Indians warn of war against Amazon mega-dam

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Kayapó Indian leader Raoni Metuktire arrived in Europe last week and has appealed for support for his tribe, which is campaigning against the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu river in the Brazilian Amazon.

Raoni said, ‘I have always prevented my people from fighting, but I am very worried now. It is time that we take back what belongs to us’.

He added that ‘3,000 warriors’ are ready to take up arms.

Raoni met French ex- President Jacques Chirac and asked that he and the current President Nicolas Sarkozy urge President Lula of Brazil not to allow the dam to be built.

If constructed, the dam would be the third largest in the world and it would flood a large area of land, dry up certain parts of the Xingu river, cause huge devastation to the rainforest and reduce fish stocks upon which Indians in the area depend for their survival.

The influx of immigrants to the region during the construction of the dam threatens to introduce violence to the area and bring diseases to these Indians, putting their lives at risk.

More: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5939">Survival Int'l

[protocol rv]

1. I don't think they'll get much out of it

That dam is going to be built. They should just learn to fish in the lake the dam will form, and build touristy type villages for rich Europeans to go there and take their pictures. There's a real side benefit: the watershed around the dam will be left untouched, so it can serve as a catchment area for the reservoir. So the whole area around the dam will likely become a national park - if the brazilians are smart

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2. do you ever side *with* indigenous people on any issue?

just kind of curious, for the record...