World Association of Community Radio expresses solidarity with people of Chile

(Image from indymedia chile which is providing very good coverage)

AMARC expresses solidarity with those affected by the Chile earthquake

Montreal, 1 March, 2010. AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, expresses its solidarity with the people of Chile and its condolences to those who have lost family and friends in the earthquake of 27 February 2010. Steve Buckley, President of AMARC, said: "We are shocked to hear news of another devastating earthquake in the Americas. We stand ready to assist in any way possible."

AMARC's Latin America and Caribbean regional office (AMARC-ALC) is leading AMARC's international response, working with AMARC's country representative and members in Chile. Chile has an extensive network of community radio stations throughout the country many of which are members of AMARC. Most of the stations remain on air and are providing news and advice.

Maria Pia Matta of Radio Tierra, Santiago, and Vice President of AMARC for the Latin America and Caribbean region, reported that the destruction had been greatest in the South of the country. The worst situation is in Concepción, in the Juan Fernandez Island, but most of
all in the El Maule Region. Radio Tierra remains on the air in Santiago and is carrying updates on FM and the Internet.

Natacha Gomez Barahona of La Radioneta and AMARC Country Representative, reported that community radios in Valparaiso and the surrounding region had not been badly affected but electricity supply had been unstable, hampering access to news media and communications.

A first priority for AMARC-ALC and the community radio sector in Chile is to assess the status of community radios and their staff in the most severely affected regions - Maule and Biobio. It has been difficult to obtain accurate information due to the collapse of the local electricity and communications infrastructure. Some of the worst hit communities are also in isolated and hard to reach locations. AMARC is prepared to mobilise practical solidarity and assistance where this is most needed.

Further information:

International Focal Point
Ernesto Lamas, Regional Coordinator
AMARC-Latin America and Caribbean
Email: elamas@rcc.com.ar elamas@rcc.com.ar>
Tel: +54 1148673806 / +54 1148657554

Country Focal Point
AMARC Country Representative - Chile
Natacha Gomez Barahona, Director
La Radioneta 88.9fm Valparaiso
Email: info@laradioneta.cl info@laradioneta.cl>
Tel: +56 93440988
http://www.laradioneta.cl <http://www.laradioneta.cl/>

Other contacts
Maria Pia Matta, AMARC Vice President
Radio Tierra, Santiago de Chile
Email: mattacerna@gmail.com mattacerna@gmail.com>
http://www.radiotierra.cl/

Marcelo Solervicens, Secretary General
AMARC International
Email: secgen@si.amarc.org secgen@si.amarc.org>
http://www.amarc.org

AMARC expresa su solidaridad con los damnificados del terremoto en Chile
*
Montréal, 1 de marzo de 2010. AMARC, la Asociación Mundial de Radios
Comunitarias, expresa su solidaridad con el pueblo chileno y sus
condolencias a quienes han perdido familiares y amigos en el terremoto
del 27 de febrero de 2010. Steve Buckley, Presidente de AMARC, dijo:
"Estamos impactados al escuchar noticias de otro terremoto devastador en
las Américas. Estamos alertas para ayudar a como dé lugar."

La oficina regional de AMARC América Latina y el caribe (AMARC-LAC)
coordina la respuesta internacional de AMARC, trabajando con el
representante de país y los miembros de AMARC en Chile. Chile tiene una
extensa red de radios comunitarias en todo el país, muchas de las cuales
son miembros de AMARC. La mayoría de las radios siguen transmitiendo
noticias y consejos.

Maria Pia Matta de Radio Tierra, Santiago, y Vice Presidente of AMARC
para la region de América Latina y el caribe, informó que la destrucción
es mayor en Sur del País. La situación mas grave es en Concepción,
también en Isla Juan Fernandez, pero sobre todo en la región del Maule.
Radio Tierra está en ondas en Santiago y transmitiendo puestas al día en
FM y en el Internet.


Natacha Gomez Barahona de La Radioneta y Representante nacional de
AMARC, informó que las radios comunitarias en Valparaíso y sus
alrededores no han sido afectadas gravemente pero la inestabilidad del
suministro de electricidad limita Country Representative, reported that
community radios in Valparaiso and the surrounding regiosus capaciudades
de entregar noticias y comunicaciones.

La principal prioridad para AMARC-ALC y del sector de las radios
comunitarias en Chile, es de evaluar la situación de las radios y de sus
empleados en las regions más afectadas - Maule y Biobio. Ha sido difícil
obtener información apropiada debido al colapso de la infraestructira
eléctrica yde comunicaciones. Algunas de las comunidades más afectadas
también están en áreas aisladas y de difícil acceso. AMARC esta
preparada para movilizar solidaridad práctica y asistencia donde sea más
necesaria.

