[Indigsol] Peru: Battle Lines Drawn over the Amazon

[Ben Powless]

Dear friends - just finished putting together this report. Please help
spread it far and wide and publish where appropriate.

In solidarity

Ben Powless - powless at gmail.com
+51 950 991 692 / +1 613 614 4219

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/ben-powless/2009/06/peru-battle-lines-drawn-over-amazon
Peru: Battle Lines Drawn over the Amazon By Ben
Powless<http://rabble.ca/taxonomy/term/2686>
| June 8, 2009

The rhetoric was sharp enough to cut down Amazonian hardwoods. Yesterday,
Sunday June 7th, after a number of ministers had been paraded out Saturday
and the day before, Peru's el Señor Presidente, Alan Garcia decided to make
it personal. After a joint police-military operation aimed at stopping an
Indigenous protest had gone awry, leaving many dead on both sides, Garcia
declared the Indigenous elements to be standing in the way of progress, in
the path of national development, wrenches in the gears of modernity, and
part of an international conspiracy to keep Peru down. In a troubling
statement on the resemblance of the Indigenous protesters to the infamous
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) armed insurrection, Garcia seemed to imply
the Natives were a band of terrorists as he stood in front of hundreds of
military officers in a nationally televised speech. He continued to decry
the Indian barbarity and savagery, and called for all police and military to
stand against savagery.


Police arrive with heavy reinforcements to forcefully remove demonstrators

Clearly, the battle lines were being drawn. Garcia demonstrated he is not
about to allow anything to get in the way of "our development" of the oil
and mineral resources the Amazon has to offer. Especially by a bunch of
confused savages (his words) who are pawns to the international market and
to Indian elites and therefore have no real reason to be resisting. At this
point, it was obvious he thought nothing of the Indigenous cause, and what
they actually stood for. There is too much money to be extracted from oil,
from minerals, from logging, and from possible agriculture in the Amazon
region, the 2nd largest stretch outside of Brazil. All on land with less
than 200,000 Indigenous people. All now supposed to be open for business, as
a result of a series of laws passed under the auspices of Free Trade
Agreements signed with both Canada and the United States.


Indigenous protesters confront the police on the highway outside Bagua

All those who lost their lives - certainly more than the 30 or so officially
cited - have in the end given their lives for these free trade agreements
and their domestic implementation. After wresting a concession from Congress
- a la Bush - Garcia was able to push through 99 changes to the law of Peru.
A number of these were ruled unconstitutional later, one dealing with
property law standing out. Indigenous groups disputed from the beginning
that these laws threatened the integrity of the Amazon, its cultural and
biological diversity. Since the beginning, they were ignored. Living up to
their Amazonian warrior mythology, they decided to take action.


Police clearly seen with heavy weaponry not fit for use against civilians

Protests have lasted now over 50 days, only recently erupting into bloodshed
when Garcia suspended civil liberties, declared a state of emergency, and
decided to send in the military to end the dispute. This was all done in the
name of Garcia's idea of ‘democracy,' which should be farcical to anyone who
has the least idea what democracy means. Indigenous groups have maintained
they want to be included in this so-called democracy, meaning they have a
say over what happens in their lands, and that their rights be respected.
This is clearly within international law now, after the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was approved two years ago.


Police take away so called Indigenous 'terrorist'

The Declaration lays out provisions that clearly establish the rights to
free, prior and informed consent over development projects in Indigenous
territories, and the right to be involved in any decision making processes
that would impact on Indigenous Peoples' lands, resources or rights.
Repeated demands have called for there to be dialogue with Indigenous
groups. Garcia's response? Yes, there has been dialogue - within the
government, by elected officials. Obviously, this hasn't done enough to
safeguard the rights, the lives, and the livelihoods of Amazon peoples, and
a number of the new laws have been shown to be unconstitutional. Indigenous
leaders quickly condemned the tragic loss of lives as the fault of the
government, who was not committed to dialogue, but arms. Even the
ex-president has placed the blame on Garcia for not seeking dialogue with
Indigenous representatives.



Protesters - including many non-Indigenous - attend to a protester who was
shot

Lamentably, this whole situation could have easily been prevented, had the
government cared enough about its own citizens' lives and effective dialogue
more than getting its own way. Instead, on Friday morning, police and
military descended on an Indigenous encampment near the Amazonian towns of
Bagua Chica and Bagua Grande. Reports from the ground contradict the
government version, in which security forces, reluctant to use force, were
ambushed and had to defend themselves with bombs, helicopters, and machine
guns. Other reports establish that a private meeting was held between the
military, the Indigenous leadership, and a local bishop, among others, the
night before the violence. Indigenous groups were reportedly given until
10am to make a decision to leave or stay, and were guaranteed that nothing
would happen until then. In response, many decided to go home. But the
government apparently lied. The operation started around 6am.

