Posts Tagged South America
Cristián Cancino from Santiago State Prison
Posted by illvox collective in General on August 24, 2009
Dear comrades,
This letter is principally in appreciation for all of the support that you´ve given me, in this so difficult situation for me. From here, from this cell, I make a call out to continue denouncing the violation of the bourgeois press, of the police and the whole device of the State, with their setups and persecutions against us, for the act of occupying spaces, solidarity with the prisoners and fighting for our ideas of freedom.
As for me, in the Santiago 1 State Prison, I´ve been received well by other inmates, I continue to wait for them to clarify the facts, and for the end to this lie, here I´ve seen all of the evil that goes on in the prisons of the rich, to us, the poor, the mistreatments, blows and insults from the pig policeman.
There are prisoners with mental problems, that being in this place they end up deteriorating their mind more. Here there are many people imprisoned for being poor, and they have been accused of crimes that they haven’t committed, in some cases they are increasing the charges unjustly with lies, but this creates much more hatred towards this prison system and, undoubtedly, it´s necessary to abolish it.Your browser may not support display of this image.
I say goodbye to all of you, hoping that this way of fight continues, that the fear, the set-ups and lies don´t paralyze us, on the contrary, continuing forward with more force, to face everything that may come.
A strong hug for all who support and are in solidarity in every activity and manifestation for my freedom and for all the prisoners.
No more government setups!
Prisoners to the street!
From the center of extermination, SANTIAGO 1 MODULO 35.
Translation of Cristián Cancino’s letter from Spanish to English by Ricardo Mancilla, Chile.
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Peru: Battle Lines Drawn Over the Amazon
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on June 10, 2009
By Guest Contributor Ben Powless, originally posted at rabble
(Above: Police arrive with heavy reinforcements to forcefully remove demonstrators PHOTO: Thomas Quirynen)
The rhetoric was sharp enough to cut down Amazonian hardwoods. Yesterday, Sunday June 7th, after a number of ministers had been paraded out Saturday and the day before, Peru’s el Señor Presidente, Alan Garcia decided to make it personal. After a joint police-military operation aimed at stopping an Indigenous protest had gone awry, leaving many dead on both sides, Garcia declared the Indigenous elements to be standing in the way of progress, in the path of national development, wrenches in the gears of modernity, and part of an international conspiracy to keep Peru down. In a troubling statement on the resemblance of the Indigenous protesters to the infamous Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) armed insurrection, Garcia seemed to imply the Natives were a band of terrorists as he stood in front of hundreds of military officers in a nationally televised speech. He continued to decry the Indian barbarity and savagery, and called for all police and military to stand against savagery.
Clearly, the battle lines were being drawn. Garcia demonstrated he is not about to allow anything to get in the way of “our development” of the oil and mineral resources the Amazon has to offer. Especially by a bunch of confused savages (his words) who are pawns to the international market and to Indian elites and therefore have no real reason to be resisting. At this point, it was obvious he thought nothing of the Indigenous cause, and what they actually stood for. There is too much money to be extracted from oil, from minerals, from logging, and from possible agriculture in the Amazon region, the 2nd largest stretch outside of Brazil. All on land with less than 200,000 Indigenous people. All now supposed to be open for business, as a result of a series of laws passed under the auspices of Free Trade Agreements signed with both Canada and the United States.
(Above: Indigenous protestors confront the police on the highway outside Bagua PHOTO: Thomas Quirynen)
All those who lost their lives – certainly more than the 30 or so officially cited – have in the end given their lives for these free trade agreements and their domestic implementation. After wresting a concession from Congress – a la Bush – Garcia was able to push through 99 changes to the law of Peru. A number of these were ruled unconstitutional later, one dealing with property law standing out. Indigenous groups disputed from the beginning that these laws threatened the integrity of the Amazon, its cultural and biological diversity. Since the beginning, they were ignored. Living up to their Amazonian warrior mythology, they decided to take action.
