Clashes break out as hundreds march for Mapuche rights in Chile
- 11 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Some 700 members and supporters of Chile's Mapuche Indians, the fierce opponents of Spanish conquerors five centuries ago, marched in Santiago on Saturday, renewing demands for their ancestral lands.
As they chanted and played folkloric instruments, the crowd wound down the street carrying two large effigy wearing traditional clothing.
Many wore masks over their faces to protest the country's tough Anti-Terrorism Law that was passed in the Pinochet era and they feel has been used disproportionately against members of the Mapuche community.
The Mapuche, which means "Earth People" in the Mapudungun tongue, are demanding the return of lands taken from them by decrees from the colonial conquests to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Many of those lands in southern Chile, about 350 miles from the capital of Santiago, are now occupied by private owners and multinational corporations.
The protesters are also de
Some 700 members and supporters of Chile's Mapuche Indians, the fierce opponents of Spanish conquerors five centuries ago, marched in Santiago on Saturday, renewing demands for their ancestral lands.
As they chanted and played folkloric instruments, the crowd wound down the street carrying two large effigy wearing traditional clothing.
Many wore masks over their faces to protest the country's tough Anti-Terrorism Law that was passed in the Pinochet era and they feel has been used disproportionately against members of the Mapuche community.
The Mapuche, which means "Earth People" in the Mapudungun tongue, are demanding the return of lands taken from them by decrees from the colonial conquests to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Many of those lands in southern Chile, about 350 miles from the capital of Santiago, are now occupied by private owners and multinational corporations.
The protesters are also de