Chile: Churches targeted in Mapuche communities

According to the news platform Cooperatival reporting on 6 June 2017, a Catholic church in the indigenous Mapuche community Temucuicui was destroyed in an arson attack. Witnesses saw suspected Mapuche militants pouring petrol in preparation for the attack. There have been well over 20 churches attacked in this way in recent years (Open Doors Analytical, 1 September 2016). Rossana Ramirez, working for World Watch Research, gives some background information: "Attacks on Christians in the Mapuche territories are increasing. Mapuche communities are seeking greater autonomy and the recovery of ancestral land in Chile. In the official negotiations between Mapuche leaders and the government, representatives from the Roman Catholic Church are serving as mediators (see CNN Chile, 25 June 2017). However, the most radical Mapuches have come to regard both Catholic and Protestant churches as simply part of the state and a threat to their identity. By attacking churches they are also sending a clear message to Mapuche converts about how they too should be fighting against the selfish interests of the state."