Protests have lasted now over 50 days, only recently erupting into bloodshed when Garcia suspended civil liberties, declared a state of emergency, and decided to send in the military to end the dispute. This was all done in the name of Garcia’s idea of ‘democracy,’ which should be farcical to anyone who has the least idea what democracy means. Indigenous groups have maintained they want to be included in this so-called democracy, meaning they have a say over what happens in their lands, and that their rights be respected. This is clearly within international law now, after the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was approved two years ago.
(Above: Police take away so called Indigenous ‘terrorist’ PHOTO: Thomas Quirynen)
The Declaration lays out provisions that clearly establish the rights to free, prior and informed consent over development projects in Indigenous territories, and the right to be involved in any decision making processes that would impact on Indigenous Peoples’ lands, resources or rights. Repeated demands have called for there to be dialogue with Indigenous groups. Garcia’s response? Yes, there has been dialogue – within the government, by elected officials. Obviously, this hasn’t done enough to safeguard the rights, the lives, and the livelihoods of Amazon peoples, and a number of the new laws have been shown to be unconstitutional. Indigenous leaders quickly condemned the tragic loss of lives as the fault of the government, who was not committed to dialogue, but arms. Even the ex-president has placed the blame on Garcia for not seeking dialogue with Indigenous representatives.
Lamentably, this whole situation could have easily been prevented, had the government cared enough about its own citizens’ lives and effective dialogue more than getting its own way. Instead, on Friday morning, police and military descended on an Indigenous encampment near the Amazonian towns of Bagua Chica and Bagua Grande. Reports from the ground contradict the government version, in which security forces, reluctant to use force, were ambushed and had to defend themselves with bombs, helicopters, and machine guns. Other reports establish that a private meeting was held between the military, the Indigenous leadership, and a local bishop, among others, the night before the violence. Indigenous groups were reportedly given until 10am to make a decision to leave or stay, and were guaranteed that nothing would happen until then. In response, many decided to go home. But the government apparently lied. The operation started around 6am.
Local sources instead claim they were sleeping, unarmed, when bullets were fired in their direction. When the police finally arrived to physically remove protesters, it was then that many police were disarmed, killed, or taken prisoner by the masses of protesters, probably numbering over 2,000 in days prior, now down to a few hundred. By now, the war had been declared, and wouldn’t stop well into the night as police and military continued in a violent sweep, ending up going into the towns and reportedly searching house by house in vengeance. Police entered with weapons of war against civilians. Now the military has been reported to be wearing civilian clothing to carry out what seems more and more to resemble a civil war. Families decry that they haven’t been allowed to enter the areas to search for missing family, or enter jails to visit and feed prisoners. All this done in a declared state of emergency, with many liberties and human rights withdrawn for local citizens.
Then came the outrage. But not by locals or Indigenous groups, though that was palpable. By the very same government who initiated the action. Their reports came out throughout the next day – a dozen security forces murdered in cold blood, maybe 3 Indians hurt. Now 24 police and military cruelly assassinated, about 9 Indians dead (no information how). The choice of words is translated from government pronouncements, and reflects their dim view of Indigenous deaths, despite many being civilians, with a few children among those murdered.
(Above: Battle continues in Bagua town PHOTO: AIDESEP)
On the other side, Indigenous groups reported at least 30 civilians and Natives were killed, but also that government officials had gone through lengths to disappear some of the bodies, a claim documented by Amazon Watch (see link below). Some AIDESEP members in the communities dispute that the number is much higher, closer to 100, including peasants and civilians. Video evidence clearly shows Natives armed only with spears against a tactical unit in one confrontation, and photos show police firing live weapons from the roofs, reportedly into crowds gathered below. A national newspaper even reported that one could clearly find pictures of more than a dozen Natives and civilians dead, online. No matter, the numbers had suddenly taken on a new importance.
