In collusion with the Chilean government, state owned Norwegian “green energy” monopolist Statkraft, since some years, is digging up ancient graveyards of the Mapuche people, is driving them away and destroying the ecological basis for them to survive. Against this, the Mapuche have deployed various means of actions, such as occupations of land, and for this they face fierce repression. Now, Statkraft is about to the work on a new dam project in Pilmaiken river in Wallmapu – and resistance is mounting against the massive destruction and evictions to be expected.
We mirror the official English translation of a joint statement issued by several organizations in Chile, published by the comrades of El Pueblo:
WHAT SHOULD DO NORWEGIAN CAPITAL IN WALLMAPU?… NOTHING!!!
Pilmaiken is a river and its meaning in mapudungun language is swallow. This river flows in Puyehue lake then it connects with Rio Bueno, this spectacular natural scenario goes from the Andes mountains to the Pacific ocean. Pilmaiken is a central part of the daily life of Lofs and mapuches communities from Williche territory.
Pilmaiken has an abundant river with massive biodeversity along it, this is the reason why it called the attention and the ambition of Spanish crown at first, and then the same thing happened to chilean goverment into the process of the wrongly called ‘Pacificacion de la Araucania’ This process meant that chilean authorities gave to European landowner huge piece of land. Nowadays in this territory Starkaft , a Norwegian company, is working in at least three hydroelectric power station projects, proyecto Central Hidroeléctrica Los Lagos, Central Hidroeléctrica Osorno y Central Rucatayo. As a first consequence of it, we have the intervention of the riverside and woods with the installation of different electronic devices like cameras, drones and others, the main purpose of this is to avoid that any ‘suspicious mapuche’ achieves the river, if it happens they suffer immediately the excessive response of special force of police (FFEE) and the group of police for special operation (GOPE). The limitless action of these special groups of police, left invaluable and deep physical and psychological aftermaths.
In the last years, the Norwegian company Statkraft helped by the legal and economical conditions given by Chilean government, has started the excavations in sacred places. This activity includes mapuche graveyards. They have quarried ancient human skeletons, utensils and tools. These aggressive and incomprehensible actions reaffirm that Statkaft company doesn’t know how important is Pilmaiken river for Mapuche culture and their next generations.
In other hand, The Lof and Williche communities have made the decision to occupy the territory in order to protect their sacred places against this greedy attack.
In this battle Mapuche people have realized the fight is not only against this norwegian company, it is also against the police, judges, chilean ministries, the council for national monuments. In addition to this group of institutions we should consider landowners like SAGO and SAVAL, the the Evangelical Church represented by Heriberto Ortiz and a group of gangsters paid by these hydroelectric plants.
It hasn’t been an easy situation, there’s a deep poverty down there, it has been provoked by the usurpation of mapuches’ communities lands. In addition to, it’s important to inform all the unjustified police harassment that our peñi and lagmnen suffer every day being arrested and others illegal actions against them.
Mapuches must face criminal charges based on racist arguments using as main evidence being on possession of well known films as ‘Scary movie’ and ‘The godfather’. For everybody these movies are anything but any proof, except for chilean goverment and its judges, because they want to make us to believe this is subversive material.
Nowadays we see how Mapuche people fight for their lives and the right to be an independent nation which is against chilean goverment and its institutions,it is because we consider they support to all the imperialist powers that sack our sacred territorries and heritage.
We are absolutely convinced norwegian goverment shouldn’t make any decision about mapuche’s lands, heritage and culture. This is the reason why today there are Lofs and mapuche communities in strong resistance according their own authorities and ‘kimun’ (knowledge).
Statkraft will begin to work on a new dam in Pilmaiken river, this actions are not going to be free of all the well known concequense against the natural environment and all the information given before, that’s why we call to all the Mapuche communities to keep going on the resistance and the control of our territory, thinking of a Mapuche nation without landowners and imperialistic goverments.
Statkraft … Get out of Wallmapu!
Pilmaiken resists!
Sign:
Radio Newen
Programa Kontrababylon
Programa Raíces Poblacionales
Comité de Defensa del Pueblo Hermanos Vergara Toledo
Bloque de Organizaciones Populares
Hinchada Mapuche Antifascista
Wewaiñ
Comité de Apoyo a la Lucha Mapuche
Periódico El Pueblo
