Volume 1 Number 13 February 7, 1998
ON EASTER ISLAND:ISLANDERS DETAINED FOR VIOLATIONS OF LAW OF SECURITYProtests are held demanding the liberty of those apprehendedEASTER ISLAND - The minister of the Valparaiso Court of Appeals, Julio Torres Allú who is investigating the infractions of the Interior Law of Security of the State, interposed for the Minister of the Interior against the directors of the Consejo de Ancianos #2 [CdeA2]; resolving to meter out justice to the six leaders of that organization - ordered their detention.The judicial action was initiated by the Government because of the collection of a entrance fee or "cultural tax" that the CdeA2 established to those who arrived on the island to do filming of the local patrimony or with the intention of effecting scientific investigations of same. Around a hundred people protested all during yesterday demanding liberty for the detainees. The principal action occurred in front of the offices of Gov. Jacobo Hey Paoa. Those heading the protest demanded that the Governor go to the police headquarters and that, with the aim of assuring the release of the group, he should occupy the place of the detainees in the cell assigned to them. Minister-instructor Allú who was on the island from the 24th to the 31st of Jan -- where he remained to take declarations from all the directors of the CdeA2 and carry out numerous other tasks -- dictated a summons against the six directors, Jose Abimareka Pakomio, president of the CdeA2, Mario Tuki Hey, treasurer, Mito Teao, Raul Teao, Alvaro Hucke Atan and Ernesto Tuki. The Judge of Letters of the island, Ricardo Soto Gonzalez, proceeded yesterday to authorize liberty with bail to the six... Penalties for this misdemeanor: a maximum of 3 years and a day. Some of those processed refused to accept liberty under bail and said that they would remain in jail -- as an expression of protest. The Court of Appeals could resolve the consultation today or tomorrow, approving or rejecting the release of the prisoners. Bail was set at 20,000 pesos (US$44.50)..... [The article then reviews what had happened beginning with Kitin Munoz taking totora from Ranu Raraku continuing with collections "from a group of scientists who arrived on the island to make excavations and a French film maker. Both were obliged to pay more than 500,000 pesos." It also mentions the "teleseries de TV Nacional 'Iorana' who, after refusing to pay US$1,778, offered to construct a communal building." .... Mario Tuki and Nito (sic) Teao were denounced by CONAF for making illegal collections... Judge Soto Gonzalez said the case is the same as if tomorrow someone were to install himself at the base of Cerro Santa Luci or San Cristobal or next to the (River) Mapocho and demand payment for entering... the archaeologist Jose Miguel Ramirez, local head of CONAF, said a number of misdemeanors were involved including illicit association, the illegal usurping of funds and appropriations of fiscal monies...." Matias Riroroko, one of the CdeA2 members who has become the voice of the protest manifestations, said that not only is the CdeA2 keeping vigilance over the cultural patrimony but also it is trying to resolve the problem of the ownership of the land... He noted that in 1933 Chile took control over all the Rapanui land in its name and on that occasion took itself the agreement of returning it to the legitimate owners, the islanders. He said that 14,000 of the 16,500 hectares of the island are in the power of state, and that CONAF is not using the funds generated by the park to protect the historic monuments from deterioration. Riroroko made known a declaration subscribed to by the detainees in which it is expressed that the only thing they want "is to reinvindicate their right to be treated like a different ethnic group, of Polynesian culture and origin, freely incorporated in our country. For that they have solicited cooperation from thousands of tourists who visit the island to the end of getting the necessary funds to avoid the destruction of the legacy of their forefathers. This would not be necessary if the government of Chile kept its agreements and promises with Rapanui." The president of the traditional CdeA, Alberto Hotus, rejected the protest of yesterday and indicated that no one has the right to declare his liberty administratively. He maintained that Minister Allú is the representative of the Judicial Power that is national and applies to all the country. Hotus called the CdeA2 a disruptive and subversive group in no way connected with the historic CdeA that always has used that name...
ISLANDERS GIVEN LIBERTYProcessed for Law of SecurityThe Court of Appeals of Valparaiso...approved yesterday the resolution of the visiting minister Julio Torres Allu that gave liberty under bail to four of the six members of the CdeA2... Freed were Terai Mae Hucke Atan, Jose Abimareka Pakomio, Ernesto Tuki Pate, and Antonio Tepano. Bail was set at US$44.50 although the president of the Court argued for reducing it to US$22.25. Today the court will decide what to do with Mario Tuki Hey and Ramon Raul Teao Hey. They are represented by the lawyer Ignacio Barrientos Palma. Because Julio Torres Allu goes on vacation, he is being replaced by Hugo Fuenzalide Cerpa.
THE CAUSEThe cited cause of action was a violation of Article 6, Letter c, of the Law of Security of the State, which forbids actions:…. "by those that incite, promote or foment, or by acts or other means destroy, put out of use, paralyze, interrupt or damage the installations, the means or elements employed for the functioning of public services or utilities of industrial, mineral, agricultural or commercial activities, or of communication, transport and distribution... and those that in the same way impede or make difficult the free access to said installations, means or elements...."
FIREShortly before midnight Tuesday a fire was reported in the offices of SASIPA which, according to Alberto Hotus , current President of CdeA#1, was set intentionally. Hotus told all the authorities that a bottle smelling strongly of gasoline was found in the place. The fire was quickly controlled by the fire department, police and Navy personnel and contained to one office where curtains, a computer, and part of the office were destroyed..Hotus noted that on Tuesday one of the protesters emitted cries "to burn the island" if the six were not released. Yesterday morning the situation was generally calm despite some 25 persons maintaining a vigilance in front of the governors office. These incidents have coincided with the large number of tourists on the the island that have come for the traditional Tapati Rapanui. The beginning of another fire occurred in the scenery employed by the Tapati Rapanui, and that too was attributed to the demonstrators.
CALM RETURNS TO EASTER ISLANDSo says the Governor and the President of the CdeA#1. The President of the CdeA#1 Alberto Hotus said that "they (the directors of the CdeA#2) broke the law and they deserve to be in jail". Hotus categorically rejected the actions of the six who collected a "cultural tax" from scientific investigators and film makers. He said that there are no more than 60 persons in the demonstrations and they are not acting with support of the rest of the islanders.The group has complained that the State owns 80% of the island. Nevertheless, Hotus predicted that the return of the island to the islanders will eventually come but only through negotiation. Governor Hey stated that "the jailing of the said group corresponds in part to the legal process and has not affected the development of normal activities on the island". Hey said that his double condition of being a "Rapa Nui" and a representative of the Govt. puts him in uncomfortable situations, but he emphasized that the said group is in the minority. Hey added that the situation is now much calmer....
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