This had been the worst episode of violence since the 90’s, so one might think the government might want to cut its losses and signal a shift towards more productive measures. Indeed, both sides could claim that they lost a number of lives, impetus to stop the bloodshed. Except that the war had already been declared, and may only be heating up. Hence the president’s fiery rhetoric, about how dare the savage Indians hurt our humble police, who didn’t want to raise their weapons. With their claim of nearly 30 deaths to the Indians’ 9 pushed them to call it a massacre (matanza, masacre) and seemed to pave the ethical and emotional road towards stronger retaliation, as all news channels were flooded with pictures of the soldiers bodies being flown out. The president of the ministers’ congress today appeared before congress and on national television to decry all the foreign news reports that fail to coincide with official numbers. Not only that, of course, these Natives were getting in the way of our development, of our modernity, denying us our basic human rights. Many of these government claims are thin disguises to misrepresent the Indigenous movement and its positions.
Take the issue of development. Indigenous communities have repeatedly said they aren’t against development, but it has to be a different kind of development, one more responsible. A reasonable claim, especially considering that the loss of the Amazon rainforest is one of the top drivers of climate change. On the issue of leadership and responsibility, the government has maintained that this was a top-down movement led by Alberto Pizango, president of AIDESEP, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, an Indigenous organization with representation from Amazon communities. This flies in the face of the history of the protest, which has literally involved thousands of communities, and shown itself to be led by local communities in their own decision making structures. The government has instead tried to pin the blame on Pizango as the main instigator, as a political agent of other parties or perhaps other countries, and a criminal mastermind who has tricked his followers into rallying against perfectly good legislation. They have gone so far as to issue a warrant for his arrest now, with many news reports hinting he has fled to Bolivia, and the Indigenous leadership have lost contact with him.
The other easily disputed claim is that this is an Indigenous movement uniquely, the implication being that this does not apply to anyone non-Indigenous, and others should repudiate the movement. It is well known in and around the Amazonian towns, however, that there have consistently been Mestizos, those of mixed race who make a slim majority of Peruvians, as part of the movement. In recent days reportedly a number of disenfranchised army reservists also decided to join the Indigenous cause. Looking at the protests in and around Bagua, it can clearly be seen that as many as half the protesters were not Indigenous, but were there in support. Also in the past, it has been a number of labour unions and farmer groups that have participated in national strikes, concerned over the same free trade agreements as Amazon communities. The implications here are critical, though, and seem to seek a precedent in declaring the Indigenous movement to be a criminal, or even terrorist, movement and outlaw their activities, organizations, and politics.
What comes next? On the Indigenous side, there have been calls for a national strike on Thursday, the 11th. In this case, many labour groups have been involved from the beginning, so it remains to be seen whether this will go farther than strikes in the past, which have shut down vital transportation and oil infrastructure, as well as Machu Picchu, the main tourist destination of Peru. Indigenous leaders have said, however, their protest will continue until they are able to renegotiate the controversial laws. On the government side, we can only wait and hope for the best. If the inflamed words and rallying of the troops are any indication, however, they may be getting ready to try and strike down harder on the Indigenous movement sooner rather than later. Reports have come in that Special Forces have been seen in the area. All this may spell out more bloodshed in the name of democracy. However, they are also acutely aware they are under the international microscope right now, despite the lack of substantial media reporting about the situation here in Peru.
And that may be where hope rests. This is a critical moment, as the government plans its next steps. There needs to be a strong international focus on Peru, to let them know they cannot get away with more human rights abuses. Already, protests are planned across the United States, with more in planning in Canada. Letters have been sent to the government and to representatives at embassies around the world. AIDESEP has called for a national inquiry into the events of Bagua and the deaths. They have also issued a request for an international observer committee to come and be witnesses to the situation. A national strike is planned for this Thursday, with participation from diverse groups, calling for resolution to the situation and the resignation of Alan Garcia. AIDESEP is also collecting funds to aid in its work and support observers to get into the region.
