With deep pain and indignation, we invite our compatriots to reflect on the events that occurred in the Community of Temucuicui, Region of Araucanía, where, in an unwise police operation, the 7-year-old girl with the initials G.P.C.A. was subjected to repressive actions. daughter of the Mapuche leader Camilo Catrillanca, also victimized in another police proceeding outside the law. The aforementioned minor was arrested along with her mother and her grandmother by PDI personnel last Thursday, January 7; This action, shielded in legality, had contradictory spaces that violated Children's Rights guaranteed by international agreements signed by Chile in 1990. We, as a Community of Christian Faith made up of pastors, ecclesial leaders, professionals, students, female and male memberships, and others, dedicated since June 1983 to reflections and theological practices on the Mission of the Church In Chile, we stand in solidarity with his family for these State behaviors that violate children's rights, and violate people's dignity and freedom, with procedures that violate Human Rights.
We declare our rejection of these attacks that violate essential rights of girls, boys and adolescents, bearers of the sacred value of life and, also, of the hope of the present and the future for our national society. We are concerned about what is happening in Chile to the detriment of the Native Peoples and the violence that is exercised by State entities, to the detriment of children and young people. Evidencing these absurd facts that threaten human life and dignity is an essential part of the practice of our Faith; and from it we demand fair treatment and clarification of the facts that we criticize, so that impunity is not a "prize" in favor of the commissioners. The authorities that exercise the Judiciary are called upon to rigorously investigate the reprehensible actions in these unacceptable events, to penalize, when appropriate, the perpetrators responsible for conducts that violate the Law. At the same time we regret the silence of Churches and Christian Organizations called to defend the weak and marginalized. In this case, some silences have hints of complicity with injustice and damage the credibility of the Gospel Message, which emphasizes the care and priority that must be had with children, places in which Jesus expressed very clear guidelines. We, as a CREE Community, are committed to continue working to respect Native Peoples, and to report cases of abuse to the detriment of children. We urge the Government to promote clear actions to prevent violence against minors and women, abounding in effective measures to establish preventive mechanisms that solve these social ills.
We hope that the New Constitution that will govern Chile incorporates these rights and respects children and minorities who are discriminated against in our country. We call on all communities of Faith to unite in prayer and in demanding effective measures so that this type of cruelty does not happen again. We know that our pain and indignation will not change the suffering of Camilo Catrillanca's family and daughter, therefore: We do record our deep solidarity in the face of his pain. Signed: Susana Alvarez, Tachi Arriola Iglesias, María Elena Arango, César Beltrán, Mauricio Castillo, Nicolle Carrillo, Luis Castro Ampuero, Marcos Corona, Josué Fonseca, Verónica Flachier, Mauricio González, Josaphat Jarpa, Sergio Jeria, Humberto Lagos, Edwin López, José Ignacio López Vigil, David Limo, Lorenzo Martínez, Rodrigo Muñoz, Jorge Navarrete, Rubén Pavez, David Parra, Rolando Pérez, Danisa Retamales, Prosperina Retamales, Víctor Rey, Jaqueline Reyes, Danica Roki, Pablo Rivera, Magali Salcedo, Mayra Soria, Miguel Toscano, Luis Torres, Lucerina Vargas, Jaime Vejar, Francisco Villalobos, Hernán Zapata.
Santiago de Chile January 15, 2021
