MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Controversy with Benetton's Patagonia holdings.

Italian businessman Luciano Benetton rejected claims by Argentina human rights activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel that he has taken land belonging to the Mapuche Indians in Argentine Patagonia.

Mr. Benetton wrote an open letter to an Italian newspaper that had previously published an article by the Argentine Peace Nobel requesting he return the land to "its legitimate owners", the Mapuches.

The Italian textile tycoon described his company's investment in Patagonia as a "challenge" which will "contribute to the development of the territory and its inhabitants", and further on invites Mr. Pérez Esquivel to a meeting to discuss the allegations that he is a "feudal Lord".

These are not feudal rights but rather economic rules in which "we believe, in free enterprise, innovation and investing in development", wrote Mr. Benetton.

Mr. Perez Esquivel accused Mr. Benetton of taking advantage of "his money and an unscrupulous judge to dispossess humble Mapuche families of their land".

When Mr. Benetton purchased 900,000 hectares of land from the Argentine government in the nineties he also claimed 385 hectares occupied by Mapuche Indians who lost the lawsuit.

"Mapuches are the legitimate owners of the land even when they do not possess the documentation", insisted Mr. Perez Esquivel.

The Mapuche community in Patagonia totals approximately one million, mostly in Chile but 60,000 live in Argentina.