ON EASTER ISLAND:

GOVERNMENT OFFICES TAKEN

The offices of the provincial government of E.I. were occupied yesterday by the Consejo de Ancianos #2 to protest the process of election that CONADI (Commission of Indigenous Development) is organizing to name members to that commission on E.I. The occupation started at about 5pm yesterday. As of last night there were about 20 persons inside, some of them youngsters. Carabineros arrived and posted themselves outside at the entrance to prevent disorders and to block the entrance to more people. Outside were placed Rapanui flags. Also could be seen signs with slogans against the central government. Last night a meeting took place in the same location to plan the future development of the protest. Governor Hey is currently in Tahiti taking his official vacation since last Sunday. He is expected back on the 29th. His replacement during his absence is Alfredo Tuki.

- El Mercurio de Valparaiso, 27 Mar 99:

THE OCCUPATION CONTINUES

Carabineros maintain vigilence of building occupied by islanders A dozen people stayed inside the bldg. all night Friday and yesterday, and raised Rapanui flags in front where there were also installed signs saying the government was responsible for the situation. The occupiers hope that today more people will join the protest even though police personnel maintain their posts outside... Governor Hey's replacement Alfredo Tuki was waiting for instructions from authorities in the central government as to what to do. Hey will return next Monday morning.

Government personnel that are inside the bldg. guarding documents say that the demonstrators are principally concentrated in the entrance way and halls and are totally peaceful. The president of the Consejo de A#2, Mario Tuki says that the occupation demands a more democratic and representative election of CONADI set for Apr 25.

The elections are in the hands of CONAFI, a group that, according to the demonstrators, has proclaimed that the Islanders should decide who should be the president of the Consejo de Ancianos which they say is wrong since they should organize an election with secret votes. In Valpo it was not possible to obtain a version from the Intendente Gabriel Aldoney; he could not be located.

- El Mercurio de Santiago, 28 Mar 99:

NAMES CHANGES ON E.I.

An increase in applications to change from Rapanui last names has been registered on the island in recent times, a fact that has caused unrest in the Rapanui community which wants to preserve their ethnic patrimony. Since 1994, 35 applications have been rec'd. According to the attorney of CONADI on the island, David Barrientos, 80% of the applications have been approved which has upset several island families. The heads of the household have transposed the Rapanui last name to the second place. This is permitted by Art. 71 of the Ley Indigena. [By this I suppose it means that instead of a name being, e.g., Jose Tuki Rapu, it now becomes Jose Gonzalez Tuki.]

- El Mercurio de Santiago, 28 Mar 99:

TAKEOVER MOVED NOW TO CONADI ON E.I.

Consejo de Ancianos #2 are protesting the mechanism of election of ethnic representative. The members of Consejo #2 who have been occupying part of the Governor's building for the last 5 days abandoned it on Tues (the 30th) night and moved to occupy the new offices of CONADI that were to have been inaugurated yesterday.

According to declarations of its president Mario Tuki, the islanders who come to register for the election are told they have to write which of the two consejos they recognize, and Tuki claims that that seeks to legitimize the Consejo #1 whose president Alberto Hotus is a council member of CONADI.

For this reason Tuki asks that the Government, not CONADI, should run the election.

The demonstrators expressed their frustration Tues night since they were awaiting the arrival of the Subsecretary of National Property, Sergio Vergara with whom they had arranged to meet a month before the Apr 25 election. Instead, however, on the Tues night flight of LAN Chile, two lawyers from the Ministry of the Interior arrived. They met with the demonstrators and Island authorities, and returned to the continent on the Wednesday morning flight.

ELECTORAL REGISTRY BURNED

Hanga Roa. 1 April 1999 - The occupation of the Governor's Building ended Wednesday morning after some 50 people took it over last weekend. However, this morning (Thursday) some ten persons burned the electoral registry that was opened last week in the offices of CONADI (National Commission of Indigenous Development) in which were inscribed 407 Rapanui older than 18 of a possible total of around 800.

According to information from CONADI, those affected are being re-inscribed quickly inasmuch as their office will remain open until next weekend. And so the electoral process will continue as scheduled concluding on April 25th with the election of five Rapanui who will be integrated into CONADI, an organization that will permit the participation of that ethnic group in the administration of the island.

