18th June 2009: Peruvian Congress Votes 82 – 12 to Repeal Two Controversial Laws
Government Urged to Drop Criminal Charges Against Indigenous Leaders and Allow Independent Investigation into Violent Incidents in Bagua
Lima, Peru – The Peruvian Congress voted today 82 – 12 to repeal two of nine contested laws in an attempt to end widespread indigenous protests that have been paralyzing transportation and commerce in the Peruvian Amazon for 70 days. In a complete shift of discourse, President Garcia admitted that “there were a series errors and exaggerations” in the government’s handling of this conflict and asked Congress to repeal decrees 1090 and 1064, which were passed in 2008 as part of a package of new laws to facilitate the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
Having witnessed the vote in the Peruvian Congress, Daysi Zapata, acting President of AIDESEP, Peru’s national Amazonian indigenous organization welcomed the President’s comments and declared: “Today is a historic day. We are grateful that the will of the indigenous peoples has been heard and we only hope that in the future governments listen and attend to indigenous peoples, and not legislate behind their backs.”
Zapata said that AIDESEP it is calling on our base organizations and communities to end their blockades and protests while also calling on the government to enter into a good faith and transparent dialogue.
Primer Minister Simon, who has been a lead negotiator to the indigenous communities, said Tuesday that he would resign after bringing the current conflict closer to resolution. The Peruvian Government has been heavily criticized for the June 5 attack to quell nonviolent protests by Amazonian indigenous communities, which resulted in dozens of deaths of both protesters and police and left 150 of indigenous demonstrators injured.
In addition to decrees 1090 and 1064, AIDESEP points to at least seven other laws that continue to pose a threat to their constitutionally guaranteed rights. In addition to the repeal of all these controversial laws, indigenous people are demanding that the Peruvian Government lift the State of Emergency, in effect since May 9 in several regions throughout the Amazon. AIDESEP is also calling for the Government to drop criminal charges against Alberto Pizango and five other indigenous leaders. Pizango was given safe passage to leave the country and is now exiled in Nicaragua.
In the United States, fifteen human rights and environmental organizations recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top Administration officials urging the United States to take immediate steps towards addressing the political crisis in Peru. Representatives from this coalition met with the U.S. Trade Representative’s office on Wednesday to again urge the U.S. Government to publicly clarify if Peru would be penalized for revoking the package of “free trade laws.”
The dramatic shift in the Garcia Administration’s discourse is likely due to the unprecedented international and domestic condemnation of the attacks on peaceful demonstrations on June 5 in Bagua. Tens of thousands protested in cities throughout Peru on June 11 in support of Peru’s indigenous peoples. Peruvian consulates and embassies worldwide have been the site of repeated vigils and protests. Tens of thousands have sent letters to Peruvian and US government officials. Celebrities including Q’orianka Kilcher and Benjamin Bratt, both part Peruvian as well as Nobel Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu, have publicly condemned the violence in Peru while calling for a peaceful solution.
Leading international human rights bodies including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and the International Labor Organization have pressed the Garcia Administration to end repression and uphold the rights of indigenous peoples. Yesterday, James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People arrived in Peru for a 3-day visit to gather information about the violent incident in Bagua.
Amazon Watch’s Executive Director, Atossa Soltani, reacted to the news with the following statement: “The Peruvian Congress’s repeal of the two decrees is a welcome first step in bringing indigenous rights in Peru back to where they were before the decrees were promulgated in 2008. The conflict has become a watershed moment for Peru’s policies in the Amazon and has invigorated national debate about deep-rooted violations of indigenous peoples rights. Today’s good news notwithstanding, indigenous peoples are likely to continue to be at risk by Garcia’s policies to open up the Amazon to extractive industries.”
Since 2006, the government has authorized oil and gas concessions covering over 70 percent of the Peruvian Amazon, much of it on indigenous lands (see Perupetro map at http://mirror.perupetro.com.pe/exploracion01-e.asp).
For more information, see http://www.amazonwatch.org/peru-protests.php
Earlier article on blockade crushing & massacre here
19.6.09
18 June 2009
Manchester Plane Stupid disrupt aviation industry conference
Outside, protesters held a banner outside the entrance reading,
An account of todays (16/06/2009) action against Van Oord UK, owners of the dredgers operating in Broadhaven Bay, and in Solidarity with the people of Erris in their 10 year struggle.
Work continues in Glengad, but so does action resisting the pipeline. The Rossport Solidarity Camp is active and running, so please come and visit! Come and see what is happening with your own eyes, and bring whatever skills and talents you would like to share. Here is a five day update.
Truck blockade:
June 18th 2009
It was a glorious morning as 5 separate groups made their way towards Aldermaston. At 6.30a.m. the Muriel Lesters arrived at North Gate to find it had not been opened yet for the park and ride coaches so they further locked it with their own chains and some super-glue and arranged themselves as comfortably as possible in their lock-ons and hung their peace banners.
At 7a.m. women from the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp pushed their heavy lock-ons into place at Home Office Gate, and three women locked on, slowing traffic down whilst the East Anglian group drove two cars into Tadley Gate completely blocking it. The two cars had been carefully provided with lock-on tubes fixed to the back-seat floors so that when the cars were positioned the supporters in the front could get out fast and the two in the back seat just opened their doors and then sat in the road and put their arms in the tube. Thus 2 people locked-on to each car and the rest of the supporting group spray painted CND signs on the cars and hung banners saying ’Nuclear Weapons are State Terrorism’.
Meanwhile, two intrepid cyclists managed to padlock shut both sets of gates at the Main Gate and then rush off without getting arrested in order to support the other groups. They were soon joined by 2 other cyclists and throughout the morning not only gave good support but also got lots of ideas about how to do some bicycle blockades another time. They put up their banner that said ’Bikes Block Bombs – No Trident’ at the Tadley Gate.
At 7.30a.m. two combined TP affinity groups calling themselves the ’Birthday Group’ (it was Alison’s 60th birthday) manoeuvred a caravan into the Boilerhouse Gate stopping the line of traffic that had been directed around to that gate. There were 4 locked to each corner of the caravan sitting on the ground with their arms in concrete lock-ons that were fixed inside each corner of the caravan. One other blockader locked himself to the side of the caravan. Then the banner went up saying ’No Trident Replacement’ and the birthday cake came around.