Santiago - Another activist of the Mapuche indigenous group was killed Tuesday in clashes with police in southern Chile, according to indigenous groups. The man who bled to death had taken part in an attack on trucks that were carrying tree trunks out of the area. The group set fire to the trucks in San Patricio, about 500 kilometres south of Santiago.
According to media reports, the Mapuches held the dead body of the activist. Police did not immediately confirm the death.
The authorities confirmed, however, that there had been clashes with the Mapuches during which police had fired their weapons.
A radical fraction of the Mapuches demand the return of land that is currently in the hand of settlers of European origin. They fight loggers who are harvesting forests in what they regard as their ancestral property.
The fraction has declared war on the Chilean state and on President Michelle Bachelet.
In August, another Mapuche was killed by police, in an incident that worsened the long-brewing conflict.
The United Nations and other international organizations have criticized Chile's use of anti-terrorist legislation against the Mapuche indigenous community.
The leadership of Arauco Malleco, the group that attacked the truck, justified their actions and symbolically gave up their Chilean nationality. From now on, they vowed to fight to set up an independent nation of Mapuches south of the Biobio river.
"We hereby end all dialogue with the Republic of Chile and declare war on it, as from today," the group's leadership said in a statement.
The Bachelet government has expressed its willingness to consider the Mapuches' demands. The authorities in Santiago argue, however, that they have already handed over to that community the ownership of 650,000 hectares since 1990. Beyond that, they have promised to hand over a further 30,000 hectares to "peaceful" indigenous communities.