A curfew has been imposed. Amazonian towns have been militarized. AIDESEP officials are in communication with the communities that there are many missing, many presumed dead. The government has begun persecuting and threatening jail for Indigenous leaders, while the leaders have said they are ready to go to jail to defend their rights. The fear is growing that the government is trying to build support to further repress Indigenous groups. This is not a path to peace and reconciliation.
For now, the protests will continue. If we are serious about safeguarding the human rights of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, we need to act now. The violent repression of Indigenous protests and the loss of civil liberties must come to an end. If we want to protect and preserve the Amazon, and its bio-cultural diversity, especially in the face of climate change, there is no better protection than keeping it under the control of those who have maintained it forever. The free trade laws that open up the Amazon to logging, mining, oil and agroindustry must be suspended. Indigenous Peoples’ rights – to self-determination, to their lands and resources, to their lives – must be protected and guaranteed. If we are to stop other atrocities and bloodshed, the battle line must be withdrawn, immediately, and there must be dialogue.
For up-to-date information and planned actions: http://peruanista.blogspot.com/
So far actions are planned in Canada, the US, Australia, India and more.
Website of AIDESEP: Aidesep, pueblos indígenas amazónicos del Peru | Portada
Donations can be made to “SOLIDARIDAD AIDESEP”, at
Bank Name: Banco de Crédito del Perú
Account number: 193-1070011-1-01
Account name: AIDESEP-VARIOS
Swift Code: BCPLPEPL
Address: Jr. Lampa 499, Cercado de Lima, Peru
Peruvian news network, with many (shocking) videos: http://enlacenacional.com/
Collection of actions to take and media sources: http://beckermanlegal.com/Peru.htm
In depth analysis of the situation: https://nacla.org/node/5879
AmazonWatch investigates disposed bodies: http://www.amazonwatch.org/newsroom/view_news.php?id=1843
Send a letter to Peruvian officials: Calm at the Center of the Storm: Reporting from the Amazonian Peoples’ Headquarters in Lima | rabble.ca
More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/powless/sets/72157619320374511/
Democracy Now! Report: http://intercontinentalcry.org/democracy-now-reports-on-bagua-massacre/
News Report from Australia: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/08/2592391.htm?section=world
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Solidarity with the Struggle of the Amazonian Peoples of Peru!
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on June 10, 2009
Monday June 08, 2009 13:25 International Libertarian Declaration
We ask our libertarian comrades to organise mobilisations and demonstrations outside Peruvian embassies in every country, in coordination with other sectors in struggle, in order to denounce the actions of the State and the multinationals in this country. [Castellano] [Italiano] [Français]
International Libertarian Declaration
The following statement is an international libertarian solidarity initiative with the indigenous and Amazonian peoples of Peru, in their struggle for the defence of their lands and their ancestral culture. These lands and this culture are being violated and threatened by the Peruvian government in alliance with Imperialism, the multinationals and the Right (mainly the APRA – Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana, Unidad Nacional and Fujimorism), through unconstitutional Executive Orders, in the context of Peru’s signing of the NAFTA agreement with the USA. The Unión Socialista Libertaria calls on anarchist, libertarian and other similar organisations throughout the world to sign this document, adopt it as their own and publicize its contents online, on mailing lists, in magazines, newspapers, bulletins, statements, murals, forums, public cultural and political events, and so on, with the aim of establishing a clear libertarian, militant position on what is taking place in Peru.
We thus ask our libertarian comrades to organise mobilisations and demonstrations outside Peruvian embassies in every country, in coordination with other sectors in struggle, in order to denounce the actions of the State and the multinationals in this country.
We have faith in the solidarity that typifies us as libertarian revolutionaries, that we can make common cause with our indigenous brothers and let them know they are not alone, that their struggles are our struggles, until such times as we can make a true society of full freedom, autonomy and human progress, without exploited or exploiters.
Solidarity with the Struggle of the Amazonian Peoples of Peru!
