[IPSM] News of Struggle for July

[Ahni]

Hey folks. Here's the latest monthly report

Respectfully,
A.

News of Struggle for July
http://intercontinentalcry.org/news-of-struggle-for-july/
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/news-of-struggle-for-july/>

July seems to have been a heavy-handed month. Several governments brutally
attacked protesters. Some corporations, perhaps for the first time finding a
purpose for courts—began efforts to criminalize and silence their
opposition, an effort supported by governments. And throughout this month,
the world's American Military Body has begun expanding considerably.

On the Other hand, the efforts of Indigenous Peoples have also increased. At
least 2 dozen large-scale events occurred this month, from Summits and
Conferences, to General Strikes and numerous days and weeks of action. Some
new movements have also begun emerging, along with newly-founded efforts to
reclaim traditional lands and restore Nations.

*July 30*
The inter-governmental effort to prohibit
democracy<http://intercontinentalcry.org/the-inter-governmental-effort-to-prohibit-democracy/>-
This is a companion list for Underreported struggles in July, a
compilation of recent news about the criminalization of dissent and the
arrest and oppression of activists around the world.

Six Nations to 'step in' on
moraine<http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/221584>- the Six
Nations have stepped in to address another situation regarding the
mis-use of lands within the Haldimand tract. This one located in the Region
of Waterloo (which is itself part of the Haldimand Tract), and doesn't look
much like Caledonia. A Six Nations Rep said they don't intend to stop the
development projects, but they do require being consulted.

Malaysia's indigenous battle to hold ancestral
lands<http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070730-053842-2818r>-
The government claims ownership of all Orang Asli land, and insists
they
need not pay any compensation for using it. Many of the Orang Asli have been
resettled " to make way for highways, buildings, golf courses, and
plantations." State governments give them smaller farming lands and houses
in return.

*July 29*
40th Day of hunger strike by Lepcha tribals continues
<http://readerlist.freeflux.net/blog/archive/2007/07/29/reader-list-fwd-40th-day-of-indefinite-hunger-strike-by-lepcha-tribals-in-sikkim-against-teesta-hydel-project_govt-exerting-pressure.html>-
Today marks day 40 of an indefinite hunger strike initiated by Lepcha
tribals in the state of Sikkim India. The hunger strike is a protest against
the a series of hydro dams proposed for development in their territory. (see
here<http://intercontinentalcry.org/day-37-of-hunger-strike-for-lepcha-youth/>for
more)

*July 28*
Algonquins sued for 77 million by Mining
Company<http://intercontinentalcry.org/algonquin-protest-and-information-toll-july-28/>-
The Algonquin First Nations occupying a proposed uranium mine site in
eastern Ontario are being sued by the mining company, Frontenac Ventures
Corporation, for $77 million dollars in damages, as well as a court order
ending our protest and forcing us to vacate our land. In their Statement of
Claim, which was served on our lawyer today, the company makes absurd and
outrageous claims that we are "threatening" and "intimidating" them and
their employees. In fact, our peaceful protest has been completely
non-violent and non-threatening from the beginning.

*July 27*
PUBLIC TRIAL in Mexico City for crimes against
humanity<http://intercontinentalcry.org/public-trial-in-mexico-city-for-crimes-against-humanity/>-
August 3 and 4 there will be a "Grassroots Trial in the Zocalo of
Mexico
City against CRIMINALS ULISES RUIZ ORTIZ, VICENTE FOX QUEZADA, CARLOS
ABASCAL, illegitimate president FELIPE CALDERÓN and all those who are
responsible for committing crimes against the humanity of the people of
Mexico." You may recall, back in June 2006 Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) was
symbolically tried, sentenced, hung and burned in effigy by Section 22 (the
Oaxaca teachers' union), social organizations and the people in general. A
week after this mock trial, URO sent in over 3000 state judicial police who
went on to indiscriminately attack the unarmed people at the Zocalo.

*July 26*
Indigenous group 'refused entry' to McArthur River Mine
site<http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/26/1988930.htm?section=justin>-
A man claiming cultural ties to the McArthur River Mine (MRM) site
says a
group of women and children have been refused entry to sacred land by
management. Jackie Green says about 25 people wanted to perform a cultural
dance on land just inside the boundaries of the mine site yesterday, but
were stopped at the gate. The group had a documentary film crew and a
representative of the Territory Environment Centre with them.

