Weekly Report - 10 February 2011 (WR-11-06)

The most remote island in the world is suddenly feeling closer to home for Chile's President Sebastián Piñera. Easter Island, located 2,300 miles from the Chilean mainland, rarely makes the political agenda in Santiago: it is simply recognised as an important tourism destination for Chile. But this is changing. The success of Chile's indigenous Mapuche at attracting international attention to its struggle for the recovery of “ancestral lands" in the southern region of Araucaní­a has inspired the 3,200 aboriginal Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, or Te pito te Henua, 'navel of the world', to make similar demands - and, crucially, to resort to land occupation.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 363 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial