Rapa Nui (cultural)

UPDATE FROM RAPANUI 12/4/10

So the police did not attack last night or today, that is
good. Yesterday they dislocated the Tuko Tuki clan ocuppying a
“government house” in the center and now they are looking for reason
to enter and dislocate the other families from their lands.

They are trying to criminalize the Hito family in order to dislodge
them from the hotel, even though a court in Valpariso found that since
there is a question as to who is the rightful owners of the hotel
therefore the Schiess cannot maintain a claim of criminal trespass.

And another plane filled of police arrived last night at 2am… so we
are all on high alert.

However, as you can see the news got out fast and internationally, so
as of now all of the police that have arrived and those who are giving
the orders to attack are all in hiding.

A Chilean Senator,Juan Pablo Letelier, who works specifically with
international human rights, came today to do an investigation of
everything, and indeed is finding the police to be in the wrong.

The Chilean press reported  the wrong numbered of injured people  –
there are 24 injured Rapanui 17 went to the hospital and only one
police officer went to the hospital.  The Chileans have been claiming
more policemen were injured,  but there is no official report of that.

here is a live action video….


matêevanihich /Later
André Cramblit, Operations Director
Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) 
(
http://www.ncidc.org
) 707.445.8451

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originally, a smallpox epidemic wiped out all but 110 Easter islanders. of the survivors, most were children. They were recruited by Chileans to work on sheep ranches and were ill-treated, as one can imagine. later, when the Chilean navy took over, they would take land and build wherever they wanted.

Fast forward and modern Easter islanders are much more educated, organized, and plugged into the outside world. They want their land back. But it now has millions of dollars of improvements on it, such as hotels, schools, a museum, a hospital, and parks, etc. These in turn provide jobs, as Easter island's economy is entirely tourist-based.

The government of Chile has been in negotiation with the Easter islanders to allow the original land owners to be paid rent on the land so that facilities can be kept open for the tourists, which are the bread and butter of the island.

An island family moved into the hangaroa hotel, which had recently been refurbished for millions of dollars, and proceeded to close it down and trash it. They wanted a bigger piece of the pie. one of the protesters, Santi, is an islander married to a new york woman who is a professional agitator, posting letters and speaking supposedly on behalf of the islanders.

The police were trying to remove some islanders from a judge's home on the island, and the protesters at the hotel ran over, cornered them, and attacked them with large rocks, so the police eventually retaliated by firing rubber bullets for their own survival.
lots of people were available to stand around and take pictures and video, but the real story wasn't told. The attackers were made to appear in news releases as 'peaceful islanders' shot down in cold blood by police thugs.

The hostile islanders have done more to harm the island than anything. The government of Chile wants to resolve the land issue, but they have been forced into a corner. meanwhile, Easter island's economy, and the people, are suffering because tourism is the island's only industry.

These riots have been perpetrated by a very few Easter islanders who were described in an interview of other islanders as wanting to get something for nothing. last month, hundreds of islanders marched down the main street of the main village with signs and banners stating that they wanted a peaceful settlement and did not agree with the violence perpetrated by the 'sit-in' group.

this is not an island-wide movement; most islanders with jobs and homes and families want peaceful times and tourists and want to get on with their lives.

— yrrej