[IPSM] Underreported News of Struggle for August

[Ahni]

Here you go folks...

http://intercontinentalcry.org/underreported-news-of-struggle-for-august/

With Indigenous Peoples Day swiftly passing by, Indigenous People throughout
the world continue to be subjected to a seemingly endless barrage of
offenses by militias, governments, and corporations alike. Efforts to
assimilate the People into mainstream society has increased twofold this
month, while corporations increasingly work to criminalize, alienate, and
divide communities; even make them into enemies to their own ways of life.
"We're the victims," they say. "Our rights are being violated."

At the same time, indigenous peoples and movements continue with their
efforts for Justice and accountability, for their rights to be respected—and
to ensure their land, identities, and histories remain intact.

This is of course, how things will continue from here-on, because the people
today have learned that development or death, assimilation or death,
genocide or death—is just not good enough.

It is a sick and twisted perversion what indigenous People are subjected to—
and it's abundantly clear there's a collective, world-wide need for it to
end.
News of Struggle for August

*August 30 *
Expansion of Agricultural Frontier Endangers Native
Communities<http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39087>
Encroached upon by the expanding agricultural frontier and facing the
indifference of the state, indigenous communities in the northeastern
Argentine province of Chaco have problems of access to water, food and their
natural medicines, and are heading towards extinction.

Ute Mountain Tribe opposes Desert
Rock<http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/?p=432>
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council took a stand against the new power plant
called Desert Rock to be built on the Navajo Nation's reservation. The Ute
tribe unanimously passing a resolution opposing construction of the proposed
power plant.

Mangyan Societies Threatened by Strip
Mining<http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/NAR07/070830buid.html>
Last week the Guardian published the details of a proposed strip mining
operation, which is planned for the highlands of Mindoro Island, where
several Mangyan societies, including the Buid, subsist. The paper indicates
that a vast strip mine will clear vegetation and top soil from 37.5 square
miles and force the relocation of at least 5,000 indigenous people from
their homes and farms. The object is the wealth from nickel and cobalt in
the rock strata.

*August 29*
People Affected by Dams Stop Hydroelectric Works in
Brazil<http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/node/23534>
More than 400 people occupied the entrance of the hydroelectric central Foz
do Chapecó, in the Uruguay river, in the border between Rio Grande do Sul
and Santa Catarina state, to the south of Brazil. The demonstrators demand
the federal government and the consortium in charge of the works to meet
with them. The activists are members of the families that will be affected
by the works of the dam. According to the website of the Rural Landless
Workers' Movement (MST), the works will affect nearly 3,500 families.

Ashaninka threatened, prepared to take
action<http://intercontinentalcry.org/ashaninka-threatened-prepared-to-take-action/>
On a recent expedition to supervise the Peru-Brazil border, the Brazilian
Ashaninkas received death threats from a task leader of the Peruvian company
Venao Forestal—raising concerns about the possibility of violent clashes in
the future. Venao is also manipulating and creating conflict among the
Ashaninka, exploiting them for wood.

Phillipines - Scores hurt as residents, militiamen clash at mine
site<http://luzon.wowphilippines.com/nuevavizcaya/?p=222>
Scores of tribal men and women were injured as paramilitary forces clashed
with villagers in upland Kasibu town who were manning a barricade to prevent
the entry of a mining company in the area Wednesday afternoon.

Achuar Block 39 New Oil Wells on their
Territory<http://www.amazonwatch.org/view_news.php?id=1442>
Achuar indigenous communities in the northern Peruvian Amazon were
celebrating a major victory over the oil industry after the Argentine
company Pluspetrol agreed to forego drilling 39 proposed new wells on Achuar
land.

Grants for Indigenous communities effected by
mining<http://intercontinentalcry.org/grants-for-indigenous-communities-effected-by-mining/>
The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and the Western Mining Action
Network (WMAN) have begun a grant program for Indigenous communities and
grassroots organizations in the U.S. and Canada who are working on issues
related to mining.

*August 28*
Chiapas: more evictions from Montes Azules <http://ww4report.com/node/4340>
Mexican federal agents and Chiapas state police evicted several families
Aug. 19 from the predios (collective farms) of Nuevo Salvador Allende and El
Buen Samaritano, in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. Six family heads
were detained, accused of environmental crimes and property damage; another
39 were taken to a shelter in the town of La Trinitaria. The relocation was
undertaken after the residents of the predios—Tzeltal and mestizo
peasants—refused to negotiate with the Agrarian Reform Secretariat,
asserting that they had been living in the zone for 30 years. (La Jornada,
Aug. 19) The following day, two other small communities were similarly
evicted from the reserve. (La Jornada, Aug. 20)

*Aug 27*
Violence against Indigenous People in West
Papua<http://intercontinentalcry.org/violence-against-indigenous-people-in-west-papua/>
Reports have recently come out of West Papua that indigenous people from the
Muyu tribe have clashed with employees of Korindo, the Korean and Indonesian
owned logging and oil palm company—resulting in the destruction of four
Korindo company trucks, and the death of atleast one local Papuan.

