Ma’u Henua Informs

Ma’u Henua Informs

Ma’u Henua Informs

Government pressure to modify the Contract of Concession of the Park.

November 23, 2017 will be remembered as an historic day for the Rapanui people. The nation of Chile, through the government of the then-President Michelle Bachelet, signed Decree 119 of the Ministry of National Properties, turning over the administration of the Rapa Nui National Park to the Polynesian Indigenous Community Ma´u Henua, with the following declaration:  “Today we sign a decree which delivers the concession of the Park for a period of 50 years. It is the next step, following the experience of co-administration that has been developing over the last year and which has shown very good results.  And I wish to congratulate you, for the increase in the collection of entry fees and the advance on the very important projects of archaeological restoration.”

 

Today that Contract of Concession of the Rapa Nui Park is at risk.  The public controversies that have arisen within the Island community around the administration of the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community have left an opening for a fictitious need on the part of the central government to modify the Contract of Concession. The out-going board of the Commission for Development of Isla de Pascua (CODEIPA) was charged with drawing up the contractual changes and has presented a preliminary proposal including the following points.

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1.- The Ministry of National Properties will control and audit the annual Management Plan of the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community. In addition, it will have the faculty of applying provisional suspensions to the Board of Directors and to designate a governmental organization as its replacement.

 

                2.- The Commission for Development will have the attributes of approving and controlling the annual Plan of Operations and the presentation of the accounting of Ma’u Henua, which must correspond to the system of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile, which will set the norms for its procedures.  

 

                3.- Ma’u Henua must respect the current Chilean legislation and regulation related to the administration of the Park, which is considered national property by the Government. It must obtain official permissions to make investments and respect the functions and legal attributes of those governmental organizations which exercise functions within the Park (National Properties, CONAF, Monuments Council and CODEIPA).

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The government is in error with this, as it overlooks the idiosyncrasy of the Rapanui people and the importance of family ties. According to Chilean law, the governmental organizations on Rapa Nui, such as CONAF, Ministry of Lands, CODEIPA, and even CONADI, cannot audit the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community because they all have familial ties with it.

 

Clearly, this change is a retreat in the process of delegating autonomy to the Rapanui people.  Today, the central government, through the Provincial Governor, is pressuring the board of the community to sign. “We’ll let you finish your term tranquilly to August of 2020, but you must sign the change to the Contract of Concession.”

 

The formation of the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community and the signing of the Contract of Concession of the Park for 50 years are considered advances in recognizing historical truths and in the new arrangements between the nation of Chile and the Rapanui people. We hope that the Rapanui people and the newly elected Board of Directors of CODEIPA will demand a vote on the acceptance or rejection of the modification of this Contract of Concession originally signed by President Bachelet.

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