Nelson Wladimiro Curiñir Lincoqueo, described as a MIR activist (Movimiento del Izquierda Revolucionaria - Movement of the Revolutionary Left), had escaped as he was being transferred by military patrol to Temuco prison. The announcement stated that orders had been given for his capture dead or alive.
Witnesses testified to the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (CNVR, Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación) that in fact Nelson had been taken out of the air force base in Maquehua by members of the air force in the early hours of 13 October 1973. That was the last time anyone saw him alive.
In 1990 a Mapuche Indian from the region came forward to say that Nelson's body had been found on the banks of the River Cautín in 1973 and that he had been buried as "NN" (name unknown) in the cemetery of the town of Nueva Imperial near Temuco. The CNVR presented Nelson Curiñir's case to a civilian court for investigation. On the orders of the civilian judge in charge of the case, Nelson's body was exhumed in November 1990 and identified by his family. The autopsy report revealed that he had been shot in the back of the head.
On 5 January 1991 his family buried him in the General Cemetery of Temuco, seventeen years after his abduction by the security forces. A criminal complaint for homicide has been presented to the courts where, at the time of writing, the investigations are in the pre-investigative stage (sumario).
Luis CARFUQUIR VILLALON
3. Luis Caupolicán Carfuquir Villalón, 49 years old at the time of his arrest, was an administrator at the hospital in Pitrufquén, a member of the Radical Party, leader of the Central Workers' Command (Central Unica de Trabajadores) and a former councillor of the municipal district. He was arrested by the carabineros on 14 September 1973 and taken to the local police station. From there he was transferred to the Tucapel Regiment in Temuco where he remained until 17 September. At the time of his release, he was given a certificate from the military prosecutor's office (fiscalía militar) stating that there were no charges against him.
On 18 September at three o'clock in the morning, carabineros once again went to his home. According to the criminal complaint presented to the courts in April 1977, the policemen entered the house with violence, showing no search or arrest warrant. Luis Carfuquir was put into a vehicle belonging to a private individual and driven away. Carabineros later denied that he had been detained.
Antonio ANINAO MORALES
4. Antonio Aninao Morales, 49, was a farmer. He lived with his wife and three children on a small landholding near Melipeuco. He stood for a municipal post and campaigned for better conditions for the Mapuche Indians. On the afternoon of 11 September 1973 a patrol of carabineros arrived at his home and without showing an arrest warrant, took him to the police station in Llaima. He remained in the police station for eight days. After his release, he was ordered to report to the police station three times a day which he did for several days inspite of warnings from his friends. On 24 September he set out early in the day for the police station where he was detained. His wife saw him later in the day at the police station. However, when she returned the following day, she was told by the policemen that Antonio Aninao had escaped.
In 1991, a new complaint for abduction was presented to the courts. The case is currently in the hands of the Second Criminal Court of Temuco (Segundo Juzgado del Crímen).
5. "Disappearances" in Liquiñe
Carlos Alberto Cayumán Cayumán; Eliseo Maximiliano Tracanao Pincheira; Alejandro Antonio Tracanao Pincheira; José Miguel Tracanao Pincheira; Mauricio Segundo Curiñanco Reyes, 38; José Héctor Bórquez Levican, 30; Modesto Juan Reinante Raipán, 18; Alberto Segundo Reinante Raipán, 41; Ernesto Reinante Raipán, 29; Luis Rivera Catricheo, 54 were among 15 people who "disappeared" after being detained on 10 October 1973 by a patrol of soldiers and carabineros in the area surrounding the small village of Liquiñe. It is believed that the 15 men were shot during the night of 11 October on a bridge that crosses the River Toltén.