Local sources instead claim they were sleeping, unarmed, when bullets were
fired in their direction. When the police finally arrived to physically
remove protesters, it was then that many police were disarmed, killed, or
taken prisoner by the masses of protesters, probably numbering over 2,000 in
days prior, now down to a few hundred. By now, the war had been declared,
and wouldn't stop well into the night as police and military continued in a
violent sweep, ending up going into the towns and reportedly searching house
by house in vengeance. Police entered with weapons of war against civilians.
Now the military has been reported to be wearing civilian clothing to carry
out what seems more and more to resemble a civil war. Families decry that
they haven't been allowed to enter the areas to search for missing family,
or enter jails to visit and feed prisoners. All this done in a declared
state of emergency, with many liberties and human rights withdrawn for local
citizens.


Protesters re-converge near the split in the highway outside of Bagua

Then came the outrage. But not by locals or Indigenous groups, though that
was palpable. By the very same government who initiated the action. Their
reports came out throughout the next day - a dozen security forces murdered
in cold blood, maybe 3 Indians hurt. Now 24 police and military cruelly
assassinated, about 9 Indians dead (no information how). The choice of words
is translated from government pronouncements, and reflects their dim view of
Indigenous deaths, despite many being civilians, with a few children among
those murdered.


Battle continues in Bagua town PHOTO: AIDESEP

On the other side, Indigenous groups reported at least 30 civilians and
Natives were killed, but also that government officials had gone through
lengths to disappear some of the bodies, a claim documented by Amazon Watch
(see link below). Some AIDESEP members in the communities dispute that the
number is much higher, closer to 100, including peasants and civilians.
Video evidence clearly shows Natives armed only with spears against a
tactical unit in one confrontation, and photos show police firing live
weapons from the roofs, reportedly into crowds gathered below. A national
newspaper even reported that one could clearly find pictures of more than a
dozen Natives and civilians dead, online. No matter, the numbers had
suddenly taken on a new importance.


Police seen shooting on crowds below in Bagua PHOTO: AIDESEP

This had been the worst episode of violence since the 90's, so one might
think the government might want to cut its losses and signal a shift towards
more productive measures. Indeed, both sides could claim that they lost a
number of lives, impetus to stop the bloodshed. Except that the war had
already been declared, and may only be heating up. Hence the president's
fiery rhetoric, about how dare the savage Indians hurt our humble police,
who didn't want to raise their weapons. With their claim of nearly 30 deaths
to the Indians' 9 pushed them to call it a massacre (matanza, masacre) and
seemed to pave the ethical and emotional road towards stronger retaliation,
as all news channels were flooded with pictures of the soldiers bodies being
flown out. The president of the ministers' congress today appeared before
congress and on national television to decry all the foreign news reports
that fail to coincide with official numbers. Not only that, of course, these
Natives were getting in the way of our development, of our modernity,
denying us our basic human rights. Many of these government claims are thin
disguises to misrepresent the Indigenous movement and its positions.


Civilians with bullet wounds attended in Bagua hospital PHOTO: AIDESEP

Take the issue of development. Indigenous communities have repeatedly said
they aren't against development, but it has to be a different kind of
development, one more responsible. A reasonable claim, especially
considering that the loss of the Amazon rainforest is one of the top drivers
of climate change. On the issue of leadership and responsibility, the
government has maintained that this was a top-down movement led by Alberto
Pizango, president of AIDESEP, the Interethnic Association for the
Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, an Indigenous organization with
representation from Amazon communities. This flies in the face of the
history of the protest, which has literally involved thousands of
communities, and shown itself to be led by local communities in their own
decision making structures. The government has instead tried to pin the
blame on Pizango as the main instigator, as a political agent of other
parties or perhaps other countries, and a criminal mastermind who has
tricked his followers into rallying against perfectly good legislation. They
have gone so far as to issue a warrant for his arrest now, with many news
reports hinting he has fled to Bolivia, and the Indigenous leadership have
lost contact with him.


Alberto Pizango addresses a crowd of thousands of Indigenous Peoples in
Puno, Peru days before the violent outbreak PHOTO: Ben Powless

The other easily disputed claim is that this is an Indigenous movement
uniquely, the implication being that this does not apply to anyone
non-Indigenous, and others should repudiate the movement. It is well known
in and around the Amazonian towns, however, that there have consistently
been Mestizos, those of mixed race who make a slim majority of Peruvians, as
part of the movement. In recent days reportedly a number of disenfranchised
army reservists also decided to join the Indigenous cause. Looking at the
protests in and around Bagua, it can clearly be seen that as many as half
the protesters were not Indigenous, but were there in support. Also in the
past, it has been a number of labour unions and farmer groups that have
participated in national strikes, concerned over the same free trade
agreements as Amazon communities. The implications here are critical,
though, and seem to seek a precedent in declaring the Indigenous movement to
be a criminal, or even terrorist, movement and outlaw their activities,
organizations, and politics.


