Inter-American Commission on Human Rights grants Precautionary Measures to Rapa Nui clans
February 7, 2011 -- Conflict between the Rapa Nui indigenous communities and the Chilean government has led to action by an international human rights body.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures to immediately stop the violent use of armed forces against the Rapa Nui clans and to begin an investigation on recent events. The Indian Law Resource Center requested the precautionary on behalf of the Rapa Nui Nation in October 2010.
The precautionary measures call on the Chilean government to guarantee that no state action would ever put at risk the clan members’ right to life and humane treatment within protests or evictions, including evictions from both public and private properties. The IACHR will more than likely moderate negotiations between the Rapa Nui and the Chilean government to seek peaceful solutions. (More...)
Police evict indigenous Easter Island protesters
By Michael Warren for The Associated Press | Sunday, February 6, 2011
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Police on Easter Island raided the grounds of a luxury hotel Sunday to evict the last of dozens of indigenous protesters battling for ancestral lands and a larger share of profits from the tourists who come to see the Pacific Island's mysterious statues of giant heads.
A Rapa Nui clan's claims to the land under the new, $800-a-night Hangaroa Eco Village & Spa has won support from international human rights agencies, and it poses legal and political dilemmas for a Chilean government already criticized for its treatment of indigenous people on the mainland. (More...)
U.S. Congressmen and human rights community express concern over evictions on Rapa Nui
Congressman Faleomavaega visits Rapa Nui
March 21, 2011 | Washington, D.C.— Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he will be traveling to Easter Island during the Congressional recess to assess recent developments between the legitimate representatives of the Rapa Nui clans and the Chilean government. Easter Island, or its Polynesian name of Rapa Nui, is one of the world’s most isolated inhabited islands.
Akaka, Faleomavaega urge President of Chile to seek peaceful resolution to standoff in Rapa Nui
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) sent letters to Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing their concern over forced evictions being carried in Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, by Chilean armed forces. (More...)
The Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Americas also sent a letter to Chilean President Sebastian Piñera (In Spanish).
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