Liquiñe is a small village in the central southern part of the country, 150 kilometres from the town of Valdivia. It is a region inhabited by a numerous Mapuche families who live by subsistence farming, supplementing their income by seasonal forestry work. Before the military coup, the peasants in the region, following reforms initiated by the Allende Government, started to organize themselves and began to participate in taking decisions at a local level. Training and education programmes were established and steps were taken to improve general living standards through the construction of schools, roads and so on. Immediately after the military coup, reports indicate that soldiers arrived in the area and as of 18 September started to carry out mass arrests together with the carabineros.
The following are details about some of the cases.
Carlos Alberto Cayumán Cayumán was married with five children and was 31 years old at the time of his "disappearance". The family lived on the Trafún estate and Carlos earned his living clearing paths in the mountains. He was a member of the Movimiento Campesino Revolucionario (MCR, Revolutionary Peasant Movement). Three members of his family recalled the day he was taken away:
"There must have been about five or six
soldiers. They travelled in a jeep that they left in the street and
walked from there ... they kicked the door down and entered. My
father was holding Juanita in his arms ... they made him put on his
shoes ... my mother was annoyed because he didn't put his socks
on. He always wore a big black coat. He put this coat on, nothing
else and they took him away ... I saw them kicking him ... they
treated him really badly ... I didn't try to run after him. I
don't know ... I was so scared ... not even my mother tried to
restrain them"(8)
After a few days shut in the house, Herminda Arauco, Carlos' wife, began her search with some of the other women whose husbands had been taken away. Their search proved fruitless.
Eliseo Maximiliano Tracanao Pincheira, 18 years old; Alejandro Antonio Tracanao Pincheira, 23 years old; José Miguel Tracanao Pincheira, 28 years old. The three men were members of the MCR. Alejandro was married with two children and with his brother José Miguel worked in the mountains cutting wood. Their nephew Eliseo had been working in Santiago but was visiting his family at the time of the military coup. The day after the three men had been taken away, Benedicto Tracanao, Eliseo's father and brother of Alejandro and José Miguel went to the local police station to bring them food. When he found that they were not there, he travelled to the police station in the town of Villarrica where he was told to return home and keep quiet. After a while, the family managed to raise enough money for Benedicto to travel to Santiago, "We hoped that they might be in the National Stadium, as they said that all the prisoners were being held there, but that was not the case"(9). He waited for several days outside the National Stadium -- where thousands of people had been detained after the military coup -- before returning home.
The other men who "disappeared" at the same time were: Isaias José Fuentealba Calderón, 29 years old at the time of his "disappearance"; Luis Armando Lagos Torres, 48; Carlos Segundo Figueroa Zapata, 47; Salvador Alamos Rubilar, 45; Daniel Castro López, 68.
Ernesto REINANTE
Guillermina Reinante described what happened to her family after her three brothers, Ernesto, Alberto and Modesto, "disappeared",
"Everything was very sad, the house was empty without them. One would get home and wouldn't find the people who had always been there ... I don't know how long we remained like this, not knowing what might happen, and not knowing where they might be, whether they were alive or dead ... And so the days, months, years went by ... so many years filled with loneliness and fears, because after they took my brothers away, nobody came to visit us, not even their workmates dared to come to the house. We remained alone, with our fear".(10)
6. "Disappearance" and extrajudicial execution of Mapuche Indians in Lautaro 1973-1975
According to information presented to the Comisión Nacional de Verdad y Reconciliación, a number of Mapuches "disappeared" following their detention in or around the town of Lautaro. Most of them were detained by carabineros. The CNVR's report says that in most of the cases, the relatives did not present judicial complaints or take any other initiatives because they were too scared or ignorant of the procedures, and were mistrustful of the state institutions. At the time the Mapuches were detained, a number of them were beaten in front of their families, some of whom were also ill-treated.
Pedro MILLALEN HUENCHUÑIR
Pedro Millalén Huenchuñir, a member of the Communist Party and farmworker, was 35 years old at the time of his abduction by carabineros on 29 September 1973. Witnesses testified that he was beaten and put into a vehicle belonging to one of the civilians who accompanied the carabineros. He was reportedly taken to the house belonging to one of the civilians and subsequently "disappeared". Judicial investigations into his case were suspended for lack of evidence but reports indicate that a new complaint is to be presented with fresh information about his "disappearance".