*Aug 26*
House-to-house raids in Alice Springs Indigenous
Community<http://bushtelegraph.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/house-to-house-raids-in-alice-springs-indigenous-community/>
Two of the senior women who toured major cities speaking out against a
uranium waste dump on their traditional lands have been raided by the AFP on
warrants issued by a Federal Magistrate in Canberra, their furniture slashed
with knives, belongings damages, laptops and mobile phones seized, and
phones tapped. I was told by one of the women that the warrant gave 12 hours
access to her home, and that she was told that the measures were justified
because of the security crackdown for APEC ministers. One of those women is
an elderly grandmother.

*August 24*
First Nations Leadership Council Supports Protection of Amazay Lake
(pdf)<http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/files/PDF/FNLC_News_release_Amazay_Lake_-_Aug_24_2007.pdf>
A mining company, Northgate Minerals Inc., proposes to open a new open pit
mine five kilometres from their existing mine and submerge the acidic waste
rock and tailings into Amazay Lake, totally annihilating the aquatic life in
and around the lake. Amazay (meaning mother caribou in the Sekani language)
is a six-kilometre long fish-bearing lake that has been an important
gathering place throughout the history of the Tsay Keh Nay People.

Zimbabwe: Woza Activists Arrested During Door to Door
Raids<http://allafrica.com/stories/200708241011.html>
Police in Bulawayo reportedly abducted six women and a baby from the
organization, Women of Zimbabwe Arise during early morning raids. WOZA
coordinator Jenni Williams said the group received an alert around four in
the morning from the children of the arrested women, saying police officers
were going door-to-door arresting the activists.

*Aug 23*
Chilean Authorities Approve Mining Exploration in National
Park<http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/node/23464>
The Reserva de Vicuña National Park, in Chile's 1st Region, is amid great
controversy; the Environment Regional Commission granted a license to
Sociedad Contractual Minera Vilacollo SA, to carry out exploration
activities in the reserve. Several actors have criticized the decision,
including the Aymara National Council of the Arica community and the
Indigenous Human Rights Commission. The groups claim the authorization was
illegal and benefits mining corporations instead of indigenous peoples and
biodiversity. Representatives also oppose the project and threat to take
measures if the project goes on.

Social movements invade Brazil mine
facility<http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/6246352.html>
Brazil's largest mine company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) said on
Wednesday that the Landless Workers Movement (MST) and the Movement of
People Harmed by Dams invaded and took over one of its subsidiaries and took
two employees as hostages. The company said after Minas Gerais' State Police
stepped in to negotiate with the movement leaders, the hostages were
released.

Shell blockaded in Sacred
Headwaters<http://intercontinentalcry.org/shell-blockaded-in-sacred-headwaters/>
On Tuesday, Aug 21 Shell attempted to resume its coalbed methane operation
in the Sacred Headwaters, despite previous warnings of a possible conflict
if they attempt to do so. 100 People promptly came together and set up a
blockade, preventing Shell from entering. Now an injuntion is being sought
by Shell against them.

Aboriginal people need to be part of mainstream:
PM<http://www.nit.com.au/story.aspx?id=12535>
Aboriginal people must become part of Australia's mainstream society if they
are to have a future, Prime Minister John Howard has warned. "And that is
whilst respecting the special place of Indigenous people in the history and
the life of this country, their future can only be as part of the mainstream
of the Australian community," he said.

*August 21*
Peru: toxic pollution linked to US corporation<http://ww4report.com/node/4320>
Peru's President Alan Garcia, "afraid of foreign investors," is sitting idly
by as a U.S. corporation devastates the city of La Oroya. Missouri-based Doe
Run's toxic lead smelting operation has children breathing sulfur dioxide
pollution up to 300 times the level permitted by the World Health
Organization.

*August 19*
Zapatista Communities under
siege<http://detodos-paratodos.blogspot.com/2007/08/zapatista-communities-under-siege.html>
Zapatista communities are increasingly subjected to violence and threats,
incicated by two recent events. The first, a Mother's house in the community
of Francisco villa was ominously burned to the ground. The whole community
is being threatened, because some want them off the land. The second
incident occurred in the Municipality "Olga Isabel," where a father and son
were confronted by 13 armed individuals, members of the absurdly named
"Organization For the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights." A short
while later, the father was shot 6 times.

*August 17*
Australia Legislates
Assimilation/Invasion<http://intercontinentalcry.org/australia-legislates-assimilation/>
Well, the bills which grant the government of Australia power to encroach
upon, invade, and determine the lives of Indigenous People in the Northern
Territory came to pass in a near-unanimous vote of 56 to 6. Also See here
for Voices of Resistance<http://intercontinentalcry.org/voices-of-resistance-northern-territory-traditional-owners-speaking-out/>

*Aug 15*
Fort Chipewyan rally calls for oilsands
moratorium<http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/08/15/alta-chip.html>
People in Fort Chipewyan, a community of 1,200, say they have noticed an
unusually high number of deaths from cancers in the past year, including
colon, liver, blood and bile-duct cancers. Chief Roxanne Marcel of the
Mikisew Cree First Nation said she and other aboriginal leaders want the
Alberta government cease approving oilsands development permits, at least
until a health study is done. "Our message to both levels of government, to
Albertans, to Canadians and to the world, who may depend on oilsands for
their energy solutions, that we can no longer be sacrificed any longer," she
said.

