Peru Suspends Decrees that Fueled Amazon Violence

[magbana]

Article below, but first a word from BOREV:

"Peruvian Massacre: How's It Playing?

SchumerLockdown.jpgTurns out that global opinion is moderately opposed to the wholesale slaughter of native peoples! First there was Colin Farrell and Pocahontas, and then today a bunch of kids locked themselves to Senator Charles Schumer's New York office over the whole deal. The World Council of Churches has fired off a stern letter, and even the Washington Post finally bothered to write an, um...article?...about it (check it out: it's one sentence long!). This is almost as big as the time Hugo Chavez said the soft curse-word "pendejo" on teevee!

All of this scrutiny has prompted the Peruvian legislature to courageously "suspend" the stupid Amazon law for 90 days, or until the media goes away, whichever comes first. Victory! "
http://www.borev.net/2009/06/peruvian_massacre_hows_it_play.html


"Peru suspends decrees that fueled Amazon violence

By Philippe Bernes-Lasserre – 19 hours ago

LIMA (AFP) — Peruvian lawmakers suspended a controversial law that eased restrictions on lumber harvesting in the Amazon rain forest, days after it sparked clashes between police and indigenous protesters, killing dozens of people.

The legislature agreed by a 59 to 49 vote to suspend Decree 1090 -- dubbed the "Law of the Jungle" -- that covers forestry and fauna in Peru's northeastern Amazon rain forest, said Javier Velasquez, the head of Peru's single-chamber Congress.

A decree related to governing private investment also was suspended.

The decrees are vehemently opposed by the approximately half-million Indians of 65 ethnic groups who live in the Peruvian jungle. The natives, who see the development of the jungle as an assault on their way of life, have been holding protests since April across the region.

The Amazon protest peaked Friday and Saturday when some 400 police officers moved in to clear protesters blocking a highway near the northern city of Bagua. Protesters fought back, then retaliated by killing police hostages.

According to the government, 25 police officers and nine Indian protesters died in the clashes. Protest leaders and media reports however insist the death toll is much higher.

The decrees were originally to be suspended for 90 days, but in the final vote legislators agreed on an indefinite suspension "to negotiate without pressure," said Aurelio Pastor, a legislator with President Alan Garcia's APRA party.

Both measures are among decrees issued in 2007 and 2008 by Garcia easing restrictions on mining, oil drilling, logging and farming in the Peruvian Amazon.

Garcia issued the laws when Congress granted him special powers to implement a free-trade agreement with the United States.

Angry legislators with the opposition Nationalist Party (PNP) called for the decrees to be overturned, and waved signs as they held a protest in the chamber after the vote.

"No to transnational (corporations) in the Amazon," read one sign. "The land and water are not for sale," read another.

The clashes were the bloodiest since the government's war in the 1980s and 1990s against the Shining Path, a violent Maoist insurgency, and the leftist Tupac Amaru guerrillas.

The vote suspending the decree is seen as a compromise allowing the government to resume talks with the protesting indigenous groups who have been blocking key regional highways, said spokesmen for legislators that voted for the measure.

The vote also comes on the eve of a strike called by the country's powerful leftist labor umbrella group, the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP).

CGTP leader Mario Huaman said there would be a protest march ending at the presidential palace in Lima to reject "the arrogant, intolerant, overbearing and discriminatory attitude of the government towards the Amazon communities."

Other protest marches, including those held by indigenous protesters in Amazon cities and towns, are planned in Peru's main cities.

"There is no justification at all for the protests" on Thursday, Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas said after the decrees were suspended.

Meanwhile some 3,000 Indians from 25 ethnic groups continue to block a key Amazon highway linking the cities of Tarapoto and Yurimaguas, some 700 kilometers (435 miles) north of Lima.

"We want an immediate derogation of those laws," said Segundo Pizango, an apu -- indigenous leader -- at a roadblock near Yurimaguas.

Another native leader, Kariajano Sandi, told AFP that he and his men will not lift the roadblock until the government definitively overturns the laws.

"We do not believe the government, they lie too much," said Sandi, surrounded by a group of his followers.

The repercussions of the violence have rocked the government, with Women's Affairs Minister Carmen Vildoso resigning Monday in protest over the government's crackdown.

The crisis even extended its reach to foreign affairs after Nicaragua granted political asylum to Alberto Pizango, the main indigenous protest leader, who earlier took refuge in Managua's embassy in Lima.

The Garcia administration has issued an arrest warrant for Pizango on charges of sedition, conspiracy and rebellion.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
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[magbana]

1. More on Bagua from Inka Kola News

"Natives and Police agreed to talks at 10am, but at 6am the police attacked

María Elena Hidalgo, special envoy in Bagua

Three indigenous that served in the Peruvian army are interned in the Hospital Gustavo Lanatta Luján, en Bagua Chica. The honorably discharged soldiers were attacked by police when they protested for the lands.