Canada lost in court on Friday. Is Canada going to
learn?<http://intercontinentalcry.org/canada-lost-in-court-on-friday-is-canada-going-to-learn/>-
In a court ruling last Friday, a Canadian Federal Court sided with the
Ka'agee Tu — saying that the Federal government violated the Ka'agee Tu's
right to "meaningful consultation" when in 2005, it approved an application
for Paramount Resources to drill several new oil wells in the Cameron Hills
area — Traditional hunting grounds for the Ka'agee Tu, and also a location
of their drinking water. This decision is by all means a precedence that
effectively requires Canada to consult Indigenous People before taking any
action that would effect them. But is Canada going to respect it?

*July 25*
Satellite Monitoring Reveals Destruction of Indigenous
Land<http://www.galdu.org/web/index.php?odas=2134&giella1=eng>- The
land of Paraguay's Ayoreo-Totobiegosode tribe is being bulldozed at
break-neck speed, forcing the Indians to flee to the last remaining patches
of forest. Many Ayoreo have been killed in previous encounters with
outsiders. Ayoreo man Ojnai said, `All this land belonged to our ancestors,
but the white men are going to take it all from us. I am very worried about
the deforestation, because we don`t know where exactly the people still in
the forest are living. I have a sister among them.`

*July 24*
Tupinikim and Guarani begin campaign to reclaim
land<http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/?p=300>- On July 24,
the Tupinikim and Guarani began a campaign to reclaim their
lands in Brazil. In recent years they've been in a steady conflict with
Aracruz Cellulose, who claims the Tupinikim and Guarani are not indigenous
People, and further claims ownership of all their land. The Open Letter by
the Commission of Tupinikim and Guarani Chiefs and Leaders details their
campaign precisely. (also see
here<http://intercontinentalcry.org/aracruz-works-to-criminalize-activists-in-brazil/>
)

Mesoamerican Organizations Strengthen Fight Against
Dams<http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/node/23162>- The 4th
Mesoamerican Encounter of the Latin American Network Against Dams,
and for Rivers, their Communities and Water (Redlar) took place in El
Salvador. The meeting was aimed at strengthening the coordination and the
alliances of the Mesoamerican movement against dams in the pursuit of
community alternatives, to face the energy policies of the region and move
forward in the construction of sustainable societies.

*Jul 23*
Guatemala: From Resistance to
Power<http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/node/23149>- Indigenous
leader and presidential candidate Rigoberta Menchu said the
Guatemalan indigenous movement is preparing to be elected for the presidency
and lead the country. The Guatemalan national elections will be held next
September 9th. In a rally held days ago, Maya-Quiche indigenous leader
Menchu appropriated the watchword of indigenous peoples, which is "from
resistance to power". 'Clearly, we have lost our fears, we will neither be
passive observers of the elections nor will we be manipulated by
politicians, we will be actors of our own fate', Menchu said, according to
Prensa Latina news agency.

Bolivia: massive march for national unity <http://ww4report.com/node/4254> -
At least one million people–more than two million, according to some
sources–marched in El Alto, Bolivia, on July 20 to call for national unity
and to oppose proposals to move the executive and legislative branches of
government from La Paz, the de facto capital, to the southern city of Sucre.
Although no government officials spoke at the demonstration, in the evening
President Evo Morales called the mobilization "historic"; analysts
considered it the country's largest demonstration in recent years. The media
nicknamed it the "Pacenazo" (from La Paz), while participants called it a
cabildo (a public discussion, like a town hall meeting).

A movement of Tradition emerges in
Venezuela<http://intercontinentalcry.org/a-movement-of-tradition-emerges-in-venezuela/>-
There was an important gathering in Caracas last week—Indigenous
People
from all over Venezuela came together for the First Meeting of Indigenous
and Socialist Indigenous Warriors.

Help save Apache Sacred Sites from copper
mining<http://www.petitiononline.com/coop2468/petition.html>- Here's
an urgent online petition to help protect Apache Leap and numerous
other Sacred sites from desecration by copper mining. The land in question
is part of the ancestral lands of the sovereign Native Nations of the
Apache, Yavapai, Hopi, and O'Odham.

*July 16*
Preparations for a united movement in Chile
underway<http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/rmr/?q=en/node/23095>- On the
weekend, several social, cultural and environmental organizations
met in Chile to draw out an initiative to create a unified movement in
Chile, who will explicitly work to change the current system towards one
that is respectful to natural resources, social justice and cultural
diversity.

*July 14*
Nepal's Other Insurgency<http://www.tehelka.com/story_main32.asp?filename=Ne140707nepals_other_CS.asp>-
An alarming, and unheralded, civil war is spiralling to intensity
along
the sweep of India's open frontier with Nepal. Allowed to fester, it could
torpedo the fragile peace plan taking shape in Kathmandu, unleash a cascade
of refugees into Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and present New Delhi the anathema
of a un mission digging into its backyard. The erupted eye of this storm is
an anarchic movement for self-determination by the plains people of Nepal.