The Amazonian and indigenous communities of the Peruvian jungle (especially in Loreto, San Martín, Amazonas, Ucayali, Huánuco, Cuzco and Madre de Dios) are once again sounding their war drums of struggle and resistance against the onslaught of the neoliberal economic model supported by the Peruvian government (with the Aprista party at its head). They have launched a call to popular rebellion through an Indefinite Popular General Strike which has been going on with mass participation since 9th April this year. They have thus been on the war foot now for over 50 days, a clear example of their valour, their organisation and their heroism.This intense process of indigenous and Amazonian struggle has come about because the Peruvian State, in contravention of its own international treaties, is systematically violating the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Convention (Convention No.169) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which provides for obligatory consultation in advance with indigenous peoples on any planned intervention on their lands, through the appropriate community bodies.
In other words, the Aprista government has begun (or rather, has recommenced) a new campaign of stealing and selling off to the best multinational offer, lands which tradition and history have placed in the hands of all the communities (Wajún-Wampis, Kichuas, Arabelas, Huaronis, Pananujuris, Achuar, Murunahus, or Chitonahuas, Cacataibos, Matsés, Candoshis, Shawis, Cocama-Cocamilla, Machiguengas, Yines, Asháninkas, Yaneshas and others, including the “uncontacted” peoples), who today are demanding their right to exist and to resist.
The role of the Peruvian State
Law No.20653, the General Law on Native Communities, which was passed by General Juan Velasco Alvarado’s military regime in June 1974, recognised the “legal existence and juridical identity of the indigenous Amazonian people and their territories, declaring them to be inalienable, indefeasible and inviolable”. This was confirmed in the 1979 Constitution. However, it was removed at the strike of a pen by the Fujimori Constitution of 1993, to open the way for dispossession and plundering by successive governments, opening the door to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and becoming law following the Executive Orders of the second Aprista government.We must not forget the fact that with Fujimori’s 1993 Constitution the door was left open for the plundering of resources, as mentioned above. So it is clear that work has already begun to suffocate and isolate the communities, for the greed of the multinationals in gaining concessions for oil, gas, mining, tourism and logging in areas traditionally belonging to the peoples living there.
In other words, it paved the way for the State to declare the lands of the native peoples “negotiable, in accordance with the market economy” by means of executive orders, thus bypassing the legislature (Parliament).
Once again, the Peruvian State has shown itself to be an instrument of domination and exploitation in the hands of the exploiting classes of this country, who are seeking to continue to expropriate not only the political rights but also the resources of our indigenous (native) peoples, who are now rising up in revolt against the oppressor power.
As libertarian communists, we declare that the native communities’ right to free self-determination is the exercising of popular power, as it is based on communitarian principles, the utilization and collective use of natural resources, and on those forms of work and collective benefit that they have traditionally preserved in the Amazon, home to 31 of the 114 world ecosystems, 95% of the country’s forests and an important potential water and water-powered energy resource.
The struggle of the indigenous people of the Abya Yala
In the context of the Indigenous Popular General Strike, there was an important meeting of native Andean communities in one of Peru’s southern regions, Puno. This encounter was called the 4th Continental Summit of the Indigenous Peoples and Nations of the Abya Yala and came to a conclusion Sunday last, 31st May), with a unanimous agreement to respect the mother earth and its natural resources for the benefit of human beings, a strong rejection of the privatisation of water, the presence of multinational corporations and the neoliberal economic model.All of this was included in the “Declaration of Mama Quta Titikaka” (Lake Titicaca, on the Peruvian-Bolivian border), in which there was agreement to mobilise the various social and indigenous organisations in June, in defence of the Amazonian peoples, as was a call for marches and protests outside Peruvian embassies in every country.
It is important in itself to emphasise the nature of this indigenous summit, which is essentially self-managed, the sort of organisation promoted by libertarian militants. In its Concluding Recommendations, it called for “the construction of Plurinational Peoples’ Communities, based on self-government and the free determination of every people”.
