© Courtesy of Gobierno de Chile.President Sebastian Piñera
A fire which has claimed the lives of seven firefighters near Carahue in Chile's Araucanía Region was deliberately lit and exhibits conduct of a "terrorist nature," President Sebastian Piñera said late Thursday.
The announcement paves the way for the use of a controversial anti-terrorism law to prosecute suspects. Under the law, which has often been used to prosecute indigenous Mapuche activists, defendants enjoy fewer due process safeguards and face possible jail sentences between five and 20 years.
Chile's Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter echoed the president's position.
"There are indications that (the fire was lit intentionally) here, and that is why we're invoking the anti-terrorism law," he said.
Hinzpeter also suggested that the Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, a militant Mapuche organization known for arson in its ongoing attempts to recover territory traditionally belonging to the indigenous group, was responsible for the fire.
"CAM, I understand, claimed responsibility for an attack against a helicopter (in the Araucanía Region) which was used to put out fires, and not long after there were many fires. The pieces are finally starting to come together," he said.
The government's explanation for the fire appeared to contradict that given by local firefighting authorities, who said it resulted from burning wood to make charcoal. But Hinzpeter later said that they were talking about two different fires, and his statements were supported by the governor of the Araucanía Region, Andrés Molina.
"These are two separate fires. There's one in the Laureles zone, of Carahue, which is closer to the town and the houses, and that is where charcoal is produced. We have been fighting the fire there a week. But this is a forest fire ... where there are practically no houses, except the closest point of the Tirúa zone," Molina told the 24 Horas television channel.
The Mininco Forestry Corporation likewise claimed the fire had been deliberately lit, citing 50 focal points to the fire which could not have coincided by accident.
Chile's national prosecutor, Sabas Chahuán, called for caution in describing the fires as intentional, saying that such a claim could not be substantiated until proper investigations had been carried out.
Pedro Cayuqueo, in an opinion piece for Chilean digital daily El Mostrador, ridiculed the theory that Mapuches were behind the fire.
"What everyone in Carahue (believes) is a typical seasonal fire that tragically got out of hand, is for Hinzpeter the result of an orchestrated plan of Mapuche terrorism. What everyone in Carahue (thinks) began with the negligent actions of mountain farmers that make a living from the production (legal and illegal) of charcoal, Hinzpeter saw as the actions of terrorist cells with unforeseen regional ramifications," he said.
Fires are currently burning throughout the Maule, Bío-Bío and Araucanía regions of Chile. Another fire recently swept through Chilean national park Torres del Paine in Patagonia.
Michael Andrews grew up in Sydney, Australia and has lived in countries as diverse as Sweden and Mexico. Before leaving Australia he worked as a copy editor, research assistant and teacher in tertiary education. He lives in Chile for personal reasons (hallullas and marraquetas).
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