Juan Eleuterio Cheuquepán Levimilla, 16; José Julio Llaulén Antilao, 39; Miguel Eduardo Yaufulén Mañil; José Domingo Yaufulén Mañil; Oscar Romualdo Yaufulén Mañil, 18; Antonio Ceferino Yaufulén Mañil; and Samuel Huichallán Llanquilén were detained on 11 June 1974. Juan Cheuquepán was a student at the Santa Teresa School and was detained early in the morning of 11 June. He was arrested by carabineros who said he was wanted in connection with a robbery but this was denied by the relatives who said that the carabineros were drunk. According to these witnesses, José Llaulén an agricultural worker and Samuel Huichallán, who was married with three children, had already been detained. The Yaufulén brothers, who were agricultural workers, were arrested at their home by the same group of carabineros on the afternoon of 11 June. As far as is known, none of the group had any political affiliation.
The information gathered by the CNVR regarding the "disappearance" of the seven Mapuche Indians was presented to the Criminal Court of Lautaro (juzgado de letras) for judicial investigation. In November 1991, the judge closed the pre-investigative stage of the proceedings (sumario) and provisionally acquitted the accused pending consultation with the Temuco Appeals Court. In an important ruling, this decision was revoked by the Temuco Appeals Court in December 1991. The higher court referred the case back to the criminal court in Lautaro, ordered the reopening of the sumario and the detention pending trial of two former carabineros and another man for the abduction of José Julio Llaulén Antilao and Juan Cheuquepán. In January the three men were detained. Shortly after, the Temuco Appeals Court ordered their release on bail. Lawyers for the accused have presented a complaint to the Supreme Court against the Temuco Appeals Court for putting the three men on trial.
Samuel Alfonso Catalán Lincoleo, 29 years old, was an agricultural technician and had links with the Communist Party. He was detained by soldiers and members of Investigaciones (criminal investigations police) on 28 August 1974. He was arrested from his home with three other people who were later released. According to reports, he was taken to the army barracks in Lautaro. When his relatives went to the barracks, they were allegedly told that he would be released. On 11 September, they were informed that he had been released but he never returned home. Judicial investigations in this case have reportedly established the identity of some of those involved in his "disappearance".
Gervasio Héctor Huaiquil Calviqueo was detained by carabineros on 26 October 1975. According to reports, carabineros set fire to his house on the same day, but his relatives who were inside managed to escape. He was 25 years old, married with seven children and was an agricultural worker.
Segundo Elías Llancaqueo Millán was taken out of his house in the early hours of 5 April 1975 by carabineros and investigaciones and shot dead. He had remained hidden for a year after the coup.
Juan Segundo Tralcal Huenchumán On 10 September 1975 Juan Tralcal and his family were driven out of their house by carabineros from the police station in Pillalebún who started shooting at them. Juan Tralcal's wife and youngest daughter were injured and Juan later died from his wounds in the Lautaro hospital.
7. Extrajudicial execution of Mapuche Indians in Galvarino
Segundo Lepín Antilaf, married with one child, was a leader of the Committee of Small Landholders (Comité de Pequeños Agricultores). On 8 October 1973 a patrol of carabineros and soldiers arrived at his home at about 5.00 in the morning. The house was surrounded and the door broken down. He was beaten, his hands were tied behind his back and he was taken away. He was shot dead a short distance from his home. His wife later found his body bearing three bullet wounds. She went to the police station in Galvarino to tell them about the incident. The policemen reportedly told her that if she did not go and bury the body quickly, they would have it burned.
