11 January 2012

CHILE: Indigena Mapuche Activists Deny Arson Charges; A Pinera Set-Up For Repression?

                                         AFP

     Mapuche activists...accused of setting blazes in Patagonia...deny recent arson charges.
     Instead...they call the government's accusations “a set-up” to impose severe anti-terrorist laws against them.
     So far...7 fire fighters have died...and thousands of hectares of woodlands..have been destroyed by dozens of fires in the Mapuche's traditional Araucania region.
     In the past...some Mapuche militants have burned cars, toll booths and lumber to protest their lands confiscated in the 19th century.