Roger Petsa Najamtai, 30, from the community of Santiago in the district of Belén, went to the site of the strike via boat along with 29 other members of his community.

"The day before the attack we talked with the Police General Víctor Uribe to make it clear that the problem was not with the police but with the government", explaind Petsa. "The police told us that there was no problem with us and that the next day at 10am we would continue talks. But at 6am the police started the attack on us including from a helicopter that fired bullets like rain. The police shot us directly in the body. I saw how my colleagues fell while I started running for cover. Two bullets hit me and I fell. I got out on a motorbike, helped by a friend. The police shot at the motorbike but I managed to get to the hospital".

Roger Petsa Najamtai, 22, is from the community of Iracuza in the district of Nieva. He joined the protest to represent his townspeople.

"We were in a peaceful protest and talking constantly with the police in order to avoid problems. It's true that we blocked the road but we allowed passengers to cross by foot witout any problem" explained Ukuncham. "On Friday at 6am around 1,000 police approached us and started to clear the road by shooting. We only had lances and sticks but they started shooting at our bodies. I didn't understand why they were shooting at me as I was also a Peruvian and the only thing we were doing was to protest for our lands. As I am an ex-soldier with honourable discharge I approached (the police) to ask them the motive and they answered that they had orders to kill us, then I was hit by two bullets in the arm."

Paul was one of the first to be evacuated from the zone and taken to hospital. The version of the indigenous is completely different to the official story of the events.

Camped in Bagua for one month
"We travelled from my community for one week to be part of the strike and the calim our rights in a peaceful way" said Paulo Bitap López, native of the Shushug community in the district of Chiriaco who travelled along with 70 other natives to Bagua Chica. They were there for a month. "No NGO gave us food. The families in the zone helped us with food for a month" he said.

"No politician has manipulated us. The indigenous people has its own worldview and part of that is the defence of land and water. When the police started to shoot, I asked my friends who are also honourably discharged members of the army to go and talk. But when we approached they shot us. They injured me and took my friends away." Paulo Bitap was hit by a bullet in his left shoulder."
http://www.incakolanews.blogspot.com/

[Judi Lynn]

2. Magbana, wanted to leave rabs' link from a post in LBN here,

to show you someone's video of a short talk by a guy from Amazon Watch in front of the Puruvian embassy. I thought maybe you may have been there at the time to see him. Let us know if you're in the video!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3917024&mesg_id=3918554

Won't be back 'til later.

[magbana]

3. Yep, I was in the video and heard the Amazon Watch guy speak.

I'll never tell which one I was. But, I know one thing for sure, I'm going to make sure I look better a lot better at the next protest. Ha!!

[Judi Lynn]

4. It looked as if the crowd started gathering nicely as soon as the guy started talking.

Cool hearing you were there. I had a feeling it might be possible!

[magbana]

8. There were about 20 more people just standing around who didn't get in the protest

line. If they had, it would have looked a lot bigger and better!

[Judi Lynn]

5. Voices Raised Against Violence in Peru

Voices Raised Against Violence in Peru

OeWorld.net, News Report, Posted: Jun 12, 2009

Violent confrontations broke out Friday as approximately 400 Peruvian riot police used force to dismantle a blockade built by indigenous protesters on a highway in northern Peru, near the town of Bagua Grande, reports the BBC. "At least 30 indigenous protesters and 24 police officers are reported to have been killed in two days of clashes," notes the news agency.

"The use of army units to quell these protests is merely inflaming an already volatile situation, and does nothing to address the Indians' fundamental and justified concerns," said the human rights group Survival International.

Roughly 2,500 people participated in the protest. Dozens are missing and feared dead.

The military is now clamping down on the surrounding area -- preventing people from looking for those who may have died -- and officials have ordered the arrest of 36 demonstrators, charged with "kidnapping, homicide, impeding delivery of public services, disturbing the peace, and sedition," reports CNN.

Over the last two months, indigenous Peruvians have been protesting government policies that would allow major corporations to mine for oil and gas on indigenous communities' ancestral lands. (Read more from Survival International below.)

Testimonies from Protest Leaders

"Three armed forces helicopters are flying, throwing tear gas bombs, and firing bullets directly as if we were criminals, as if there weren't women and children protesting," said Servando Puerta, president of the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Peru's Northern Amazon, according to Latin America Press. The indigenous protesters could not have fired on security forces since they were only carrying bows and arrows, added the Amazonian tribal leader.

"I personally hold the government of Alan García Pérez responsible for ordering the genocide," continued Alberto Pizango, president of the Inter-Ethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP), who has since fled into hiding to avoid persecution. "They're killing us for defending our lives, our sovereignty, human dignity... For thousands of years, we've run the Amazon forests."

More:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=dc7e677f0d4b15c7b145a279e56550bb

[Judi Lynn]

6. rabs posted on another thread the suspension by Garcia is not a serious gesture.

It's a smokescreen to get people off his back, forgetting about it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3917024#3918554

[Judi Lynn]

7. Peru protesters march in support of Indians

Peru protesters march in support of Indians
Police use tear gas to turn away protesters in Lima. The Indians are fighting a government plan to expand oil development on their land.
Associated Press
June 12, 2009

http://www.latimes.com.nyud.net:8090/media/photo/2009-06/47461659.jpg

Lima, Peru -- Riot police used tear gas Thursday to turn student protesters away from Peru's Congress as thousands nationwide marched in support of Amazon Indians resisting oil and natural gas exploration on their land.

At least 20,000 students, labor union members and indigenous Peruvians from the country's Andean highlands to its jungle lowlands joined mostly peaceful protests.

In Lima, riot police fended off several hundred students, some of whom threw rocks and Molotov cocktails. No injuries were immediately reported. Associated Press journalists witnessed several people being detained, but police did not issue arrest figures.

Marchers chanted, "The jungle isn't for sale," during the protests, which were organized in response to a bloody confrontation at an Indian roadblock June 5 in the northern state of Amazonas. It was Peru's worst political violence in more than a decade, with 23 police officers killed, many with spears. Indian leaders reported that at least 30 civilians died.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-peru-protest12-2009jun12,0,4147371.story?track=rss

(Once again, news from AP with the information missing, as one might predict.)

[Judi Lynn]

9. Don't get in the way of the Anglo search for (black) gold.

From:
Peru and The Long Genocide, 1492 to ??
by jqjacobs
Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 07:55:05 AM PDT

~snip~
In 1969, as a Peace Corps volunteer working in Peru, one of my responsibilities working in Peru's Ministry of Agriculture was enacting an Agrarian Reform decree, seizing haciendas from wealthy descendants of Spanish invaders. The law was, in effect, often returning royal land grants to Indigenous peoples.

At Hacienda Sollocota I witnessed slavery for the first time in my life, in the form of chattel, Indians living in the corrals of the animals they tended. In one corner of a stone animal corral I saw a separate enclosure for an Indian family, and in the corner of this area a small, thatch-roofed room only large enough to sleep a family, with walls only a meter high. When we transferred title to the newly-formed cooperative of 100 families, a celebration was conducted. I remember best one quote, an elderly man saying in broken Spanish, "We waited 400 years to get our land back, and today we got it back." At Sollocota there still are people who remember slavery, who remember growing up in a corral. This is the reality of Peruvian Indigenous people.

I returned to Peru to visit my former villages in 1989, amidst the violence of the Senderos and other resistance movements, to bombed bridges, liberated zones, roadblocks, and mounting death tolls. As I hitchhiked many people related their stories. One person's racism was the worst I have ever encountered. He stated that the solution to Peru's problems was simple enough, "Kill all the Indians." What he failed to understand, from my perspective, was that he was an Indian too. Class identification does not match genetics in Peru. This racism is exemplified by President Alan Garcia declaring the Indigenous Peoples to not be "first-class" citizens, as seen in the Democrcy Now videos linked herein.

The deep-seated racial conflict in Peru has its beginning with Contact. Europeans came to Peru to steal the riches, genocide ensued, and the same process continues today. It is not accomplished with gas chambers, it is not as explicit as the European methods of the last century, but it continues and the toll, many tens of millions, continues to mount.

Europeans do not have the right to draw a line around an Indigenous American territory, declare sovereignty, and impose their own rules--not in 1492, not in Mexico in 1523, nor in Peru in 2009. There is no real difference between doing it 500 years ago or doing it today. Because the frontier of the conquest is in remote jungles and inaccessible regions, where the few remaining traditional Native populations survive, their genocide is easily ignored. It is the game genocide that began over 500 years ago, THE LONG GENOCIDE, and it must STOP.

More:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/11/741166/-Peru-and-The-Long-Genocide,-1492-to-

[rabs]

10. Update from the past three days and some questions

1. Why is the Peruvian government holding up the safe conduct for Alberto Pizango? Nicaragua has granted Pizango political asylum but Garcia is not allowing Pizango to leave the country.

2. What is in the questionnaire that the Peruvian government wants Pizango to answer?

3. Why did the government on Wednesday at first ban Aidesep (the indigenous umbrella group that Pizango heads) from any negotiations? The government said only evangelicals, catholic leaders and natives at the local level would be allowed to negotiate. Plus a government group named the Defensoria del Pueblo, which has no power to settle disputes legally.

4. Why did the government reverse itself on Thursday and say Aidesep WOULD take part in the talks?

5. Are the seven legislators who represent the native communities and who were banned from the Congress for 120 days going to be reinstated so they can speak for the native communities?