The same p atrol killed four other people on the same day. Julio Augusto Ñiripil Paillao, 16, was shot on the patio of his home at 3.00 in the morning. Juan Segundo Nahuel Huaiquimil was shot in his home an hour before. Heriberto Collío Naín, 63, died in his home hours after being beaten by the members of the patrol as did Víctor Llanquién. All four men were farmers.
APPENDIX I
Mapuche Indians from the Ninth Region whose cases are included in the report of the National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (CNVR)
| NAME | AGE | DATE | PLACE | CATEGORY | OCCUPATION |
| Aillañir Huenchual, Carlos | 57 | November 1973 | Temuco | extrajudicial execution |
agricultural worker |
| Ancao Paine, Alejandro | 42 | September 1973 | Cunco | "disappeared" | agricultural leader |
| Aninao Morales, Antonio | 49 | September 1973 | Llaima | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Beltrán Meliqueo, José Ignacio | 46 | October 1973 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Carfuquir Villalón, Luis Caupolicán | 49 | September 1973 | Pitrufquén | "disappeared" | hospital administrator, trade union leader (CUT) |
| Carilaf Huenchupán, Gregoria | 73 | November 1973 | Galvarino | death under torture |  |
| Catalán Lincoleo, Samuel Alfonso | 29 | August 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural technician |
| Catalán Paillal, Manuel Elías | 27 | September 1973 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Catriel Catrileo, Reinaldo | 42 | November 1973 | Molco | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Cheuquepán Levimilla, Juan Eleuterio | 16 | June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | high-school student |
| Collío Naín, Heriberto | 63 | October 1973 | Galvarino | death as a result of torture | farmer |
| Curamil Castillo, Francisco Segundo | 18 | October 1973 | Puerto Saavedra | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Curihual Paillán, Pedro | 24 | September 1973 | Pitrufquén | "disappeared" | worked in a school |
| Curiñir Lincoqueo, Nelson Wladimiro | 22 | October 1973 | Temuco | extrajudicial execution | university student |
| Huaiquil Calviqueo, Gervasio Héctor | 25 | October 1975 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Huenucoi Antil, Mauricio | |
October 1973 | Puerto Saavedra | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Huichallán Llanquilén, Samuel | |
June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Lepín Antilaf, Segundo | 30 | October 1973 | Galvarino | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Levío Llaupe Andrés | 49 | October 1973 | Lautaro | extrajudicial execution | agricultural worker |
| Lizama Cariqueo, Manuel | 29 | November 1973 | Pillanlelbún | "disappeared" | trade union leader (CUT) |
| Llancaqueo Millán, Segundo Elías | |
April 1975 | Lautaro | extrajudicial execution | agricultural worker |
| Llanquién, Víctor | |
October 1973 | Galvarino | death as a result of torture | farmer |
| Llaulén Antilao, José Julio | 39 | June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Loncopán Caniuqueo, Mariano | 42 | October 1973 | Curarrehue | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Meliquén Aguilera, José Andrés | 45 | October 1973 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Milla Montuy, Juan | 40 | November 1973 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Millalén Huenchuñir, Pedro | 35 | September 1973 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Nahuel Huaiquimil, Juan Segundo | @16 | October 1973 | Galvarino | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Nahuelcoi Chihuaicura, Bernardo | 32 | October 1973 | Puerto Saavedra | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Ñancufil Reuque, Juan Héctor | 21 | September 1973 | Pitrufquén | "disappeared" | worker |