CONADI denounced the vandalism before the tribunals of justice, but so far there have been no detainees. Moreover, the dissident group occupied the interior of a house recently restored on Av. Policarpo Toro next to the Municipalidad into which CONADI was moving its offices this week.

The dissidents had occupied the Governor's building peacefully until Wednesday morning after meting with two government officials, an attorney of the Ministry of the Interior and an official of CONADI. These two accompanied by Mayor Petero Edminds and Governor Jacobo Hey were able to make the dissidents understand that before anything else, including hearing them, they could not continue occupying the Governor's building.

The authorities then accepted the peticions meant to give more clarity to the election process, permitting the presence of observers in the officies of CONADI and future voting precincts. Special concern was the "survey in the traditional style" -- free but without secrets -- that permits the Rapanui to express opinions about the President of the Consejo de Ancianos in a "Special Book" upon registering for the elections.

Consequently, since Wednesday, the opinions about the President of the Consejo were secret. They remained in a sealed and closed envelope that was to be opened on April 25th.

The authorities did not accede to the peticion of restarting the process since until Wednesday, there were more than 300 registered who had given their opinions in the "Special Book". However, this morning's fire obliged that all the opinions about the name of the president of the Consejo de Ancianos now be secret. The island community remains calm following the incidents, waiting for a massive participation in a vote that could be historic for the solution of the internal conflict of the Consejo de Ancianos what now has gone on for more than five years.

- El Mercurio de Valparaiso, 1 Apr. 99:

ETHNIC VOTE RATIFIES RAPANUI CONSEJO PRESIDENT

In a climate of great tranquility, the votes were countered

Hanga Roa, 7 Apr 99 -- Alberto Hotus Chavez was ratified this afternoon as president of the Consejo de Ancianos Rapanui after obtaining 407 votes from the native community, more than the president of the dissident faction of that ethnic organization, Matias Riroroko, who obtained 332 votes. There were 53 null votes and several dozen for other candidates.

In a climate of great tension but absolute tranquility, the representatives of those two candidates presented the counts of the votes made secretly by the Islanders upon registering for elections up until last Sunday in Hanga Roa. (In Santiago and Valparaiso only 8 Islanders registered.) This transaction took place between 11:30 and 16:00 local time in the salon of the municipalidad of Isla de Pascua before the presence of an attorney from CONADI who arrived last night from Santiago and functionaries of this corporation on the Island.

And so doubts have now been removed about who will be the President of the Consejo de Ancianos that will serve on the "Develpment Commission of Isla de Pascua", together with five Islanders who will be elcted on the 25th of this month.

Created especially for the Island by the "Ley Indigena", that Commission will be a unit of the "Island Assembly" as exists on other Polynesian islands in order to institutionalize the participation of the Islanders in taking important decisions on the island.

The Commission will also have 6 representatives of State organizations, plus the Mayor and the Governor.

- El Mercurio de Valparaiso, 6 Apr. 99:

MAYOR OF THE ISLAND LAMENTS THAT THE ARMADA DOES NOT LEND HELP TO E.I.

Pedro Edmunds Paoa pointed out that the Chilean Air Force (FACH) has no legal limitations to provide help. .... owing to a legal disposition, the Armada cannot used its ships and boats to carry cargo to the inhabs of the distant locality. He recalled that in the past they lent much assistance to the Islanders, "but now they have retracted their help with their boats. Today they use ships only to provide supplies for their own base on the island and to rotate their personnel", he emphasized.

He explained that a legal disposition prohibits that they carry cargo to the island, and that, he said, was lamentable. He made these declarations in the building of the Armed Forces, after thanking FACH for its support...

The Mayor said that "we indentify ourselves much with FACH because they are always helping the community, and for that reason it pains us to hear and read in the press criticisms of that institution."

He emphasized that the Islanders give their support "to FACH and hope that they will continue with their noble work on the island and in other distant places on the continent. We do not understand the criticisms and the injustices that have been made against that institution. We back the entity and especially its Commander-in-Chief."

And then the Commander, General Fernando Rojas announced that in the last week of April, a medical team will go to the island to attend Islanders in need of treatment. Likewise, he informed reporters that at the end of March, palm trees from Tahiti will be brought to the island to replace those in bad condition.

Gen. Rojas said that he hopes to continue the aid to the Islanders since "that island is a very important point strategically for the next millennium."

- El Mercurio de Valparaiso, 8 Apr. 99:

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