*July 13*
Pygmy artists housed in Congo
zoo<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6898241.stm>- Human rights
activists have criticised the organisers of a music festival
in the Republic of Congo for housing pygmy musicians in a tent at a zoo.
Other artists at the Festival of Pan-African Music (Fespam) are staying in
hotels in the capital, Brazzaville. The organisers say the grounds of
Brazzaville zoo are closer to the pygmies' natural habitat.

Navajo Mine: Forced relocation of Navajos and toxic
dumping<http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/07/toxic-coal-mine-navajos-file-suit-in.html>-
Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment ("
C.A.R.E.") and the San Juan Citizens Alliance were forced to take legal
action against the Federal Office of Surface Mining ("OSM") today over the
agency's approval of a massive mine expansion for the Navajo Mine. OSM's
decisions have already led to the permanent removal or relocation of
numerous tribal members from their homeland and resulted in the permanent
dumping of millions of tons of hazardous wastes.

*July 11*
Aboriginal Elders Occupy Barrick Gold's Australian Head
Office<http://barrick.live.radicaldesigns.org/article.php?id=151>-
Elders and supporters of the Wiradjuri Aboriginal Nation have occupied
the
Australian head office of the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick
Gold. Around 35 people peacefully occupied Barrick Gold's Australian
headquarters in Perth, Western Australia on Wednesday in a bid to force the
company to meet Wiradjuri protocols relating to people with bloodlines to
Lake Cowal in Central New South Wales where Barrick is operating a gold
mine.

*July 10*
Aymaras Don't Want to
Disappear<http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38488>- Twenty years
ago, close to 100 indigenous Aymara people lived in the
village of Cancosa, but today only 10 remain. The same is true of many
indigenous communities in the Chilean Altiplano, as their members have moved
out in search of jobs and educational opportunities. The community plans to
change the situation through tourism and growing quínoa, a high-protein
grain.

*July 7*
Hundreds Protest Over Land Disputes, Corruption In Southern
Vietnam<http://www.mediaisland.org/en/hundreds-protest-over-land-disputes-corruption-southern-vietnam>-
Hundreds of people are camping out near a government building in
southern
Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City to protest alleged corruption and unfair
compensation for their land, taken for infrastructure projects, police said
Saturday. Protesters from nine southern provinces have converged since June
22th in front of the representative office of the lawmaking National
Assembly

*July 6*
New Zealand - Wahi Tapu
<http://uriohau.blogspot.com/2007/07/wahi-tapu.html>- A collective of
Indigenous People in New Zealand began occupying and
opposing a development on a Waahi tapu site known as Otuparae. The People
went through all legal avenues before pursuing this course of action. So
far, police raided the site twice: Arresting people, and humiliating some by
making them carry a stack of chairs down the driveway.

GUAM: Landowners protest against the US
military<http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/s1971454.htm>-
Landowners in Guam's Urunao district are protesting against access to
their properties being blocked off by the US military. With eight-thousand
marines relocating to Guam from Okinawa over the next couple of years, the
landowners fear being denied access to their ancestral lands or having them
confiscated for military housing.

Plight of Indigenous Fijian Landowners Now Being
Addressed<http://www.fijivillage.com/artman/publish/article_39485.shtml>-
Interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has stressed that
the
plight of the Indigenous Fijian landowners is now being addressed following
the return of the 38 acres of ancestral land to the mataqali Rara today.
Commodore Bainimarama said all the issues being raised by the landowners
will be addressed to ensure that the country moves forward. However, the
Interim Prime Minister has reiterated that no racist policies will be
promulgated to split the different races in the country.

Petition for the Restoration of the Maasai
Nation<http://maasaiwarrior.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/httpwwwipetitionscompetitionmaasaicivilpoliticalrights/>-
Anglo Maasai Treaties has violated our rights to lands and natural
resources thus minimizing our chances of surviving any kind of change.
Keeping our normal lifestyle isn't either an alternative since we do not own
any land neither do we have resources to buy any while our population is
expected to rise. The lands were sequestered to British ex servicemen and
mobility. [This Petition is a request to the] president to recognize our
plight.
*July 3*
Land Recovery in
Bolivia<http://intercontinentalcry.org/land-recovery-in-bolivia/>-
Today, the Chiquitano People received land titles in perpetuity for
the
territory of Monte Verde, after 12 years of struggle on part of the
Chiquitano. The territory, located in Southeast Bolivia near the Brazilian
Border, is approximately one million hectares in size.
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