| Ñiripil Paillao, Julio Augusto | 16 | October 1973 | Galvarino | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Paine Lipin, Julio Manuel | 27 | October 1973 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Porma Cheuquecoy, Francisco Pascual | 42 | October 1973 | Puerto Saavedra | extrajudicial execution | farmer |
| Ramos Huina, Gerardo Alejandro | 21 | October 1973 | Melipeuco | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Ramos Huina, José Moisés | 22 | October 1973 | Melipeuco | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Torres Antinao, Luis Omar | 21 | December 1973 | Temuco | extrajudicial execution | fruit seller |
| Tralcal Huenchumán, Juan Segundo | 48 | September 1975 | Lautaro | extrajudicial execution | agricultural worker |
| Yaufulén Mañil, Oscar Romualdo | 18 | June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Yaufulén Mañil, Antonio Ceferino | |
June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Yaufulén Mañil, José Domingo | |
June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Yaufulén Mañil, Miguel Eduardo | |
June 1974 | Lautaro | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
Mapuches from other regions whose cases are included in the CNVR's report
| NAME | AGE | DATE | PLACE | CATEGORY | OCCUPATION |
| Anacura Manquián, Cardenio | |
October 1973 | Valdivia | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Antilaf Epulef, Miguel Angel | 22 | March 1987 | Santiago | extrajudicial execution | scrap merchant |
| Antimán Nahuelquín, Rubén Armando | 45 | February 1986 | Puerto Aysén | death as a result of torture | unemployed |
| Aqueveque Antileo, Iván Marcelino | 21 | July 1986 | Santiago | extrajudicial execution | carpenter's assistant |
| Argel Marilicán, José René | 33 | October 1973 | Puerto Montt | extrajudicial execution | ---- |
| Aros Huichacán, Luis Sergio | 23 | September 1973 | Osorno | "disappeared" | worker |
| Ayanao Montoya, Moisés | 19 | October 1973 | Aysén | extrajudicial execution | worker |
| Bórquez Levicán, José Héctor | 30 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | administrator |
| Bustamante Llancamil, María Ester | 28 | October 1973 | Osorno | extrajudicial execution | secretary |
| Calfuquir Henríquez, Patricio Alejandro | 28 | September 1981 | Remeco Alto | extrajudicial execution | worker |
| Cayuán Caniuqueo, Mauricio Segundo | 22 | October 1973 | Santiago | extrajudicial execution | worker |
| Cayumán Cayumán, Carlos Alberto | 31 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Curiñanco Reyes, Mauricio Segundo | 38 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | craftsman/carpenter |
| Flores Antivilo, Segundo Norton | 25 | October 1973 | Antofagasta | extrajudicial execution | social worker |
| González Calfulef, Teófilo Zaragoso | 24 | October 1973 | Valdivia | "disappeared" | transport worker |
| Huaiqui Barria, Roberto | 17 | September 1973 | Valdivia | "disappeared" | high school student |
| Huaiquiñir Benavides, Joel | 28 | July 1974 | Santiago | "disappeared" | instructor |
| Huentequeo Almonacid, Reinaldo Segundo | 30 | October 1973 | Río Bueno | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Huenumán Huenumán, José Ricardo | 30 | September 1973 | Osorno | "disappeared" | ---- |
| Hueravilo Saavedra, Oscar Lautaro | 23 | May 1977 | Argentina | "disappeared" | employee |
| Inostroza Ñanco, José Víctor | 19 | October 1973 | Valdivia | extrajudicial execution | electrician |
| Llanca Iturra, Monica Chislayne | 23 | September 1974 | Santiago | "disappeared" | public employee |
| Llanca Rodas, Juan Manuel | 26 | September 1975 | Puente Alto | "disappeared" | worker |
| Llancaleo Calfuquén, Leandro | |
1975 | Mendoza, Argentina | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Llanquilef Velásquez, Nelson Nolberto | 25 | October 1973 | Chiloé | "disappeared" | worker |
| Lleucún Lleucún, Juan | 56 | October 1973 | Chiloé | death as a result of torture | employee |
