Argentina: Campesino land taken by force

Intercontinental Cry

Campesinos are demanding recognition of their rights and calling for an end to logging and violence after a family was violently evicted from their land, two weeks ago, in the Argenine Province of Juyjuy.
According to a statement from the family, employees from the company KRAM SA, which is owned by a relative of the Argentine Ambassador to Bolivia, illegally evicted them to make way for a new transgenic soy plantation on their land.
During the eviction, Gloria Mamani, an 80 year-old Campesino (farmer), was beaten and dragged across the ground.
Gloria’s son, Juan Mamani, tried to stop the employees from carrying out the eviction by firing a warning shot into the air. However, police from the nearby town of Palma Sola were called in. “Instead of defending the lawful owners of the land,” the police arrested Juan; Gloria; Gloria’s husband; and Armando Ortega, Juan’s Uncle.
The four family members were all later released: Juan was held for a period of four days, until January 4; and the rest of the family was released the day after the eviction, on December 31.
“They killed our animals, they shot them[...], they disposed of the whole ranch of cattle, horses and goats, the pigs, they shot everything. They poison[ed] our water, we don’t have drinking water” says Gloria’s granddaughter. “We are trying to organize to see how we can stop them.”
The Mamani family, along with other Campesinos near Palma Sola in the Argentine province of Jujuy, also say the government’s land use plan, which approved the logging of 1,000 hectares in Juyjuy, is fraudulent because it was “enacted by decree of the provincial executive when it should have been made by the legislature by law.”
The government also failed to hold public hearings, and did not consult local stakeholders including Campesinos and Indigenous communities in the region.

Mexico must investigate torture of two peasant farmers

Amnesty International

28 October 2009

The Mexican authorities must carry out an impartial investigation into the torture of two members of a peasant organization in Chiapas State, after they were arrested without a warrant, Amnesty International has said.

Roselio de la Cruz González and José Manuel de la Torre Hernández , who are currently held in a state prison, were blindfolded, bound and beaten during their interrogation, their lawyer said.

Roselio de la Cruz was beaten and threatened with death, while officials held a plastic bag over the head of José Manuel de la Torre until he almost suffocated. He was then forced to inhale water until he passed out.

Both men were forced to sign papers which they were not allowed to read.

Amnesty International also expressed its concern for a third member of the same organization, José Manuel Hernández Martínez, who is being held 2,000km away, where he is unable to see his lawyer and family.

All three men are accused of illegally occupying land in 2005.

Roselio de la Cruz González and Manuel de la Torre Hernández were both detained by Chiapas state police on 24 October.

The arrests took place during a raid in the Venustiano Carranza municipality on the homes of several members of Organización Campesina Emiliano Zapata (“Emiliano Zapata” Peasant Organisation, OCEZ).

José Manuel Hernández Martínez, a fellow OCEZ member, was arrested on 30 September.

On 16 October he was moved to a federal prison 2,000 km away. This is too far for his family and lawyer to visit him, meaning he is effectively held incommunicado.

Amnesty International has urged the Mexican authorities to:

• guarantee  that Roselio de la Cruz and José Manuel de la Torre will not be tortured further or otherwise ill-treated;
• conduct an impartial investigation into their torture, with those responsible brought to justice;
• ensure that the two men are either released immediately, or charged promptly with a recognizably criminal offence and tried fairly according to international standards, with any evidence obtained through torture ruled inadmissible;
• ensure that José Manuel Hernández Martínez has immediate access to his family and lawyer.

Loliondo is Burning

Loliondo is Burning provides documentary evidence, testimony, and background information surrounding the recent eviction of Massai in Loliondo, northern Tanzania. This is a two-part video.

In July 2009, during one of the worst droughts in recent Tanzanian history, the government of Tanzania began to forcefully evict the Maasai from their traditional lands. Eight villages were burnt to the ground, along with crops and traditional places of worship. As a result, some 3,000 people were left without any shelter, food or water.

