The tranquility of Easter Island in the South Pacific was shattered last week when Chilean police evicted local citizens, who have sought the return of control of their ancestral lands. Protesters have occupied more than a dozen properties, including a hotel, since July 27 that they claim sits atop territory seized from their people generations ago. They say that Chile is planning to develop the properties to deal with increased tourism. On December 3, police forcefully removed the squatters using rubber bullets, buckshot and batons, resulting in 25 injuries. Authorities insisted the police fired on the protestors only after they came under attacks involving Molotov cocktails.

 

Easter Island, known to its indigenous population as Rapa Nui, is famous for its monumental stone statues. With a population of less than 5,000, the island is one of the most isolated in the world. It lies 2,180 miles west of South America, and its nearest inhabited neighbor, Pitcairn Island (population: 50), is 1,289 miles away. Easter Island was annexed by Chile in 1888. In 1979, the Chilean government decreed that non-indigenous people would be allowed to own land on the island.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Easter Islanders' Battle for Their Ancestral Land Ends in Bloodshed (France 24)

Easter Island Land Dispute Clashes Leave Dozens Injured (BBC News)

Rapanui (Easter Island) under Fire by Chilean Troops (Save Rapanui)

Public Statement by Amnesty International (pdf)