Likewise, it denounced the efforts of the official press which is dedicated to misinforming, misrepresenting or hiding the just means that are being attacked in the Peruvian jungle, in collusion with the current neo-liberal government and its leaders – Alan García; the vice-president and retired admiral responsible for the prison massacres during the first Aprista government of the 1980s, Luis Giampietri; the prime minister, Yehude Simon, previously a left-wing leader who had even been imprisoned for his beliefs and who is now the faithful guardian of the Aprista reaction.
It is clear to see that for the bourgeoisie that controls the State under imperialist orders, the path lies through the dispossession of the communities. It is at the same time a plan to destroy their type of social organisation and the relationship that links them to their land, a relationship that in essence clashes with the Western understanding of property and is therefore a brake on the voracity of multinational Capital which is trying to take root in these zones, usurping them in alliance with the State and turning them into fiefdoms in order to guarantee the exploiters’ prosperity and domination.
President Alan García is lying “subtly” when he says that of the 63 million hectares of Peruvian jungle, only 12 million belongs to the Amazonian communities, when instead it is around 25 million, as confirmed by the leader and highest representative of the communities in struggle, Alberto Pizango, who has been accused of “endangering the common security and damaging public services” together with other indigenous leaders, Marcial Mudarra, brothers Saúl and Servando Puerta, Daniel Marzano and Teresita Antazu. Furthermore, Pizango has already been charged with “rebellion, sedition and other offences” by the Provincial Criminal Court in Lima and is facing a third charge from the Provincial Criminal Court in Utcubamba, Amazonas, for “disturbing the peace”.
It is clear that this series of charges and in general the judicial and political repressio0n is part of the State’s efforts to criminalise all popular protest and repress just social demands, negatively influencing public opinion by presenting our indigenous brothers and sisters of Peru as “mere vandals or savages, ignorant of the progress that globalisation brings”.
Therefore, as libertarians we believe that the struggle of the indigenous people, Amazonian and Andean, for the defence of their land, their way of organising themselves and their culture, is part of a minimum programme that involves the conquest of the demands of the peoples oppressed by the State, Capitalism and Imperialism.
This minimum platform should be based on the need for or the use of direct action in order to expel the multinationals from their lands. This is necessary in order to protect the integrity and sustainability of the region’s habitat and ecosystem – which, it should be remembered, is one of the “lungs” of the planet – and in order that there can be sustainable development and planned usage of the flora and fauna, on the basis of criteria established by the communities. Furthermore, there needs to be active self-defence of their lands, which must be restored to their original condition.
We thus believe that true, active solidarity with the indigenous and Amazonian peoples’ struggle will take the form of popular protest (agitation, propaganda, union-led strikes and popular strikes, direct action, etc.), to be incorporated into a general platform of struggle based on that of the native peoples.
Support the just protest of the Indigenous and Amazonian peoples
As libertarian communists who expect nothing from the State (other than its destruction), we sympathise with the struggle of the native peoples as an immediate part of a larger project for the liberation of all exploited people, and thus part of a wider strategy or maximum programme of social revolution.For this reason, we should support demands which in the short term serve to improve living conditions and to enhance their social, political and economic organisation with the aim of facing up to the exploiter State and destroying it from within, building those kernels of popular power which will bring down the giant with the feet of clay that is Capitalism, mortally wounded at a global level by a global crisis from which it cannot recover if, as we want, it is the bourgeoisie that has to pay and not the workers.
We thus support the struggle of the Amazonian people and their various communities to seek immediate solutions, and we join the call to demand:
- Repeal of all laws that damage or violate the interests of Native and Rural Communities: repeal of Law No.29317, the Forestry & Wildlife law, which is the product of a forced and partial modification of Executive Order No.1090 (the “Jungle Law”) and the related orders 1089, 1064 and 1020. In other words, the 99 Orders that were imposed on the people without any consultation.
