We have suspended our hunger strike : PPM

07.09.2009

Public Statement

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

The Mapuche Political Prisoners of the Choque communities in process of territorial reclamation; prisoners in the "El Manzano" penitentiary in Concepción, declare the following:

1. We have suspended our hunger strike on Friday, September 4th of this present year, which we initiated on August 19th, 2009, since the proposed objectives have been reached.

We definitively stopped the forced transfers and isolation, which is what we would have been subjected to, and would have impeded the right to defense as well as eradicate us from our families and communities.

We also impeded the use of force to take DNA samples, which would have exposed us to the fabrication of set-ups and would have constituted an act of torture.

Within this same context, we obtained the partial opening of the classified investigation, together with our defence lawyers (Mr. Pelayo Vial and Professor Adolfo Montiel), excepting the identity of the "faceless witnesses." However, there is still information that remains classified for the accused and the community in general; situation which we completely reject, since all investigations should be made public.

2. We would like, in any case, to clearly state that the irregularities of our process maintain intact, such as:

- The Application of Military Justice
- Double Jeopardy by Civil and Military Justice
- The Application of the Anti-Terrorist Law
- Classified information for the accused and public opinion.
- The use of "Faceless Witnesses"
- Extrajudicial statements obtained under physical and psychological torture (in the case of Peñi [brother] Huillical Mendez).

3. Lastly, we wish to call out to all the Mapuche Political Prisoners to take on political prison with dignity, rejecting all arbitrary measures and pressures on the part of the Public Ministry [Prosecutor's Office] and of Prison Security. We call out on all [Mapuche] communities, students, Mapuche organizations, Chilean and International support groups to maintain ourselves in a state of alert and permanent mobilization.

STOP THE SET-UPS!

FREEDOM FOR ALL THE MAPUCHE POLITICAL PRISONERS!

STOP THE HARASSMENT TO OUR FAMILIES ON THE PART OF CHILEAN POLICE INVESTIGATIONS!

STOP THE REPRESSION ON OUR COMMUNITIES ON THE PART OF MILITARIZED CHILEAN POLICE!

STOP THE MURDERS!

STOP THE STATE TERRORISM AGAINST THE MAPUCHE NATION!