As Loliondo is Burning explains, the evictions were carried out on behalf of the Ortello Business Company (OBC) and the Royal Family of Dubai, who claim the Maasai land as their own. Employees of OBC reportedly took part in the eviction.

Several abuses were also reported to have taken place, including the rape of Masaai women. Overall,

• More than 200 bomas (homesteads of extended families) have been totally burnt.
• Food stores and maize fields have been burned.
• It is estimated that up to 3,000 people have been made homeless without food and shelter.
• Several maize farms, which were ready for harvest, were set ablaze exacerbating an already alarming hunger situation.
• More than 50,000 cattle have been pushed into areas hit by extreme drought with no water and grass. Some cattle have been lost and some burned to death.
• Property worth millions of Tanzania Shillings has been destroyed.
• Other women who were chased from their homes have had miscarriages.
• Many people are now suffering from psychological traumas.

It should be noted that the eviction is ongoing. Other burnings have reportedly taken place since July. Further, more than two dozen Maasai have been arrested, some as recent as 7 days ago.

More information

For more information on the current situation, please read the report “Gross violations of human and citizenship rights in Tanzania” by the Feminist Activist Coalition. You may also want to see:

• The Killing Fields of Loliondo
• Killing the Killing Fields of Loliondo
• Bleak future for Loliondo Maasai
• New breed of refugee all too familiar to Indian Country
• Denmark wants end to human rights abuse in Loliondo

What You Can Do

If you would like to speak out in support of the Masaai, send an email to:

• President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, United Republic of Tanzania – State House Luthuli Road, Box 9120, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 00 255 22 2 116 898 / 22 2 116 899 00 255 22 2 113 425 info@ikulu.go.tz
• Private Secretary to Mizengo Pinda, Prime Minister of Tanzania, Email: pm@pmo.go.tz; privatesec@pmo.go.tz
• Mr. Yacoub El Hillo, UNHCR Representative to Tanzania, elhillo@unhcr.org
• Tanzanian Embassy in your country: http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Tanzania

Thanks to Derek Wall for his reporting on Another Green World

Police face murder charges in killing of indigenous protesters in Peru

mongabay.com
August 16, 2009


A federal prosecutor in Peru filed murder charges against two police generals and 15 other officers over the deaths of indigenous protesters at a roadblock in June, reports the Associated Press. The Indians were protesting new rules that would have made it easier for foreign developers to exploit oil and gas, timber, and minerals in Peru's Amazon rainforest. The skirmish left 23 police and at least ten protesters dead.

The charges come several weeks after dozens of civilians, including indigenous leaders, were charged with homicide over the deaths. Some are expected to be arrested once they are discharged from hospitals were they are recovering from injuries suffered during the protest.

The protests

Oil and gas blocks in the western Amazon. Solid yellow indicates blocks already leased out to companies. Hashed yellow indicates proposed blocks or blocks still in the negotiation phase. Protected areas shown are those considered strictly protected by the IUCN (categories I to III). Image modified from Finer M, Jenkins CN, Pimm SL, Keane B, Ross C, 2008 Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon: Threats to Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples. PLoS ONE 3(8): e2932. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002932

Indigenous groups have fiercely opposed what they see as encroachment on their traditional lands. In May thousands of protesters blocked roadways and rivers in opposition to a set of presidential decrees that would have made it easier for foreign firms to develop Amazon land. President Alan Garcia responded by sending in federal police, quickly leading to a heated standoff that ended in bloodshed — in addition to the deaths, at least 82 protesters were suffered gunshot wounds and another 120 were injured. The escalation was widely condemned by human rights groups and environmentalists.

Garcia has since rescinded two of the most controversial decrees and shuffled his cabinet. But the government has since indicated in public statements that it intends to move forward on oil and gas development despite the controversy.

Green groups and indigenous rights' organizations say the rainforests slotted for oil and gas exploration is home to a wealth of biodiversity and "uncontacted" tribes. The Peruvian government maintains there is but a single isolated tribe and that development will bring vast sums to the treasury.

http://catapa.be/en/north-peru-killings

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

High resolution versions of these images can be requested at info@catapa.be