12 Jan 2011

17 Rapa Nui to appear in court over Easter Island occupations

3:23 pm on 12 January 2011

Reports from Chile say 17 Rapa Nui have been summoned to appear in the Easter Island court for having seized a luxury hotel complex.

The La Tercera newspaper says the members of the Hito clan occupied the Hanga Roa Hotel on August the 1st as part of a campaign to have ancestral land returned.

The court appearance is scheduled for Thursday local time amid attempts by the Rapa Nui to have the judge disqualified from hearing the case.

Meanwhile reports say the last occupations, which in some cases have lasted several months, have now ended.

Special forces sent from Chile dislodged the Rapa Nui from some premises while others were vacated voluntarily.

Several international organisations have expressed concern at the violence used to dislodge the Rapa Nui.