UPDATE:
Historic Victory in Peru
On June 19th, indigenous communities in Peru called for an end to protests and blockades in response to a decision by the Peruvian Congress to revoke two controversial land laws. The decision marks a historic victory for the indigenous peoples of Peru in defending their rights to protect the Amazon and preventing environmental destruction from multinational corporations. The protests, which started two months ago and involved deadly clashes with the Peruvian police, were against a package of decrees signed by President Alan Garcia to enable Peru to enter into a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Several of the controversial decrees would open sections of the Amazon to destructive industries, directly affecting many of the indigenous communities living there. “This is a historic day for indigenous people because it shows that our demands and our battles were just,” said Daysi Zapata, Vice President of the Amazon Indian Confederation that led the protests.
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Original Story
For more than six weeks the indigenous peoples of Peru, coordinated by Greengrants grantee the Inter-Ethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), have been protesting to protect their natural resource rights.
AIDESEP, the umbrella group representing almost all of the fifty Amazonian indigenous ethnicities in Peru, is demanding the repeal of nine legislative decrees that are part of a larger package signed last year by President Alan Garcia as part of negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
AIDESEP leaders claim that the decrees will make it easier for transnational companies to engage in deforestation, oil drilling, and natural resource degradation in the Amazon region, while excluding indigenous peoples from decision-making processes. One of the decrees in dispute would reclassify the zoning of Amazon jungle areas from forestry use to agricultural use, in addition to opening the area to extractive industries and agro-fuel monocultures. They are asking for recognition of their ancestral territories, respect for their rights recognized in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, health care and bilingual education for indigenous communities, and opportunities for development that respect their identity, culture, and environment.
After weeks of protest, Alberto Pizango, President of AIDESEP, and Yehude Simon, Peru’s Prime Minister, signed an agreement last week to eliminate the legislation that affects indigenous rights, initiating a dialogue on the issue. Pizango stated that the protests would continue, in spite of the initiated dialogue, until a final resolution could be reached. It is unknown whether charges against him for disturbing the peace and inciting rebellion will be dropped.
The protests, escalating throughout the past month, have involved more than 10,000 men and women throughout the region. Peaceful demonstrations have included blocking major roads and rivers, disrupting operation of oil and gas pipelines in the Amazon, and protesting outside of Peru’s Mission to the United Nations in New York City. Last week, hundreds of indigenous demonstrators gathered at the gates of Peru’s famous cultural landmark, Machu Picchu. Luis Cushi, a protester and farmer from Unini, commented that “We are fighting for our children. We want peace. We don’t want to fight. But we all have the right to defend our territory, where we live.”
To find out more about previous Greengrants grants to AIDESEP, read this article about previous legislation battles, and this article about gas pipeline threats to indigenous communities.
For more information on the issue, see this article from Environmental News Services, and this article from the UK Guardian. For a press release from Amazon Watch, click here.