Member of CONACAMI - the Mining-Impacted Communities Association, at a
protest in Puno, Peru days before PHOTO: Ben Powless

What comes next? On the Indigenous side, there have been calls for a
national strike on Thursday, the 11th. In this case, many labour groups have
been involved from the beginning, so it remains to be seen whether this will
go farther than strikes in the past, which have shut down vital
transportation and oil infrastructure, as well as Machu Picchu, the main
tourist destination of Peru. Indigenous leaders have said, however, their
protest will continue until they are able to renegotiate the controversial
laws. On the government side, we can only wait and hope for the best. If the
inflamed words and rallying of the troops are any indication, however, they
may be getting ready to try and strike down harder on the Indigenous
movement sooner rather than later. Reports have come in that Special Forces
have been seen in the area. All this may spell out more bloodshed in the
name of democracy. However, they are also acutely aware they are under the
international microscope right now, despite the lack of substantial media
reporting about the situation here in Peru.


Indigenous leaders of the Peruvian Amazon hold a press conference to talk
about the whereabouts of Pizango and their reaction to the violent outbreak,
Saturday June 6th. PHOTO: Ben Powless

And that may be where hope rests. This is a critical moment, as the
government plans its next steps. There needs to be a strong international
focus on Peru, to let them know they cannot get away with more human rights
abuses. Already, protests are planned across the United States, with more in
planning in Canada. Letters have been sent to the government and to
representatives at embassies around the world. AIDESEP has called for a
national inquiry into the events of Bagua and the deaths. They have also
issued a request for an international observer committee to come and be
witnesses to the situation. A national strike is planned for this Thursday,
with participation from diverse groups, calling for resolution to the
situation and the resignation of Alan Garcia. AIDESEP is also collecting
funds to aid in its work and support observers to get into the region.


Thousands of Indigenous Peoples from across the Americas gather in Puno,
Peru for the 4th Continental Indigenous Summit of Abya Yala (America) PHOTO:
Ben Powless

A curfew has been imposed. Amazonian towns have been militarized. AIDESEP
officials are in communication with the communities that there are many
missing, many presumed dead. The government has begun persecuting and
threatening jail for Indigenous leaders, while the leaders have said they
are ready to go to jail to defend their rights. The fear is growing that the
government is trying to build support to further repress Indigenous groups.
This is not a path to peace and reconciliation.

For now, the protests will continue. If we are serious about safeguarding
the human rights of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of the Amazon,
we need to act now. The violent repression of Indigenous protests and the
loss of civil liberties must come to an end. If we want to protect and
preserve the Amazon, and its bio-cultural diversity, especially in the face
of climate change, there is no better protection than keeping it under the
control of those who have maintained it forever. The free trade laws that
open up the Amazon to logging, mining, oil and agroindustry must be
suspended. Indigenous Peoples' rights - to self-determination, to their
lands and resources, to their lives - must be protected and guaranteed. If
we are to stop other atrocities and bloodshed, the battle line must be
withdrawn, immediately, and there must be dialogue.

For up-to-date information and planned actions:
http://peruanista.blogspot.com/

So far actions are planned in Canada, the US, Australia, India and more.

Website of AIDESEP: Aidesep, pueblos indígenas amazónicos del Peru |
Portada<http://www.aidesep.org.pe/index.php?id=5>

Donations can be made to "SOLIDARIDAD AIDESEP", at
Bank Name: Banco de Crédito del Perú
Account number: 193-1070011-1-01
Account name: AIDESEP-VARIOS
Swift Code: BCPLPEPL
Address: Jr. Lampa 499, Cercado de Lima, Peru

Peruvian news network, with many (shocking) videos:
http://enlacenacional.com/

Collection of actions to take and media sources:
http://beckermanlegal.com/Peru.htm

In depth analysis of the situation: https://nacla.org/node/5879

AmazonWatch investigates disposed bodies:
http://www.amazonwatch.org/newsroom/view_news.php?id=1843

Send a letter to Peruvian officials:
http://amazonwatch.org/peru-action-alert.php

Preliminary blog: Calm at the Center of the Storm: Reporting from the
Amazonian Peoples' Headquarters in Lima |
rabble.ca<http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/ben-powless/2009/06/calm-center-storm-reporting-amazonian-peoples-headquarters-lima>

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/powless/sets/72157619320374511/

Democracy Now! Report:
http://intercontinentalcry.org/democracy-now-reports-on-bagua-massacre/

News Report from Australia:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/08/2592391.htm?section=world


-- 
"In life we meet extraordinary people who follow us wherever we may go" -
Trisha Nagpal
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/indigsol/attachments/20090608/ec2973fe/attachment.html>