-30-

Para mayores informaciones:

Punto Focal Internacional
Ernesto Lamas, Coordinador Regional
AMARC-América Latina y el caribe
Email: elamas@rcc.com.ar elamas@rcc.com.ar>
Tel: +54 1148673806 / +54 1148657554

Punto focal de País
Representante nacional de AMARC - Chile
Natacha Gomez Barahona, Director
La Radioneta 88.9fm Valparaiso
Email: info@laradioneta.cl info@laradioneta.cl>
Tel: +56 93440988
http://www.laradioneta.cl <http://www.laradioneta.cl/>

Otros contactos
Maria Pia Matta, Vice presidente de AMARC
Radio Tierra, Santiago de Chile
Email: mattacerna@gmail.com mattacerna@gmail.com>
http://www.radiotierra.cl/

Marcelo Solervicens, Secretario General
AMARC Internacional
Email: secgen@si.amarc.org secgen@si.amarc.org>
http://www.amarc.org

L’AMARC exprime sa solidarité envers les victimes du tremblement de
terre au Chili

Montréal, le 1 mars, 2010. L’association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs
communautaires (AMARC) exprime sa solidarité avec le peuple chilien de
même que ses condoléances envers toutes et tous ceux qui ont perdu des
parents et des amis lors du remblement de terre du 27 février 2010.
Steve Buckley le président de l’AMARC a dit : « nous sommes en état de
choc devant les nouvelles sur un autre tremblement de terre desvastateur
dans les Amériques. Nous sommes prêts pour venir en aide au besoin ».

Le bureau régional de l’Amérique latine et les Caraïbes (AMARC-ALC) est
en train de coordonner la réponse internationale de l’AMARC, tout en
travaillant avec le représentant national et les membres de l’AMARC au
Chili. Le Chili a un réseau élargi de radios communautaires partout dans
le pays, la plupart d’entre elles sont des membres de l’AMARC. La
majorité des radios sont en train de diffuser des nouvelles et des avis.


Maria Pia Matta de Radio Tierra à Santiago, et Vice-présidente de
l’AMARC pour l’Amérique latine et les Caraïbes, a informée que la
destruction la plus important se trouve dans le Sud du pays. La
situation la plus serieuse est à Conception, également dans l’île Juan
Fernandez, mais surtout dans la région du Maule. Radio Tierra est en
ondes à Santiago et diffuse des mise à jour en FM et sur l’Internet.


Natacha Gomez Barahona de La Radioneta et représentante nationale de
l’AMARC, a reporté que les radios communautaires à Valparaiso
fonctionnent, mais qu’elles souffrent d’un accès defaillant à
l’électricité ce qui rend difficile la diffusuoin de nouvelles et les
communications.

La priorité de l’AMARC-ALC et du secteur des radios communautaires est
de faire tout d’abord une évaluation de la situation des radios et de
leurs employés dans les régions les plus affectées - Maule et Biobio. Il
a été très difficile jusqu’à maintenant obtenir des informations
appropriées, suite à l’effondrement de l’infrastructure de communication
et de l’électricité. De surcroit les communautés les plus affectées se
trouvent dans des zones isolées et d’accès difficile. L’AMARC est prête
à venir en aide au besoin.


-30-

Pour de plus amples informations:

Point focal international
Ernesto Lamas, Coordonnateur régional
AMARC-Amérique latine et les Caraïbes
Email: elamas@rcc.com.ar elamas@rcc.com.ar>
Tel: +54 1148673806 / +54 1148657554

Point focal au pays
Représentante nationale de L’AMARC au Chili
Natacha Gomez Barahona, Director
La Radioneta 88.9fm Valparaiso
Email: info@laradioneta.cl info@laradioneta.cl>
Tel: +56 93440988
http://www.laradioneta.cl <http://www.laradioneta.cl/>

Autres contacts
Maria Pia Matta, Vice-présidente de l’AMARC
Radio Tierra, Santiago de Chile
Email: mattacerna@gmail.com mattacerna@gmail.com>
http://www.radiotierra.cl/

Marcelo Solervicens, Secrétaire général
AMARC International
Email: secgen@si.amarc.org secgen@si.amarc.org>
http://www.amarc.org

_______________________________________________
Amarc-info mailing list
Amarc-info@lists.amarc.org
http://lists.amarc.org/mailman/listinfo/amarc-info

Letter from the Rancagua Prison, Chile

Elena Varela, filmmaker and director of the documentary Newen Mapuche sent a letter to cultural authorities and supporters of the film industry in Chile. Due to the events that have led to her arrest and to the fact that to this moment there is no public statement released by Elena, we find it adequate to circulate this letter to the national and international community:

CARCEL DE RANCAGUA, MAY 14, 2008.
To: Paulina Urrutia, Carolina Leiva, René Inostroza, Arturo Barrios, Leonardo Ordoñez (CORFO).
Consejo de la Cultura -CNCA (National Audiovisual Arts Council) and CORFO (Audiovisual Fund).
Dear Sirs,
I'm writing from this cold and sinister jail, where there are no trees, flowers, poetry, music or songs. A place where concrete and barbed wire have taken over. It's hard for me to begin to tell what is happening to me.

Years ago, since I began to realize that there were beautiful things in nature and created by man, I fell in love with music, poetry and film. But there are not just these lovely things in life. There is also injustice, there are sad histories in our humanity. There's a sector in Chile that has suffered and been punished, there's truth in other worlds, there are memories that are forgotten.