| Mamani López, Domingo | 41 | October 1973 | Calama | extrajudicial execution | worker |
| Mansilla Coñuecar, Carlos Humberto | 20 | October 1973 | Puerto Montt | extrajudicial execution | sportsman |
| Mariqueo Martínez, Pedro Andrés | 16 | May 1984 | Santiago | extrajudicial execution | student |
| Melipillán Aros, Jorge | 40 | October 1973 | Puerto Montt | extrajudicial execution | |
| Neicul Paisil, José Ligorio | 45 | September 1973 | Entre Lagos | "disappeared" | farmer |
| Ñanco, José Matías | 60 | October 1973 | Valdivia | extrajudicial execution | farmer/fisherman |
| Ñancumán Maldonado, José Armando | 20 | October 1973 | Puerto Montt | extrajudicial execution | worker |
| Paillacheo Catalán, Teobaldo José | 57 | October 1973 | Pilmaiquén | extrajudicial execution | agricultural worker |
| Paillalef Paillalef, Juan José | 54 | July 1977 | Arica | "disappeared" | employee |
| Painemán Puel, Luz Marina | 15 | March 1984 | Santiago | political killing | |
| Panguinamún Ailef, José Rosario Segundo | 31 | October 1973 | Osorno | "disappeared" | worker |
| Poblete Tropa, Juan Mauricio | 20 | October 1973 | Chillán | extrajudicial execution | salesman |
| Quilán Cabezas, Jaime Antonio | 26 | December 1988 | Santiago | extrajudicial execution | worker |
| Quinchavil Suárez, Luis | 38 | February 1981 | Chile/Argentine border | "disappeared" | agricultural worker |
| Reinante Raipán, Alberto Segundo | 39 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Reinante Raipán, Ernesto | 29 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Reinante Raipán, Modesto Juan | 18 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Rivera Catricheo, Luis Alfredo | 54 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Runca Runca, José Avelino | 60 | December 1975 | Osorno | extrajudicial execution | |
| Tracanao Pincheira, Alejandro Antonio | 22 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Tracanao Pincheira, José Miguel | 25 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Tracanao Valenzuela, Eliseo Maximiliano | 18 | October 1973 | Liquiñe | "disappeared" | wood labourer |
| Vidal Panguilef, José Mateo | 26 | September 1973 | Osorno | extrajudicial execution | bricklayer |
Aymara Indians
| Carpanchai Choque, Jerónimo Jorge | Calama | extrajudicial execution |
| Mamani García, Juan Apolinario | Pisagua | extrajudicial execution |
APPENDIX II
The CNVR was unable to reach a conclusion about the following cases. They are among 641 individuals whose cases are to be re-examined by the Corporación de Reparación de Reconciliación, a body established by the President to look into a number of issues the CNVR was unable to resolve.
Manuel Jesús Chamorro Llaguel Jaime Pablo Millanao Canihuán
Manuel Cheuquelao Millanao Víctor Molfiqueo
Juan Carlos Raimundo Colipán José Agustín Pailamilla
Pedro María Colpiante Caihuán José Abelino Pichún Cayul
Alberto Colpihueque Humberto Ramón Rantul Gotchlich
Licán Alberto Colpihueque José María Tranamil Pereira
Domingo Huenul Huaiquil
Alfredo Levicoy Emelcoy
Francisco Javier Lincopán Calfulaf
Pedro Llanco Catrinelbún
Paula Loncomilla Balcazar
Celia Malihuén Trivilao
Héctor Marillán Becerra
Luis Bernardino Melimán Marín
Manuel Segundo Melín Pehuén
José Orlando Melipillán Llancapani
Francisco Segundo Millahuinca Araya
Chile: the plight of Mapuche Indians under military rule
Chile: the plight of Mapuche Indians under military rule
Amnesty International July 1992 AI Index: AMR 22/09/92
Distr : SC/CC/CO/GR
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CHILE
"EXTREME CRUELTY": THE PLIGHT OF
THE MAPUCHE INDIANS DURING
THE YEARS OF MILITARY RULE
THE YEARS OF MILITARY RULE
July 1992
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
Please ensure that all relevant people in the section have received copies for their attention, and that the document is centrally filed for future reference.
