UN EXPERT DEPLORES ANTI-INDIGENOUS VIOLENCE IN BOLIVIA.

New York, Sep 18 2008 12:10PM

The United Nations expert on the human rights of indigenous people today condemned the recent wave of violence in Bolivia directed at indigenous communities, individuals and institutions that work in their defense. James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, expressed deep concern that these attacks are occurring in a context of a systematic policy adopted by officials in four eastern regions to counter. Government initiatives aimed at guaranteeing the rights of indigenous people.

In recent weeks, the hostility has resulted in dozens of deaths, hundreds of injured and in an undetermined number of people disappearing from the Andean country, according to a statement in his press release.

“I condemn the ongoing acts of violence perpetrated against indigenous and rural people as well as the threats made against their representatives,” he said.

“I particularly denounce the murders committed on 11 September 2008 in Porvenir, Department of Pando, when paramilitary groups ambushed and killed members of the Rural Workers Union of Pando and students at the Filadelphia Teachers Training College, the majority of whom are indigenous,” said James Anaya.

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PRESS RELEASE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PERMANENT FORUM OF THE UNITED NATIONS ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES IN RELATION TO DEVELOPMENTS IN BOLIVIA.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chair, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Executive Director, Tebtebba , Convenor, Asia Indigenous Women's Network said:

We note that violence and racism have been unleashed against the indigenous peoples of the departments of Santa Cruz , Tarija, Beni and Pando with the purpose of ensuring and increasing the control over lands and resources by a small minority and perpetuating the existence of captive indigenous communities in the Amazon and the Chaco . This represents a gross violation of human rights.

These violent acts have been taking place since 9 September with the collusion, to say the least, of local authorities. The most egregious events have taken place in the department of Pando, where peasants, students, children, women and unionists, mainly indigenous, were victims of an ambush that caused human loss and has left a number of people wounded. This atmosphere of terror and threats has forced an indeterminate number of people in Pando and other departments to go into hiding. The offices of indigenous organizations, government agencies, human rights NGOs and news media have been ransacked or destroyed.

More information:

www.tebtebba.org

www.un.org/socdev/esa/unpfii

AIDESEP regretted that the government continue without giving support to indigenous peoples.

AIDESEP, September 20, 2008. AIDESEP, through a communique, lamented that the government has decided to continue with its policy behind the backs of indigenous communities by not convening a multisectoral dialogue table. Furthermore, if you tried to involve in this meeting to indigenous organizations that clearly is in favor of the depredation of the forest and has ties to the government through Perupetro.

(Read more)

http://www.aidesep.org.pe/index.php?codnota=183 http://www.servindi.org

DISASTERS PERPETUATE CYCLE OF POVERTY, SAYS UN AGENCY. New York, Sep 16 2008 3:10PM

Recent devastating storms and floods have reinforced poverty in many parts of the world, the United Nations agency tasked with minimizing the threat posed by natural disasters said today.

“The extreme and repeated consequences of hurricanes in the Caribbean and the [United States] show that development levels are directly linked to the toll that natural hazards take on a country’s population,” said Sálvano Briceño, Director of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).

http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/FBUO-7JJHXT?OpenDocument

http://www.un.org/news

Peru: Struggle Amazonian indigenous peoples achieved victory in Congress.

Servindi, August 22, 2008 .- The Congress approved today at 14.25 minutes in the afternoon the opinion that repealing the Nº 1015 and Nº 1073 legislative decrees that more flexible procedures to dispose of the land of communities.

The opinion of the Commission on Peoples Andean, Amazonian, Afro-Peruvian Peoples, Environment and Ecology proposed the repeal of those rules was adopted by 62 votes to 27 votes against and no abstentions. Alberto Pizango Chota, president of the Association Interethnic Development of the Peruvian Jungle (AIDESEP), asked President Alan García respects the decision of the Congress and not observe the decision.

see more : http://www.servindi.org/archivo/2008/

(EFE) .- The indigenous leader Alberto Pizango (AIDESEP) said on Friday that "Peru has taken a big step for true democracy in the sense of respect", with the repeal by Congress of legislative decrees Nº 1015 and Nº 1073, that natives considered contrary to their rights. In press conference, expressed satisfaction Pizango adding that the annulment of the so-called law of the jungle is "a great joy of the 65 indigenous peoples in the Amazon" because they saw actually made a claim very fair.

see more :http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/ediciononline/HTML/2008-08-22/