Over the last 10 years I fought for artistic education, to generate spaces of cultural engagement and expression. I founded the art school "Escuela de Todas Las Artes", the film collective "Cine Ojo Film", the children's orchestra "Orquesta Sinfónica de Niños de Panguipulli" and the media production company "Productora de Cine Ojo Film". I created many works and educated many children, youth and adults. I was the Education Coordinator in charge of culture in the town of Pucón and took on many other cultural projects.

In my work I've sought out the stories of social and political groups that have suffered violations of their human rights, or any other form of political, cultural or social process. My camera has seen all kinds of social actors and characters, some persecuted before, and some now.

Because I am a documentarian, a filmmaker and artist. Having been awarded funds from the Consejo de la Cultura [Arts Council of Chile, CNCA] and the Fondo Nacional Audiovisual [National Audiovisual Fund], in democracy, I believed that this would allow me to show other worlds, and that I really had this support. But here I am, persecuted, accused and arrested of charges I did not commit. What I've really done is research memory, which is the reason behind the struggle of many social groups, and I've carried this out with the assistance of many other professionals of the film world through CORFO and CNCA funds.

I have researched the conflict of the Mapuche people with the lumber companies and the state for four years, and it's been difficult; on one hand, I've exposed and opened myself to their thoughts and beliefs, to be able to narrate from their viewpoints and reasoning, which I believe I've comprehended. And on the other hand, there is the immense repression that has been thrown upon their social actors. In the midst of this, I've collected historic material and I've made a narrative film script to produce the film in question: "NEWEN MAPUCHE".

This project has had many steps in its development: first it was supported by CORFO in 2005. Today the film's trailer is posted on the CORFO website. I have faith in my artistic capacity so I also applied for funding from the Fondo Audiovisual, and was
backed by various accomplished professionals, documentary filmmakers and directors, so I know that garnering this support was achieved with great effort and perseverance, and love, of course.

However, now all my footage- an accumulation of stories, testimonies and histories taped throughout these years- has been seized by the Investigations Police, and is at risk of loss, exposing the many people I interviewed who have told me their stories and expressed their viewpoints, testimonies, or stories in these reels. All written material from the character and historical research in progress, all shoots and scripts, have also been confiscated by the Investigations Police, who have put on a media circus, offending my work and all filmmakers who have worked or continue to collaborate with me, accusing me of being a terrorist, an assailant, an ex-MIR militant, in addition to multiple other charges that I am facing. Because of all this, I have serious doubts as to the way and use that will be made of my historical narratives, since they are already being used against me to entangle me in a story that they have been unable to resolve.

My arrest has been sinister, just like those perpetrated by the CNI [secret police] in the dictatorship years; I've been interrogated, my family has been threatened, there has been a media montage demeaning my work as a documentary filmmaker.

My work attests to my talent and strong determination towards what I do. In addition, my technical team was also arrested in the darkest of manners, our production company occupied and searched, suffering damage and loss of many items. I have been isolated, without the right to read or see news among many other rights suppressed. Among the detainees, one of the women also happened to be a cultural worker, the Director of Culture of the town of Ercilla, whom I met in 2005 in an Arts Management Course offered by CNCA.

In addition, my other film, "Los Sueños Del Comandante", a documentary made with support from CORFO in 2006, which tells the story of the lumber company Complejo Maderero Panguipulli, the peasants worker's movement, the Death Caravan and the
revolutionary MIR guerilla of the eighties. All this work, all these taped interviews, have suffered the same fate; they have been seized by the Investigations Police of Chile.

All my audiovisual material, tapes, interviews, artwork- such as banners, posters and other items- as well as written material such as scripts, diaries, books, archival interviews of ex-political militants, Mapuche and others, including political prisoners and leaders have been siezed by the Investigations Police of Chile.

Dear Sirs, I appeal for your intervention in the task of safeguarding this filmic material and the memory comprised in these works, the safeguarding of their social actors and my freedom, because I find myself deprived of all rights and expression.
I also urge you to intervene for my rights as a filmmaker and artist, and to allow me to move forward with this film. I request the legal action Habeas corpus for those who participate in this project, including myself and my daughter América, who has also been threatened along with me on several occasions.

Along with this, I request the safeguarding of the filmic material, the return of all the reels, tapes, images, film and sound equipment that were seized, the art materials that have been misused to diminish this beautiful project and my work as a documentary filmmaker, such as toy guns, costumes, flags, banners, Mapuche jewelery, megaphones, cellular phones, still cameras, photographs, writings, scripts, research notes, resume information, invoices, receipts for all our materials and expenses, which have all been seized and are involved in this project.

In the name of artistic freedom and creative expression, I request my freedom. In the name of human dignity and everything achieved by artists striving for a more just society, I request my freedom and justice for what we have endured.

Sincerely, Elena Varela López
Documentary filmmaker. Company: Puelche Comunicaciones
Contact Email: puelche.comunicaciones@yahoo.es