- Respect for the autonomy and self-determination of the native communities and their active political participation in the making of decisions. The final decision of whether or not to approve legal regulations or contracts for concessions must be made by means of direct-democratic mechanisms (popular assemblies, referendums, etc.).
- Benefits and facilities so that native communities or peoples can develop their productive, commercial and industrial activities, with the prospect of direct control over these processes by the people themselves, based on the principles of self-management and socialisation.
- Benefits and facilities for the commencement and promotion of education and culture within the communities (by them and for them). More schools and qualified teachers to promote the education of native students. In other words, the development of a rational, high-quality educational system without those competitive, voracious tendencies that the world capitalist market demands.
- Greater benefit from oil and gas exploration and extraction to devolve to the native peoples, together with the building of hospitals, roads and all the necessary infrastructure, provided it is approved by the people themselves, managed by the communities themselves through mechanism giving them full control over their administration.
- An immediate cessation of the campaign of criminalising protest that the Aprista government and the Peruvian Right has embarked on, together with an end to the harassment of social activists and the other psychological means diverting attention from the country’s social problems.
Internationalist solidarity with the struggle of the Amazonian peoples in Peru!
Immediate repeal of the Executive Orders that violate the sovereignty of the indigenous peoples!
For the freedom and defence of the thought, culture and self-determination of all the world’s peoples!
Against the authoritarianism of the State, organise and struggle from below!
Down with NAFTA and other capitalist trade agreements!
Imperialist multinationals and American military bases out of Latin America!
Stop the criminalisation of protest; immediate release for those arrested in the struggle!
Long live the heroic struggles of the indigenous peoples of the Abya Yala!
We are all Amazonians!
Long live those who struggle!
Lima, 5 June 2009Signatories:
1. Unión Socialista Libertaria (Lima, Peru)
2. Red Libertaria Popular Mateo Kramer (Colombia)
3. Periódico Barrikada (Uruguay)
4. Convergencia Anarquista Específica (Chile)
5. Corriente Acción Libertaria (Chile)
6. Huancayo Rebelde (Huancayo, Peru)
7. Centro de Estudios Sociales Manuel González Prada (Huancayo, Peru)
8. Columna Libertaria Joaquín Penina (Argentina)
9. Organisation Communiste Libertaire (France)
10. Asociación Obrera de Canarias / Ēššer Ămăhlan n Təkanaren (Canary Islands, Africa)
11. Frente de Estudiantes Libertarios (Chile)
12. Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Italy)
13.- Ateneo Autónomo de Contracultura y Estudios “La Libertaria” (Venezuela)
14.- Red Libertaria (Argentina)
15.- Antorcha Libertaria (Colombia)
16.- Revista libertaria Divergences (Belgium)
17.- Colectivo de comunicación y agitación popular “Mecha” (Colombia)
18.- Colectivo ReXiste Riot Grrrl (Colombia)
19.- Estrategia Libertaria (Chile)
20.- Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (Uruguay)
21.- Organización Socialista Libertaria (Argentina)
22.- Organización Comunista Libertaria (Chile)
23.- Colectivo Agitación Libertaria (Chile)
24.- The Anarchist International (…)
25.- Espacio Libertario (Argentina)
26.- Kolectivo Utopía Ácrata Libertario (Argentina)
27.- Colectivo ResGestae (Colombia)
28.- Federation Anarchiste (France/Belgium)
29.- Colectivo Qespikay (Cusco, Peru)
30.- Periódico Anarquista “El Surco” (Chile)
31.- Buffalo Class Action (USA)Translation by FdCA International Relations Office
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Up to 100 Dead in Amazon Clashes
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on June 10, 2009
Posted
Updated
Many Peruvians – not just Indigenous – are upset by plans to open land in Peru’s Amazon region to oil, gas and mineral exploration (User submitted: Ben Powless)
Peru military crack down on Indigenous ‘terrorists’ (User submitted: Thomas Quirynen)
Up to 100 Amazon natives have been killed after Friday’s military crackdown on protesters in Peru and the situation is expected to worsen, says a Canadian Indigenous rights activist.
