By Ingrid Bachmann
The president of the Chilean journalists guild, Rodrigo Miranda, criticized the country's mainstream media for ignoring the hunger strike, that began July 12, by 32 indigenous Mapuches imprisoned in southern Chile, reported BBC Mundo.
The Mapuches, accused of illegally occupying land and arson attacks as part of their territorial claims, are demanding an end to the legal proceedings under the auspices of an anti-terrorist law, and are alleging they are victims of a judicial set-up, beatings and other irregularities, explained Radio Cooperativa and the German news agency DPA.
Mapuche organizations also have accused the government of Sebastián Piñera of mounting an information blockade to silence their protests and discredit their cause in the eyes of the public, added the University of Chile Radio. On Monday, Aug. 23, about two dozen indigenous leaders occupied the facilities of Radio Bío Bío in Santiago to ask for an end to what they consider a "communication blockade," reported EFE.
While the Chilean media and government focus on the rescue of 33 miners trapped in the north of the country, this week the hunger strike could claim its first victims: the prisoners have rejected medical attention and one of the prisoners on strike was taken the morning of Friday, Aug. 27, to the hospital.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
