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Article: A Hunger Striker Becomes Chile's Conscience
- Article from:
- NACLA Report on the Americas
- Article date:
- March 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright North American Congress on Latin America Mar/Apr 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ON JANUARY 28, PATRICIA TRONCOSO, A prisoner hospitalized in the city of Chilian, in southern Chile, ended her hunger strike of 111 days. Thanks to mediation by the church and to the national and international support she received, Troncoso was given the chance to submit her handwritten demands directly to the government, which finally accepted her terms. Together with four Mapuche activists, Troncoso, 37, a former theology professor, was convicted in 2004 of "terrorist arson" under the Pinochet-era Law 18314, known as "the anti-terrorist law." They were accused of setting fire in 2001 to the 250-acre Poluco Pidenco pine tree farm, owned by Forestal Mininco, a major Chilean lumber company.
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