Twenty-two-year-old Ben Powless is working alongside Peru’s national organisation of Amazon Indigenous people, AIDESEP, and fears more lives will be lost, with the government now labelling protesters as “terrorists”.
Many Peruvians – not just Indigenous – are upset by plans to open land in Peru’s Amazon region to oil, gas and mineral exploration, even though much of the land is officially protected.
The Government has recently signed a number of free trade agreements with the United States and Canada, seeking to change domestic laws and encourage foreign investment in the Amazon.
The Government has declared a state of emergency in some Amazon regions, suspending constitutional rights in the areas.
Mr Powless says Government reports are portraying the situation incorrectly.
“What we’ve been hearing from some of the communities is that a lot of the death tolls and the number of people hurt or injured are dramatically different from the Government figures, which put it as low as three to nine Indigenous people who have been killed,” he said.
“But we have heard from some representatives on the ground that there may be as many as 100 people murdered.
“There was an active attempt by the Government here to portray it as a massacre of policemen who went into an area and were killed on their job, when in reality, native participants were sitting in blockades early in the morning [on Friday] when the police attacked.”
Mr Powless says the Government is controlling information on the unfolding events.
“There is a lack of information about what’s going on,” he said.
“A lot of reports aren’t making it out of the communities, the Government has a near monopoly on being able to get their own message out about the situation and convene press conferences, and I have not been able to go into the Amazon region yet as the military has taken control and restricted access.”
He says a group of Indigenous leaders in Lima, Peru’s capital, are planning to go to the Amazon region on Tuesday – and Mr Powless intends to accompany them.
National strike
He says Friday and Saturday’s deadly conflicts appear to have settled down, but more unrest is expected on Thursday when a national strike, called for by Indigenous organisations and unions, will be carried out.
“Today what we’ve been told is that some Indigenous groups have taken over one of the oil refineries as well as one of the airports in one of the regions,” he said.
“The military is basically walking around armed, patrolling, just trying to keep people out of the streets.
“The situation seems pretty calm but if the strike is anything like in the past, it’s been able to successfully shut down roads, restrict all access to Machu Picchu by train – which is the major cultural and tourist destination here – shut down airports, oil refineries and other major areas of transportation.”
Mr Powless says strikers will call for the dismissal of Peruvian President Alan Garcia over his response to the crisis and urge him to take responsibility for the deaths that have occurred as a result of the heavy-handed military action.
Human rights abuses
In the long-term, he says the issue is one of Indigenous rights and liberties.
“The Indigenous groups here, especially in the Amazon region, are fearing for control of their livelihoods and really fighting for control of the land they have lived on, and that they have lived on forever,” he said.
“Any development anywhere usually has to take into consideration the people who live there and who would be impacted – this is something that has been established by the United Nations and the recent UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
Ultimately, Mr Powless says achieving this would mean a renegotiation of the laws, which have been pushed through the Government without any oversight from the Indigenous people.
Indigenous ‘terrorists’
However, Mr Powless says he is not optimistic, particularly due to Government attempts to paint Indigenous protesters as terrorists.
“In the context of a country that has been fighting an insurgent group for over 20 years now and they have a long history of dealing with what they consider terrorism in a very violent, militarised means, for them to start coming out and calling the Indigenous groups here terrorists seems to suggest that they’re preparing to respond to them with more military means,” he said.
“Without serious pressure coming nationally and internationally, letting the government know that they can’t commit human rights abuses anymore, and without people saying that there needs to be negotiation and that they can’t just go in with the military and stop people’s legitimate protests, then I’m not really convinced that the Government is going to step down.”
Mr Powless says this is the biggest incident the Peruvian Amazon has seen in the modern era.
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