Rights Violations of Peru's Indigenous Peoples Linked to Free Trade Agreements with US

My Peruvian brothers and sisters are asking for my help in getting the media to pay attention to their struggle and protest. I am planning to travel personally to Peru ASAP--as early as the next two weeks--and am on ‘stand by' with some cameras to take with me and place with some of the courageous protesters on the front lines. Many of the youth that I am working with are highly gifted with video equipment, and are supported by National Geographic's "Native Cosmovision" for which the students will produce educational material for secondary school students. My long-time friend Wagner Musoline, coordinator of the Comité de Lucha de los Pueblos Indígenas  (Committee for Indigenous Peoples' Struggle), recently gave news of actions already being taken across the Peruvian Amazon by native communities. The uprising is a coordinated effort on the part of the native communities after years of abuse by the central government in Lima. Their territories have been invaded by petrol companies without any previous property agreements. Numerous rivers and streams have been contaminated and entire native populations poisoned by the chemicals used in the petrol activities. News in Peru has been highly suppressed or edited, and many news reports actually criminalize the indigenous communities. There is also not a lot of news available outside of Peru.So far, there have been three protesters wounded, seven arrested and a number have disappeared. One protester is dead, 9 more critically wounded, 6 indigenous leaders detained and several people gone missing in a recent confrontation with military police. This is the toll of special police operations in the Bagua region to clear the native groups who took over a bridge as part of the Amazon-wide protest against the Peruvian Government's attack on native civil liberties. Earlier, the Regional President of Native Peoples from the Northern Amazon (ORPIAN) Cervando Puerta Peña had warned national authorities "not to generate or provoke an confrontation with the police who had been on the scene." Only hours later, with the road blocked between Trujillo and Chiclayo, the police forces moved in with tear gas. The police detained Nelson Antuash, Mateo Impi, Carlos Kakias, Joel Shimbukat, Oswaldo Tincho, Laspar Tiwi and one other unidentified protester. Said one protester:

The Peruvian government feels no compassion for the plight of the Awajuns and Wampis who are simply protesting for their basic rights. The Government is using all of its State might against a pacific and humble people whose only arm is their simple presence. Our people will not go away. They prefer to die.

Now, as part of the policy to criminalize and intimidate all protests in the areas occupied by natives, the government of Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency in many of the Provinces of the Peruvian Amazon. The measure permits the use of armed force against the civilian population, suspends all civil guarantees and endangers democratic liberties. We need the international community to protest this latest attack on the legitimate demands of the Peruvian indigenous nations. If you know anyone who can help donate video cameras ASAP, I would greatly appreciate your help passing this info on. Here's a brief update on the events of the last two weeks as the situation worsens (from Red Ambiental Loretana):On May 9, 2009, the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in the regions of Loreto, Amazonas, Cusco, and Ucayali in an attempt to criminalize and intimidate whatever protests occur on indigenous territory. This action is a license for the government to violently repress Indigenous People and the Peruvian Government is subjecting indigenous areas to military occupation in order to silence indigenous community opponents of extractive industries.Under the emergency decree, all constitutional rights have been suspended — including the right to hold meetings and freedom of movement. The measure also permits the use of armed forces against the civil population, criminalizing the legitimate rights and demands of the Peruvian indigenous nations, as well as endangering normal democratic rights.Accurate news reports out of Peru have been extremely scarce, despite the sad news that one protester is dead, 9 more critically wounded, 6 indigenous leaders detained and several people gone missing in a recent confrontation with military police.Video and photo evidence show police beating peaceful protesters and firing rubber bullets in order to break up demonstrations blocking roads and bridges.Also, in an aggressive harassment campaign, the Garcia government has filed criminal charges of treason and sedition against 6 indigenous leaders including Alberto Pizango, president of AIDESEP, Peru's national indigenous organization, representing representing over 350,000 indigenous persons from 1,350 communities spanning 16 different linguistic groups and six regional organizations located in Peru’s Amazon.May 12, 2009  - Tuesday afternoon brought news of the death of one of the Wampis natives wounded in a confrontation with Special Police Forces in the Bagua area. Another nine people are still seriously ill after the violent police action and seven leaders are still in police detention. May 15, 2009 - Fifty thousand people went onto the streets of Iquitos, Peru to protest the government's "state of emergency" declaration in the native areas as a ploy to repress public gatherings and permit the police to stop and arrest anyone at all. Yesterday, the government further provoked the Amazonian population by ordering the army to provide support for the police in all of these areas. The natives have been in permanent mobilization for 5 months now, demanding that Peru give them their human rights as stipulated in the IMO Agreement No. 169, which Peru ratified but never implemented. The native population is under tremendous pressure from aggressive privatizing of Amazon lands by Alan Garcia's government to benefit multinational petrol and agro-fuel interests. The natives feel their very survival is at stake and many are ready to die in the attempt to retain control of their natural resources.May 17, 2009 - Four hundred protesters are on the river tonight on the way to a petrol pumping station (Estacion 5) that is being protected by the national police force. We fear for what might happen. Telephone calls from the area informed us this morning that five boats have left the Cenepa, Santiago and Marañon Rivers headed for Nieva where they intend to give support to their Wampis and Awajun brothers who have come under attack by the DINOES, special police forces sent from Lima. Similar news came from San Lorenzo where seven boats have arrived from various ethnic communities in order to coordinate actions to be taken in the coming days.For the past 43 days, Thousands of indigenous people have been blockading roads and river traffic throughout the Amazon in peaceful protests, demanding the repeal of a series of new laws imposed by the Garcia Administration under the pretext of implementing the Free Trade agreements (FTA) with the United States.The 10 new legal decrees in question, grant international corporate access to Amazonian lands and facilitate the transfer of large parcels of communally-owned indigenous land to oil, logging and mining companies , while setting the stage for water privatization .All without the the need to inform , consult or get consent of the local inhabitants!These new laws directly undermine indigenous peoples rights and violate rights recognized in the national constitution as well as in international treaties, including the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169.The implementation of several aspects of these new laws promote not only a government backed land-grab by the extractive industries and corporations with ties to the government, but allow for Indigenous peoples to be excluded from the decision making process , regarding decisions made, which directly and indirectly affect their life , health and in some cases even their survival.Peruvian government uses state of emergency declaration as as tool and license for the government to violently repress Indigenous Peoples and subjecting indigenous areas to military occupation in order to silence indigenous community opponents of extractive industries.Furthermore, the government appears to be carrying out a strategy to control press coverage of both the mobilization and the response.(Photos courtesy Red Ambiental de Loretana)