From: aleta@irn.org (Aleta Brown) 

Sender: owner-irn-biobio@igc.org 

Subject: Chilean President Strong-arms Opposition to Biobio Dam 

To: irn-biobio@igc.org 

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PRESS ADVISORY Thursday, 6 August 1998 

Aleta Brown Campaign Associate 510 848 1155 

aleta@irn.org 

CHILEAN PRESIDENT STRONG-ARMS OPPOSITION TO BIOBIO DAM 

In an attempt to crush opposition to Ralco Dam on Chile's Biobío River, President Eduardo Frei has demanded the resignation of Domingo Namancura, director of Chile's Indigenous Council (CONADI). Namancura is seen as sympathetic to the plight of the indigenous Pehuenche people to be displaced by the project. 

Namancura, originally a proponent of the project, spent more than a year in the upper Biobío interviewing Pehuenche families and investigating the land barter contracts between Pehuenches and Endesa, the power company which intends to build the $500 million Ralco Dam. The project would displace 600 

people, 400 of them Pehuenches. 

This is the second time that Frei has removed a CONADI director who was critical of the project. Namancura's predecessor, Mauricio Huenchulaf, was also removed by Frei because of his pro-Pehuenche position. "Neither Huenchulaf and Namancura have turned out to be the puppets that FreI expected," said Luis Mariano Rendón, national coordinator of Chile's RENACE. "In the end, they did not agree to crush the rights of the Pehuenches." 

The 16-member CONADI board may vote today on whether or not to accept the Ralco project. The board is made up of eight government and eight indigenous appointees. The director's vote is the swing vote. Last week two other government appointed members were asked to resign. Reportedly, they were also opposed to Ralco. 

According to Chile's 1993 Indigenous Law, Endesa can't begin construction without written consent from all members of the community. Though many families signed a land-barter contract with Endesa, an internal CONADI document allegedly reports that some of the families were coerced into signing the contracts. 

The indigenous members of CONADI are threatening to resign from the board and remove themselves from any further negotiations with the government. 

"They have lost faith in the government and are losing faith in the indigenous law," said Cristian Opaso of Grupo de Acción por el Biobío (Biobío Action Group). 

On Wednesday, 5 August, 1,000 people gathered in Santiago to protest the project and to support the rights of the Pehuenche. In the upper Biobío region, Pehuenches and their supporters are attempting to stop the preliminary construction works. In the days and weeks to come, more protests are expected in the upper Biobío region and Santiago.Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 11:58:41 -0700 

From: aleta@irn.org (Aleta Brown) 

Sender: owner-irn-biobio@igc.org 

Subject: VIOLENCE WORSENS RALCO SITUATION To: undisclosed-recipients:; 

August 7, 1998 

To: irn-biobio@igc.org 

X-Sender: aleta@pop.igc.apc.org 

SOURCE: EL MERCURIO SOURCE: LA TERCERA 

-- VIOLENCE WORSENS RALCO SITUATION. The conflict over Endesa's controversial Ralco hydroelectric project worsened Thursday as members of Mapuche organizations reportedly attacked acting Planning Minister Antonio Lara and members of the Pehuenche committee who support the project at the offices of the National Indigenous Development Board (Conadi) in Santiago. 

Minister Lara had to leave a press conference in haste and shut himself in an office for over an hour because some Mapuche and ecologists began to throw tea cups and saucers. 

While Conadi personnel called the police, the eight indigenous Conadi board members met to seek a solution to this increasingly tense situation. They will release a proposal today, aiming to improve relations between the government and indigenous groups. 

Conadi was supposed to declare Friday whether it recognizes the land contracts signed between Endesa and 84 Pehuenche families. The atmosphere, however, turned from unstable to chaotic Wednesday when President Frei, keen to see approval for the project, requested the resignation of Conadi Director Domingo Namuncura. Conadi has since postponed the decision for 15 days. 