In those sections which intend to participate in AI's full programme of activities concerning human rights violations against indigenous peoples of the Americas in the context of 1992, please be sure that the person/s in your section who will be coordinating your section's participation receive a copy of this circular. In sections which will not be joining the full range of activities but where Americas RANs wish to receive 1992 indigenous material, please ensure that these RANs receive this action (See AI Index: POL 51/12/91, issued in December 1991).
DISTRIBUTION
This circular has been sent direct by the International Secretariat to SANDEAN/Chile coordinators/coordination groups for distribution to Sandean groups in their section. Please note that a more comprehensive set of recommended actions, SANDEAN Action No. 05/92, AI Index: AMR 22/10/92 is available.
****
(1) The Commission also investigated killings carried out by private individuals but for political purposes. The report did not include the many thousands of cases of arbitrary arrest and torture.
(2) "Es necesario destacar la dureza extrema con que se trató a los mapuches y a sus familias y la grave dificultad que ha significado para éstos en las zonas más rurales, tener que convivir, en la misma localidad a veces hasta el presente, con los agentes que causaron las muertes de sus seres queridos. El miedo, la pobreza o la desesperanza llevaron a que solamente un pequeño porcentaje de estas familias practicara, en su oportunidad, diligencias ante los tribunales de Justicia, o hiciera denuncias ante organisimos de derechos humanos"
(3) A new body, the Corporation of Reparation and Reconciliation (Corporación de Reparación y Reconciliación), has been created by President Aylwin to examine various issues that the CNVR was unable to resolve. One of its main priorities will be to establish whether 641 individuals, about whom the CNVR was unable to reach a conclusion, were the victims of human rights violations.
(4) The report entitled People of the Land discussed the problems faced by the Mapuche as a result of Decree Law 2568 passed by the military government in March 1979 providing for the division of Indian lands.
(5) Most of the "disappearances" and a significant number of extrajudicial executions occurred between the years of 1973 and 1977.
(6) "Hambre, miseria, explotación y por sobre todo miedo, desorientación, confusión, dudas, desconfianzas, pérdidas, soledades he tenido que vivir todos estos años"
(7) "quizá el factor único que más contribuye al fenómeno de las desapariciones sea el de la impunidad" ... "las personas que cometen violaciones de derechos humanos, sean civiles o militares, se vuelven más descaradas cuando no tienen que rendir cuentas ante un tribunal".
(8) Deben haber sido unos cinco o seis militares, andaban en un jeep que dejaron en la calle, de ahí caminaron una distancia ... pescaron a patadas la puerta y entraron. Mi papá tenía a la Juanita en los brazos ... lo hicieron ponerse los zapatos ... mi mamá se enojó porque no se puso los calcetines. Siempre usaba un abrigo largo, negro. Se puso ese abrigo, nada más y se lo llevaron así ... yo ví que se lo llevaron dándole de patadas ... lo trataron bien mal ... en ningún momento partí corriendo a buscarlo. No sé ... era como un miedo que tenía ... ni mi mamá intentó quitárselos"
(9) "Teníamos la esperanza de encontrarlos en el Estadio Nacional, pues decían que ahí tenían a todos los prisioneros, pero todo fracaso."
(10) "todo fue muy triste, la casa quedó vacía sin ellos. Uno llegaba y no encontraba a las personas que siempre habían estado allí ... no sé cuánto tiempo estuvimos así, sin saber qué podía pasar y sin saber dónde podían estar, si estaban vivos o muertos ... Y así fueron pasando los días, meses, años ... tantos años llenos de soledades y miedos, porque después que se llevaron a mis hermanos nadie nos vino a visitar, ni los compañeros de trabajo se atrevían a ir a la casa. Quedamos solos, con el miedo no más."
Chile: the plight of Mapuche Indians under military rule
Chile: the plight of Mapuche Indians under military rule
Amnesty
International July 1992 AI Index: AMR 22/09/92
source: http://www.amnestyusa.org/home.html