MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile lodges criminal complaint against Mapuche Resistance Group

The Mapuche Territory Resistance defines itself as self defense group trying to recover land that belongs to their tribe

Following a video release in which a group of hooded and heavily armed individuals calling themselves the Mapuche Territory Resistance, who occupied by force the administration offices of a Chilean National Park, the government o President Sebastian Piñera lodged a criminal complaint against them plus demanding their eviction.

 The Chilean government accused the group of illegal possession of permitted arms, illegal possession of non permitted arms and of organizing, and functioning of private militias.

In the video the Mapuche Resistance group anticipates that it will defend themselves with the weapons if any attempt to evict them is put into action. The group currently is occupying the offices of the Chilean Malleco National Reserve in the Araucaria region, according to the Forestry Corporation.

The Mapuche Territory Resistance defines itself as self defense group trying to recover land that belongs to their tribe following on treaties signed by their ancestors with the Chilean government a century and a half ago.

In this case in particular the group claims that the Forestry Confederation has usurped Mapuche territory and has people working in a 33,000 hectares piece of land belonging to their peoples.

“Let us be clear we are prepared to repeal any violent action from the State and whatever happens responsibility will fall on the Forestry Confederation and the Chilean State”, points out the video. “We are here to defend our brothers and their land rights”