Police Storm Mapuche Headquarters in Oil-rich Province of Argentina, Indigenous Leaders Say Local Govt Illegally Using Native Land

On Friday, May 9, 2003, the Police of the Province of Neuquen attempted to enter and search the headquarters of the Mapuche organization Mapuce Newen Mapu en Neuquen, Argentina.

With an order from Judge Gago, an enormous police presence appeared in the Islas Malvinas neighborhood of Neuquen to raid the indigenous people's center.

Despite the fact that three lamgen (sisters) who were in the center told the police that this was not the center of another group called the the Indigenous Confederation of Neuquen, the police tried to take over the center by force, attempting unsucessfully to remove the front gates, and finally retreating when other members of the organization and media professionals arrived.

The police objective was to find information about meetings of the Indigenous Neuquen Confederation, according to the search warrant that was issued.

For the Mapuche organization this search is politically motivated.

In response, a symbolic embrace took place on Friday evening around the Newen Mapu headquarters, and the following text was read:

Mari mari kom pu wenvy--Good evening to all of our friends in solidarity

Once more we find ourselves together to reinforce the committment we made on the 11 of October here in our ruka (center). Then, we gathered together to celebrate our new headquarters and today we gather to repudiate the politics that are being applied systematically via the persecution and represssion of organized groups.

Today the mapuche people once again unite with you to denounce this latest act.

Because of the violent effort to search the headquarters of the Newen Mapu organization , we want to state that this is not accidental and shed light on the relationship the State wants to maintain with the Mapuche people:

The reason for the institutional persecution that the State wants to inflict on the mapuche organization is due to the economic projects that the Sobisch government of the Neuquen province is ready to undertake in Mapuche territory.

These projects involve exploitation of resources: water, oil, minerals, tourism and forestation. For these projects the provincial govt. of Neuquen needs the consent of the communities that own these natural resources.

This is the reason why these Mapuche communities are being denied official recognition, leaving them completely unprotected and guaranteeing the exploitation of resources without Mapuche opposition.

They are using the provincial laws, which are contrary to national laws as a legal means of repression of our communities, persecuting them with controls that are impossible to respond to, given the communities' state of growing poverty.

Despite the fact that we have national recognition of our communities' rights (Decree 4811), the Province of Neuquen refuses to accept this national recognition. .

The tourist, oil and logging companies have expressed their thanks for this legal lack of protection by the province of Neuquen, which has allowed the companies to enter into our territories with complete legal backing, despite the profound physical and environmental damage that they have generated in Mapuche lives and territory.

The only defense to this alarming situation is the Mapuche organization in all its levels: whether it be the community, the Mapuche Confederation, or the Mapuche organization Newen Mapu.

We believe that what happened today is the beginning of a wave of repression that we must stop.

The judges shouldnt be a part of this political manipulation. It's totally illogical that Sobich, a governor who has been accused of corruption, should be allowed to go free while the center where our children are growing stronger every day through education by our cilkatufe (educators) and where we meet to create a new relationship with the society of Neuquen that is based on interculturalism should be stained by this judicially ordained police presence.

Despite this threat, what they have achieved is greater solidarity among us and more publicity for our denouncement of this process. They have managed to make our spirits strong, and they have made strong the reasons why we continue to fight. They have shown that the only recourses the government has are force and repression.

To our friends in solidarity, to the organizations in struggle, and to local, national, and international society, we say: