Freedom or Death! Video interviews.Mapuche Political Prisoners on hunger strike.

Three interviews to companyeros, family and representatives of the mapuche political prisoners on hunger strike in Chile.

Jose Caliqueo, in the Polunco Pidenco Case, Jose and another mapuche political prisoner, Juan Antonio Colihuinca Ancaluan was accquitted of the 'terrorist fire' charges and freed on april 3rd. they where charged together with the remaining hunger strikers and had been convicted in three previous trials on the case and sentenced to 10 years in prison and a 425 million peso fine. Cariqueo and Colihuinca were also on hunger strike since Mar. 13, but ended their fast when they were freed.

Roberto Troncoso, father of Patricia hunger stricker and Mapuche rights activist. Her daughter's mental and fisical condition is seriously worsening. She is urinating blood and gradually loosing memory and coordination.

Werken Juan Lee, spokesperson of the political prisoner fighters on hunger strike, reads out the letter presented to the Moneda Palace in Santiago de Chile and calls for the solidarity movilisations to continue and for Social Justice in Chile.





translation of the video for if you dont want to download, anyway the video is ready with the traslation:

.........................................................................................................
this is the third letter that we have presented

and to be honest, we demand a new proposal

and demand that the president meets us

that she doesn't send us to talk to intermediaries

these demands have to be met urgently

because our mapuche brothers and sister are dying in Temuco's prison.

they have been on hunger strike for 54 days

and we can't allow this to carry on

Violations to the mapuche people

and we need them freed inmediatly

and we need an investigation on their trial ( poluco pidenco case )

these are our demands

we demand their immediate release

therefore dear brothers and sisters, social movements,

community organisations,

mapuche chiefs from the different communities

we need your support and solidarity, that's it many thanks.

what is the situation of your daughter Patricia Troncoso, the mapuche political prisoner?

very serious now, we are very concerned right now

she took her decision, she says that they will only get her out if it is in a wooden box

if they dont come up with the solution they are asking for

is she innocent?

that's why im here sir, if not i wouldn't be

she was accused... unjustly.Unjustly.

my daughter was in my house when that fire happened

that's how i know she's innocent, that's why im here showing my face.

'cos she's innocent

the government has given you an answer, offered a solution?

Mr Saldivar ( interior minister ) is now dancing in the Easter Islands

with people in the Easter Islands and the hunger strickers dying of hunger

and they have no wish to find a solution to this thing

is the health of your daughter patricia very grave?

it's already quite serious

what is the call to the social movements here in Santiago?

to listen, that they listen to us and give us a solution

that is what we want

the immediate release because they are unjustly inprisoned

unjustly, that is why we ask for them to be freed now

what would you ask from the chilean people that are overseas

and that are watching you in this video?

help us, send messages from over there by email or whatever,

tell the president that she is wrong

because the rich have put into her head

that these people were the ones that set the fire

and it might be that they themselves ordered a fire

and are laying the blame on my daughter and those mapuches

and towards the mapuche solidarity organisations... a call to movilise?

that outside they move so that the president here finds out that

outside there is more information that inside chile

because foreign media is more concerned

that the media here ( translators note: !!!??? )

thanks, thanks to you

well we have here the chief Jose Cariqueo from the Jose Guinon de Arcilla community

how is the situation of the mapuche prisoners on hunger strike?

their situation of the prisoners on hunger strike

is totally the worst, that is they are feeling dizzy

Patricia Troncoso is urinating blood

and has mental problems because they can't hold it, they forget things

and we are carrying the hunger strike for 54 days now

that's why i demand once more

as the response to this letter that we handed over today at 11am

we need a totally positive answer

is it is a new proposal that the government is able to meet

it has to be a yes, and am not leaving this place

until i meet the presidency, today if possible

or tomorrow

what is your demand to the president of the republic?

i demand from her a new proposal,

what's the proposal? its their immediate release

a juditial order issued with urgent character, so that they are freed

at 12pm tomorrow because they are innocent

of the charges they are accused of

and another demand is the investigation into the poluco pidenco trial

as today the senate and parliament declined this

and asked to stop all this and therefore the

rights of the mapuche peoples are being violated

i am concretely asking for the inmediate release of the 4 mapuche political prisoners

instantly, that is what i'm asking for

we are not asking 'the set' as they have brought up

they won that in 2005

many things you can do, whow solidarity, a demo

sending letters, stuff that to the media

that will reach directly to the presidency

everything ammounts to something

all the social movements of the different countries

the mapuches on hunger strike are going to fight for their freedom to the last

that's what they told me, as when

ale lemun died... and the fighter patricia troncoso

she is asking me that if she was to die

she asks to be burried where our first hero

that we had, ale lemun, was burried

she says she is not going to give up the stike

'i prefer to die than to give in'

many thanks

see you tomorrow

.............................................................................................
Santiago 5th of may 2006

Mrs michele le bachelet president of the republic of chile

dear (!) president, with respect i address you
stressing theneed that you grant us audience to talk about the situation of the political prisoners mapuche
juan marileo, jaime marileo, juan huanulao and patricia troncoso their freedom taken away, at this moment in
the Temuco prison infermery mantaining a hunger strike for 53 days demanding their freedom and rejecting
the trial held against them and the trial held against them and the worngful application of the anti terrorist
law and i'd like to make a little addition herethe antiterrorist law was left by the pinochet dictatorship
and was only ever applied to the mapuche people i continue reading i stress this petition due to the life of our
brothers and sister being in danger i am their spokesman and have not been listened to neither by you
the minister of justice nor by the director of the police to whom i asked for an audience on the 17th of april
of the year running i learned through the press that you have met with other authorities who do not represent us
and who the strikers don't recognise is for that reason that i see myself in need to insist that it is you who
recieves me and that we look for a solution to our demands. our brothers and sister lives are in dangerand i trust
your humanitarian principles i beg you to answer urgently to this petition on the following telephone numbers
- and here are inserted various phone numbers- mapuche brothers, chilean brothers if you and us dont unite for
our dignity for our freedom,for our freedom to at least talk and think without being repressed then we prefer to die
or we find freedom here or we will be free in another place but not to be prisoners for our petition and our demand
for our legitimate right to defend ourselves never a mapuche starts a conflict, never starts a problem
but yes, when the moment comes to end it we end it our way and the chilean state will have nothing to complain about
then we are not conflictive persons, but please don't push our patience not abuse it we are persons and we have
rights like all the working class like the young man that was repressed not so long ago for defending his rights
and i am refering to the student 600 students arrested because they demand a right
thank you for listening to me - saltu mai.