President Frei defended his actions yesterday, saying the government always tries to follow the law and protect the interests of the citizenry. Namuncura was obviously not in agreement with government thinking, which was why his resignation was requested, Frei said. 

Chile Information 

Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 12:20:37 -0700 

From: aleta@irn.org (Aleta Brown) 

Sender: owner-irn-biobio@igc.org 

Subject: NAMUNCURA TELLS HIS SIDE 

To: irn-biobio@igc.org 

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CHIP News: August 10, 1998 

HEADLINE: NAMUNCURA TELLS HIS SIDE Former Director Of Indigenous Affairs Explains Why He Was Forced To Resign KEYWORDS: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE; POLITICS SOURCE: LA TERCERA TEXT: (Ed note: President Eduardo Frei fired Domingo Namuncura, head of the National Indigenous Development Association, Conadi, on the Wednesday eve of a critical Conadi vote concerning the legality of land swap contracts power company Endesa had negotiated with indigenous people living on land to be flooded by Endesa' Ralco Dam project. Namuncura concluded the contracts had been unfairly negotiated and that the land offered the Pehuenche would not sustain their culture and lifestyle. His vote, when added to that of the eight indigenous people on the Conadi council, would have torpedoed the Ralco Dam project. 

In the interview that follows Namuncura gives greater detail about the events leading up to his dismissal). 

Q: Did Frei's request for your dismissal surprise you? 

DN: No, not really. It took place in a matter of just a few hours last Wednesday. 

Q: What happened? 

DN: Just hours before the Conadi Council was set to vote on the legitimacy of the land swap agreements (that Endesa had signed with indigenous people to remove them from the proposed Ralco Dam site), I concluded on the basis of the legal investigation carried out by Conadi that I had no other choice than to vote against the agreements. I decided to communicate my decision with the Subsecretary at Mideplan. 

Q: And how did he respond? 

DN: He said the government's position was to neither accept nor reject Endesa's Ralco Dam project, but to demand more concessions from the company. I said this wasn't possible, that the legal investigation was conclusive, and that the land exchange contracts could not be accepted because they were tainted by the way that they had been conceived and executed, and that in accordance with the Indigenous Law they could not be accepted. 

And there was no way I could decommission the legal report. 

Q: So the government asked for you to step down? 

DN: No. The Subsecretary said my position was not sustainable and suggested Wednesday that I postpone the Conadi meeting scheduled for Thursday. I responded that this, too, was not possible because the Council is not just made up of government representatives, but also indigenous people of different ethnicities. There was no justification for a postponement of the meeting. 

Q: So what did the government suggest next? 

DN: The Subsecretary thought a moment, and then suggested that once the Conadi meeting was convened, a motion should be made to suspend it. Then he thought some more, and realized that with eight indigenous members and eight votes from the government's side, my vote would be decisive. So he suspended his meeting with me, until further notice. 

Q: What are the reasons behind the position you took? 

DN: First, the land swap contracts were not the result of a desire coming from the indigenous community to exchange their land for other property. Rather, it was imposed by a project that did not give them any other alternative. We confirmed this in a series of interviews with the indigenous families, who gave us very revealing testimony. Several different Pehuenche said words to the effect that "We don't have any alternative. They are going to flood our land and we are not fish." When asked if he really wanted to leave his land, one Pehuenche said, "No, but I have to." 

-- LETTER OF RESIGNATION SENT BY NAMUNCURA TO FREI. 

(Ed note: The following is a translation of the letter of resignation former Conadi Director Domingo Namuncura sent to President Frei, printed in Saturday's La Tercera.) Conadi's review of the land swap contracts, in strict accordance with the Indigenous Law and our own regulations found that the contracts could not be approved because they did not comply with a series of requirements regarding their conception and execution. 

There is also the very real fact that the Ralco Dam project implies irreversible effects on the Pehuenche culture, its way of life, its identity, its roots and its view of the cosmos. A strict examination of the procedures used to secure the land swap contracts shows they were the result of the needs of an industrial project, and not the result of the desires or free-will of the Pehuenche people. 

