Chile: Arson attack at the University of Concepcion Oct. 22

Event

A group of armed men launched an arson attack on the campus of the University of Concepcion early Oct. 22, burning at least two vehicles and damaging a building associated with the university's Department of Forestry Sciences. A banner demanding the immediate demilitarization of the indigenous Mapuche homeland and accusing the university of collaborating with forestry companies was found near the scene of the attack.

Context

While radical groups that claim to defend ancestral Mapuche lands often launch arson attacks on the forestry industry in Bio-Bio Region, such attacks usually take place along rural roads in remote areas of the region, rather than in the city of Concepcion. The targeting of forestry assets owned by a university, rather than machinery owned by a private company, also differs from the usual modus operandi seen in the region. The banner left by the assailants also differs from the usual pamphlets left at attacks perpetrated by armed groups such as Organs of Territorial Resistance (Organos de Resistencia Territorial, ORT). While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, it is possible that it was conducted by university students who sympathize with larger Mapuche groups, rather than by the groups themselves.