Héctor Llaitul Arrested; Mapuche Leader Resisted while in Clandestinity

Héctor Llaitul Arrested; Mapuche Leader Resisted while in Clandestinity

 
By: Richard Curanao; País Mapuche
 
After being charged with the crimes of Attempted Murder, Assault against Authority, Illicit Terrorist Association and Armed Robbery, our Peñi [Brother] will have to spend nine months of preventive custody in the wait for the trial hearing in both Civil and Military Court. He is accused of being the intellectual author of the so-called ambush against Fiscal persecutor of the Mapuche movement, Mario Elgueta.
 
With this respect, Llaitul stated that those events were nothing more than in legitimate defence of Mapuche community members unto the repressive apparatus set against the reclamation in the area of Puerto Choque. Moreover, he assured that Mapuche territorial resistance and demands will continue while poverty exists in Mapuche Territory.
 
It should be noted that the transfer from the city of Osorno to Temuco was done by land, and later from Temuco to Cañete via helicopter, where the Chilean police forces dispatched an astonishing and unjustified police operative. During the hearing there were approximately 20 Intelligence officers (PDI) and 10 civilian officers that guarded the surroundings of the Cañete Court House. He was then transferred to the El Manzano penitentiary in the city of Concepción by land.
 
According to Pamela Pessoa, within the context of his arrest in Osorno, her husband was confined in the backyard of his mother's household by 10 armed Investigations Police Officers (PDI) at 6:20 PM on Wednesday, July 15th. The household was surrounded and they entered through neighbouring homes and through the back. "I was by his side at the moment," stated Pessoa. "Even then, they couldn't through him over, nor handcuff him, as he struggled to the end. His children and a nephew were in the house, predominantly children, as well as his mother, brother, and sister-in-law; they threw his brother and his nephew to the ground." Afterwards, they prevented the family to take contact with the detained.
 
Government Outline Llaitul's Arrest, Along with Senator Alberto Espina
 
Meanwhile the Chilean Government Spokesperson, Carolina Tohá, outlined the arrest of Héctor Llaitul Carillanca, leader of the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM), which according to her, could serve to clarify the various arson assaults within differing estates and the attack against a prosecutor in Cañete.
 
Tohá stated that "there is rule of law in Chile; no one is beyond the law and we deem it is important that this in case, as well as all the other cases, the accused should go and confront justice."
 
"This will therefore enable them to state the certainty of their defence, if they indeed have one. This is a trial in the making, and it is necessary that the accused present themselves unto the law," added the Minister.
 
On the other hand, Radio Bío-Bío introduced a letter sent by those close to the Mapuche leader, where they deny that Llaitul had turned himself in voluntarily, denying the statements of the Chilean Interior Undersecretary, Patricio Rosende, whom assured that the leader of the CAM had turned himself in voluntarily.
 
Record of Persecution
 
Remember that our brother Llaitul was absolved of all charges in June 2008, which had then previously allowed the prosecution to keep him in prison for a year and four months. Ironically, the story of persecution is repeated, even though the Anti-Mapuche prosecutors are now additionally accusing him of Illicit Terrorist Association. At the time, his defence attorney in Temuco, the ex-judge Juan Guzman classified the accusations as a police set-up.
 
After being absolved, new set-ups against him began to form as the months went by. Among them, we mention the alleged intellectual perpetration of the assault to special prosecutor, Mario Elgueta, in October 2008 in the area of Tirúa; as well as the recruiting of university students for the Arauco Malleco Coordinator.
 
Throughout all this time he has been persecuted with espionage techniques within his family home, including the use of microphones within the household school children's books.
 

País Mapuche

Distributed By:

The Women's Coordinating Committee Chile-Canada [Toronto]

Email: wccc_98@hotmail.com