The Indigenous Law, unanimously approved by Congress in October, 1993, demands respect for indigenous culture and that policies be implemented towards that end. Indigenous lands are to be protected so that they are used appropriately and so that ecological balances are maintained. 

From these basic norms it follows that all Chileans must work towards the survival of our indigenous peoples. 

There is no doubt that the Ralco Dam project will have a tremendous impact on the indigenous people living there. This is why it is absolutely necessary that the land contract agreements be completely open to society as a whole, so that consensus can built concerning an issue having an irreversible impact on our culture. 

This is why the procedures used by Endesa in relation to Pehuenche families and communities merit Conadi's utmost scrutiny, and have been shown to be lacking with respect to the property offered as compensation and with respect to mitigation of social and cultural factors.Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 12:22:51 -0700 (PDT) 

From: owner-irn-biobio@igc.org Headline: PROTESTERS BLOCK RALCO DAM ROAD 

To: undisclosed-recipients:; 

Pehuenche Activists Demand Government Comes To Bio Bio 

KEYWORDS: ENVIRONMENT; INDIGENOUS PEOPLE; SOCIAL ISSUES 

SOURCE: EL MERCURIO 

Subject: Ralco Dam Protest 

August 10, 1998 

Pehuenche Indian protesters blocked the route to the proposed site for Endesa's controversial US$463 million Ralco hydroelectric plant Friday, straining already tense relations between the government and indigenous peoples. 

Assisted by Mapuche Indians and environmental activists, the demonstrators erected barricades at three points along the route, effectively stopping all work on the extension of the road. 

Holed up in make-shift tents, the protesters have promised to stay in place until a solution is reached, Pehuenche spokesman Agustin Correa said Sunday. 

"We will stay here in the road until Endesa gives us an answer. They will not remove us. We have said 'no' to the construction of the dam and we will die fighting for what is ours," Correa said. 

The Pehuenches have also demanded that the site of the discussions be moved to the Bio Bio region. 

"We are not going to Los Angeles, nor to Concepcion, nor to Santiago. The conflict is here and the authorities are obliged to come here," Correa said. 

Region VIII Governor Martin Zilic, who met with Provincial Governor Carlos Coronata and representatives from both the National Environmental Commission (Conama) and the National Forestry Service (Conaf) Sunday, voiced hope that talks will resume Wednesday. 

"If the Pehuenches want to hold meetings in Bio Bio, then we will have to go there and see if it's possible. Above all, we must remain calm and continue the talks," Zilic said. 

The green faction parliamentary group will ask the UN Human Rights Council to send a special observer to the region, Socialist Party (PS) Deputy Arturo Navarro said Sunday. The Catholic Church has also offered itself as a mediator in the conflict, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez said Sunday. 

Enraged over President Frei's firing of National Indigenous Development Board (Conadi) Director Domingo Namuncura, indigenous representatives to Conadi formally broke relations with the government Saturday. 

Namuncura, initially appointed by Frei, had sided with Pehuenche interests and accused the Endesa of negotiating land swap contracts in bad faith. He had planned to vote against the agreements. 

The land swap contracts allowed for the relocation of 98 Pehuenche families whose land would be flooded by the creation of the dam. 

Ex-Mideplan minister Roberto Pizarro joined the chorus of criticism Saturday, accusing the government of pushing ahead with the Ralco project in an "authoritarian manner." Namuncura's dismissal was a "serious political error," that will only widen the gap between the government and the nation's indigenous communities, he said. 

The government's drive to modernize rural areas must incorporate the wishes of all its inhabitants, Pizarro said. "The Ralco Dam project does not merely affect the 98 families forced to move, but all the 1,200 families in the Bio Bio region. A growth model that excludes over a million indigenous people creates apartheid." 

Juan Ricardo Gallina, a Pehuenche community leader, defended the government's actions and the relocation program. 