Mexican Peasants Said 'No' to La Parota
Dam<http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/node/23371>
This past Sunday an assembly was held in the Acapulco municipality of
Guerrero, Mexico to decide upon the fate of La Parota Dam…. This occurred a
little over a week after Senator Felix Salgado Macedonio said the People who
would be effected by the completion of La Parota must be allowed to do just
that: decide on whether or not la Parota may be completed.

*August 8*
Rohingyas shown they cannot be safe or free
anywhere<http://intercontinentalcry.org/rohingyas-shown-they-cannot-be-safe-or-free-anywhere/>
For Years, Malaysia has been considered a sort of a safe haven for refugees
coming from Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal and elsewhere —
but now the government of Malaysia is making it clear that most of these
refugees will not be finding any safety or freedom in this country.

Tribal People in India Want to Protect Indigenous Way of
Life<http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-08-08-voa46.cfm>
Tribal villagers from the eastern state of Orissa in India claim the planned
expansion of a mine and mineral refinery in their region threatens their way
of life. So they sent representatives to London to ask shareholders at
Vedanta Resources' annual meeting for help. They did not get it. Now the
villagers' last hope is a ruling from India's Supreme Court. The villagers
want the court to ban any commercial development in the region.

*August 4*
China Bans Reincarnation of Tibetan
Lamas<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article2194682.ece>
The Times of London reports that the China has issued a new ban designed to
prevent Tibetans from recognizing reincarnations of the living Buddha
without the approval of the Chinese government. The edict, which will enter
into force on September 1st, states that the "so-called reincarnated living
Buddha" is "illegal and invalid" without the approval of the government,

*August 2*
Paraguay: Rural activists in
danger<http://www.latinamericapress.org/article.asp?lanCode=1&artCode=5256>
The export-oriented development model based on agriculture present in
Paraguay leaves large areas of land in the hands of very few individuals or
companies, which not only affects campesino communities but also indigenous
ones who face the loss of their land and forced displacement. Large
plantations are also managed by illegal groups — often tied to the political
class — where there are marijuana fields and clandestine runways for
contraband trafficking, including the illegal logging trade. Amid this,
thousands of Campesinos are displaced, murdered, tortuered and
'disappeared'. The traffickers and the politically powerful are the ones
behind it.

Uncontacted tribes flee "Red Gold
Rush"<http://intercontinentalcry.org/uncontacted-tribes-flee-red-gold-rush/>
A group of previously-uncontacted Tribal People from the East Coast of Peru
have recently appeared at a village in Brazil. The people fled from their
territory, it is thought, because of illegal logging activities on their
land. Loggers are currently sweeping through it, in search of an exceedingly
rare kind of Mahogany tree, commonly referred to as "red gold"

*August 1*
The Mohlohlo Facing Encroachment, Refuse to
Leave<http://intercontinentalcry.org/south-africa-the-mohlohlo-facing-encroachment-refuse-to-leave/>
The Mohlohlo, a People located in Limpopo, South Africa—are currently facing
the steady encroachment of Anglo Platinum. The mining company apparently
'negotiated' for the land on which the Mohlohlo live on, in exchange for
their relocation. However the Mohlohlo say the negotiation was fraudulent,
and they have for some time now refused to leave.

*Underreported struggles is a monthly round-up of largely overlooked news
that focuses primarily on the struggles of Indigenous People around the
world. If you would like to view previous months, please click
here<http://intercontinentalcry.org/tags/underreported>
*
Movies for the Month

*For the sake of interest and education, here's a few movies I came across
this month.*

George Ayittey on Cheetahs vs.
Hippos<http://intercontinentalcry.org/george-ayittey-on-cheetahs-vs-hippos/>
Here's an excellent "grab-you-by the throat" speech by Ghanaian economist
George Ayittey, at a conference put together by TED. George goes into the
details and sources of corruption and economic exploitation in Africa—and
moves on to explore Africa's Traditional Governing systems

Our Land, Our Life <http://intercontinentalcry.org/our-land-our-life/>
The following 25 minute video focuses in on the struggles of Carrie and Mary
Dann, two Western Shoshone Grandmothers who have since 1972 been working to
protect their lands from the United States' gradual encroachment and utter
usurpation.

Sweet Crude <http://intercontinentalcry.org/sweet-crude/>
Sweet Crude, a documentary now in post-production, tells the story of
Nigeria's Niger Delta and the struggle of the People in the region. For 50
years, the people in the region known as the 'south-south' have lived a life
of hopelessness and desperation as they watch the land become devastated,
and their own lives become unsustainable.
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