Thursday, August 31 st

From the International Network for the Liberation of the Political Prisoners and Justice for our Martyrs,
Interview to Sonia Ivanoff, defense lawyer for Facundo Jones Huala, member of Mapuche community, political prisoner and persecuted by the Chilean and Argentinean state

“… this is an arbitrary detention, which is part of a political persecution that takes place just a few hours after Macri and Bachelet met in Chile”

International Network: Tell us what the situation of the comrade is, for which the state and justice have him in jail. Tell us about his personal situation, if he is still in hunger strike and how his health is.

Sonia:Facundo is in U14, Esquel. He is a political prisoner, persecuted by two states: the Chilean and the Argentinean state. This is because Chile is requesting his extradition to put him on trial. It is a trial in which the rest of the Mapuche people were freed, except for Facundo, the only Argentinean Mapuche arrested in this process because he defended a spiritual land. Particularly, this is an arbitrary detention, which is part of a political persecution that takes place just a few hours after Macri and Bachelet met in Chile, even with the human rights secretaries of both countries. That is why we keep saying it is a persecution of both states.
The situation is difficult. He has been in jail for over 60 days. Since June 27th until August 3rd the Supreme Court hasn’t resolved even the first trial for his extradition. That’s why we consider the first 30 days as an illegal detention. Judge Villanueva keeps understanding that he (Facundo) can escape or block justice. There is now way he could block it because the extradition trial is just to determine if the extradition will take place or not.
He is not in hunger strike anymore. He started it on July 31st, the same day Santiago reached Cushamen settlement, for the illegal detention and it is known the arrival of Nocetti to Bariloche. We didn’t say this today, but on July 31st there were 9 Mapuche arrested when Nocetti was in Bariloche without any order, just based on the so-called argument of “flagrancy”, for which anyone that is protesting can be arrested.

IN: Does this have to do with the anti-terrorist law?

S: No, because of flagrancy. I mean when you are allegedly committing a felony, the federal force can arrest you and later the federal judge will say if there is a felony and you get charged or not. This is what the Chief of Cabinet is working on, as well as trying to blame the Mapuche people. As they can’t apply the Anti-terrorist Law, they want to apply article 213 bis, which has to do with the “armed organization that commits acts of encouraging sedition” and this, somehow, breaks the public order. We are all involved in this. Unfortunately, when he says that everyone that collaborates with the Mapuche people, all of them, even the intellectuals such as Adolfo Perez Esquivel, which according to him all of them fund the Mapuche people, will be investigated. So there are Intelligence Services, dual penal investigation, the Anti-terrorist Division is investigating everyone. In this framework, Facundo started his hunger strike. After a request of his family, communities and several human rights organizations, he stopped his hunger strike after 28 days because the situation was really serious, as Santiago does not appear alive and he has become a demand of the entire world. He suspended the strike.

IN:Which is the repressive situation of the State towards the Mapuche communities, concerning the claim and right for land in Patagonia, and also towards the workers and popular sectors?

S: With the fact of Santiago, Gendarmerie withdrew its forces but now it is in the oil spots, where the workers are fighting and the tools are down, when the situation of retrenchments is worsening. That is to say, the militarization and Gendarmerie’s presence in Patagonia is constant. If it is not there for the workers’ struggle, is there for the Mapuche struggle. This is what it’s been doing since November last year, with a strong presence of Gendarmerie in both territories. And there is an undoubted fact. In the farms, where you want to live quietly, you can see camouflaged people arriving. They are the Intelligence Services but they claim to be “lost tourists”. Theyask “are Mapuche peoplehere?” “Do youknow RAM?”. Let’s say these tasks of intelligence in the community people are generating fear among the population. The fact is that we are having practices of State terrorism. That is to say, they are trying to make the peaceful communities that are quiet in their communities to be separated from the Mapuche, as the latter are shown as “violent” when they exercise their rights. These practices are because the current government implemented them. So this is the scenario we are living in.

IN: A comrade spoke in today’s event on the situation of the convicted oil workers of Las Heras. Are you aware of the process for which four of them were convicted to life in jail and others to five years in prison? What’s your opinion on the matter? At the same time we are promoting a campaign to free Jones Huala and all the political prisoners of the world. We will reproduce this interview in Europe, Africa, in the five continents. Do you want to leave any message for everyone who is fighting for Santiago’s alive appearance and for Facundo’s freedom?

S: Yes. As I live in ComodoroRivadavia, I am in the centre of the oil worker’s conflict and the comrade of the Commission of Las Heras got in touch with us to let us know their solidarity and claim for the freedom of Facundo. Undoubtedly, the victimization of social struggles and what we are seeing, the increasingly view of conflicts as political felonies, is something we have to reject right away, to condemn it, to put it in manifest and denounce it somehow. A few moments ago we received a letter from political prisoners of Greece, with their solidarity with these kinds of struggles. I think this is a bit the awareness. In this sense, Facundo transmits that even if we have our own goal, we can start to have strategic alliances in some points in common.
There cannot be political prisoners for thinking differently no more. To think different is not a crime. To wear a hood is not a crime. However, there are governments that see an inner enemy in them. One of the most criticized questions in the way Lof acts is the wearing of a hood. Wearing a hood is not naïve. First of all is to make clear that they exist, because as they remove the hood and show their Mapuche Face, they are “Juana”, a housekeeper of the landowners, or “Luis”, the employee of the farm that looks after the champion animal owned by the Rural Society. When they put on the hood, they are seen. The second question is a matter of security. We have lost many Mapuche comrades where the police “use force in excess”, they torture and disappear people. Unfortunately Facundo… and we recognize Santiago also, are targets and this is the meaning. We have to fight for them, even if they are white, black, yellow or violet… for no more disappearing the social fighters. This is my message.