"We signed the land swap contracts on our own accord," Gallina said Thursday, adding that the indigenous representatives were in no way pressured by Endesa. 

The Ralco Dam will improve the quality of life for everybody in the region and the demonstrators that have paralyzed the road construction work do not bear in mind the best interests of the Pehuenche community, Gallina said, adding that "the people protesting do not represent the rural indigenous communities. They are from Santiago." 

The blockade has forced construction company Besalco, which is in charge of extending the road 40 kilometers to the proposed Ralco site, to send home its 280 workers, among them 60 Pehuenches, until further notice. 

Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 17:27:52 -0700 

From: aleta@irn.org (Aleta Brown) 

Sender: owner-irn-biobio@igc.org 

Subject: PEHUENCHE AGREE TO ROUND TABLE TALK 

To: irn-biobio@igc.org 

X-Sender: aleta@pop.igc.apc.org 

CHIP News for August 11, 1998 

SOURCE: EL MERCURIO SOURCE: LA TERCERA 

-- PEHUENCHE AGREE TO ROUND TABLE TALKS. Bio Bio Province Governor Carlos Coronata held a meeting Monday with the group of Pehuenche who oppose the Ralco hydroelectric project, and was able to convince them to end their occupation of the Nireco bridge and join a round-table discussion. 

The talks will be held tomorrow at the government hall in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Bishop will attend, along with Regional Governor Martin Zilic, the Subsecretary of Planning Antonio Lara and representatives of the National Indigenous Development Board (Conadi). 

The last-minute agreement Coronata reached with the Pehuenche increases participation by individuals opposed to the project, and lets this group meet separately with the government. 

Three people will participate in the discussions representing the 83 Pehuenche families who have signed land barter contracts with Endesa. Three others will represent the nine families who have yet to sign, and three more will go in the name of the 250 families who would live beside the dam. 

Planning Minister (Mideplan) German Quintana said the government wants an open dialogue, and added that if there are families who refuse to barter their land at any price, they should not be forced to do so. As for Frei's firing of Conadi director Domingo Namuncura, Quintana said Namuncura "had a political vision which was to pass on the responsibility of the barters to the local courts." 

In related news, the government made a frustrated attempt to replace Domingo Namuncura by nominating Radical Social Democrat (PRSD) lawyer Arturo Huenchullan. Huenchullan, who is general manager of the Araucaria Water Treatment Company in Temuco, declined the nomination due to work obligations. 

Chile Information Project 

Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 10:24:12 -0700 

From: aleta@irn.org (Aleta Brown) 

Sender: owner-irn-biobio@igc.org 

Subject: A VIEW OF RALCO FROM CANADA 

To: irn-biobio@igc.org 

X-Sender: aleta@pop.igc.apc.org 

HEADLINE: A VIEW OF RALCO FROM CANADA 

Chilean Lawyer Contrasts Indigenous Rights in Canada and Chile 

KEYWORDS: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE; ENVIRONMENT; POLITICS 

SOURCE: SANTIAGO TIMES 

TEXT: (Ed. note: The following is a piece written by Jose Aylwin, a distinguished Chilean human rights attorney now studying international indigenous law in Canada.) 

I write this from Canada, where I am doing a doctorate in law. I have tried to follow the political and social events in Chile, my country. Unfortunately, the news which arrives through the electronic press has only showed the incomprehension of government authorities and national businesses when it comes to the rights of indigenous people who were the first to inhabit our territory. 

These attitudes are not surprising; they are consistent with the injustices which have characterized relations between Chilean society and the indigenous people throughout history. 

The recent events related to the Ralco hydroelectric project are an example of the injustices I mentioned above. Endesa, with the economic power it gained during the dark period in our history, and the arrogance which is common to certain economic sectors in Chile, defies law 19,253 of 1993, also known as the "Indigenous Law," which was democratically approved by Chile's parliament. The company is doing this by trying to push forward the Ralco project, which implies, among other things, the removal of 500 Pehuenche Mapuche people from their ancestral land on the upper Bio Bio. 

The current government, insensitive to Pehuenche protests, and anchored in an ancient concept of development, does not incorporate the vision of a community nor does it prevent the use of scarce natural resources, like those of the Bio Bio basin. The government is trying to influence the National Indigenous Development Board (Conadi) by firing Conadi National Director Domingo Namuncura and two other presidential appointed advisors. It has done this to seek Conadi's authorization of the Pehuenche land barter contracts to then facilitate the construction of Ralco. 

Even though these attitudes are not surprising in Chile, the injustice of the situation becomes more evident from a foreign country, because one has the opportunity to understand the way in which other societies treat their indigenous people. In the case of Canada, which signed a free trade agreement with Chile last year, and which is many times cited as an example of development, it is dignified to be taken into consideration in this type of issue. In this country, which is home to many European and Asian peoples, the indigenous people have been recognized as original settlers in successive decisions by the Supreme Court starting in the 1970's. For the same reason, and in the cases when ancestral land rights had not been put down in the past due to treaties, the Court has considered that the indigenous people maintain rights over land, water, forests and resources below the soil. 

This situation has caused various indigenous populations to join together with the federal and respective regional governments, and begin a negotiation process to define and specify their territorial rights. But what is at play in these negotiations is not only land and natural resources, but also the rights these people have to govern themselves, that is: decide their own destiny; opt for their own development; and determine the type of education they want for their children. 

Up to now, around 10 of these new treaties have been signed by different indigenous populations in Canada, covering a relatively important part of the national territory. Even though the treaties are different in every case, they all reaffirm the rights these people have over their ancestral territory and their rights to govern themselves as different populations within one country. I find the case of the British Columbia province to be the most interesting. Given that in the colonial period the indigenous people, just like in Chile, did not voluntarily give up their land, the government has began a negotiation process which involves almost half of the provincial territory and the 50 different indigenous groups which live there. 

While Chilean bureaucrats try to resolve the fate of the Pehuenche from their comfortable desks in Santiago, here in Canada, the first of these territorial negotiations in British Columbia was finalized and signed on August 4 between the Nisga'a people and the federal and provincial governments. According to this agreement, the Nisga'a population of 5,000, very similar to the Pehuenche population, will be the property owners of a 2,000 square kilometres lot. The property includes soil and underground resources. Apart from that, they will participate in the administration and will have extraction rights over the natural resources in a state-owned forest area which is about 10 times bigger than the plot they were granted. 

Along with this, the same agreement recognizes the Nisga'a's right to govern themselves through structures defined in their own constitution, which should be compatible with the Canada human rights letter. The Nisga'a government includes a justice system and their own police which deal with issues defined in the treaty, and in coordination with the provincial government. Finally, the treaty includes the payment to this population of close to 200 million Canadian dollars in compensation for territorial rights this population renounces in the name of their future development. 

The agreement with the Nisga'a shows us a different way to treat different populations, and is without a doubt much more respectful than the agreement between Chile and the Pehuenche. In the case of Ralco, the historical patterns of denial of the other and imposition of the will of the stronger have remained. Here in Canada, what sticks out is the recognition of the other and of its rights as the first inhabitants of this territory. Even more, what sticks out is the capacity these indigenous populations have to decide their own future as a part of Canadian society. 

Some may argue that this type of agreement is only possible in the context of developed countries like Canada. What I have tried to point out is that these agreements do not only involve economic resources, but also an attitude of dialogue, negotiation and respect which exists today in Canada with respect to its indigenous peoples. 

If that attitude existed in Chile, projects like Ralco and others being planned on different indigenous territories all over the country, would not be allowed to happen. We have a lot to learn. If we do not show a greater respect for the dignity of indigenous people and groups, Chilean democracy will continue being, as it is now, limited and incomplete. 

At least it is for the Pehuenche - without a doubt. 

Chile Information Project