Tribal Solidarity – Page 5

Nembe Communities Occupy Shell Oil Facilities in Nigeria

12th May 2014

Stakeholders and indigenes of Nembe-Bassambiri in Bayelsa State last weekend besieged oil facilities operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) over it’s divestment plans and proposed sale of its Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs).

The host to some of the SPDC’s installations in Nembe Local Government Area of the state, were angry at the plan by Shell to sell OML 29 located in their domain without consulting them.

Shell has reportedly placed its 45 percent stake in four oil wells including OML 29 for sale as part of the company’s divestment.

OML 29 is believed to have increased to 62,000 bpd of oil and 40 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d). It also holds reserves of 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

The aggrieved protesters who stormed the company’s facilities on Saturday with diffrent placards asked Shell to stop production for three days to address their demands.

Numbering over 100, the demonstrators consisting of women, youths, chiefs, leaders and elders from the community came on 15 speedboats.

The protesters led by a member of the community’s Oil and Gas Committee, Chief Brigidi, took over the Nembe-Brass waterways, chanting solidarity songs as they sailed to SPDC’s major oil platforms in the area to register their grievances.

Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read: “the land is ours, the oil is ours, Shell cannot divest without us”; “No, to Shell OML 29 sale”; “After polluting our land and water, Shell wants to sell our land”.

Others are “No to fraudulent sell of investment”. “No to Shell fraudulent divestment”; “OML 29, OPU Nembe demand justice”; “Do not sell our oil wells to strangers” and “Include our companies in OML divestment plans”.

A member of the Nembe-Bassambiri Council of Chiefs, Chief Bukunor Alfred, said members of the community were angry at the plan of SPDC to sell oil blocks in the area without consulting them.

He said delegates sent by the council of chiefs to dialogue with SPDC on the development returned disappointed, saying, “Our placards have shown that we are not happy with Shell. We are by this protest giving Shell three days to shut down operation and dialogue with us or we will ensure that these facilities are permanently closed.”

He said though SPDC had contributed in the development of the community, the company was wrong to take a major decision of divesting without consulting its landlords.

“We are not against what they are doing. But we want to say that we are the landlords and we are supposed to be notified on what our tenants are doing,” he said.

Also, the Chairman of Opu-Nembe Improvement Union (ONIU), Mr. Ebinyo Robert, said the community would not let the company to leave unceremoniously after destroying its environment through pollution.

He insisted that the company must involve the community in all the processes involved in selling OML 29.

He warned that individuals and companies indicating interest to buy the oil wells should desist or have the community to contend with.

He said the communities have nominated three companies, Amot Oil E&P Limited, A-Abas Resources and Isea BMG, to participate in the bidding process.

He said: “The place has been polluted and our enviroment, our water our land, has been degraded for a long time. We have not been rehabilitated the way we really wanted it.

“By this demonstration, we are telling the parties to the sale including the bidders to desist from going ahead because if they do, of course, the land is ours, the water is ours and the oil is ours, they will have us to contend with and they may not like us in the manner in which they will meet us when they come to operate.

“So, we are asking the SPDC to stop the flow and all operations for now and ensure that the community is carried along because that is the only way we can have peace here.

“We are also saying that the community has nominated three companies, Amot Oil E&P Limited, A-Abas Resources and Isea BMG, to participate in the bidding process. So, SPDC should involve these companies in the process.”

But the Operations Team Lead Santa Barbara Flow Station, Mr. Akpe Emmanuel, welcomed the protesters on behalf of Shell.

He thanked them for the peaceful manner in which they conducted the demonstration and promised to pass their grievances across the SPDC.

He said: “Once again, you are welcome. I want to thank you for the manner in which you presented your case. I really appreciate it on behalf of Shell.

“Like the community has assigned you to represent them, I am also here on behalf of Shell. I have heard all you have said. It is my duty to pass this message to my principal.”

Mass Trial of Indigenous Leaders Set to Begin this Week in Peru

12th May 2014 A massive trial involving 53 Indigenous leaders and activists is set to begin this week, reviving the tragic events that took place four years ago in the Amazonas Region

12th May 2014 A massive trial involving 53 Indigenous leaders and activists is set to begin this week, reviving the tragic events that took place four years ago in the Amazonas Region of Peru.

In April 2009, a national indigenous mobilization was organized to stop a plan by the Peruvian government to roll-back indigenous land rights and make it easier for industry to exploit the Amazon rainforest.

The first month of the mobilization, led by more than 1200 communities, was largely peaceful. However, that began to change on May 9, 2009, when the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency in the regions of Loreto, Amazonas, Cusco, and Ucayali–where thousands of Indigenous Peoples were concentrating their efforts.

Once the state of emergency was declared, the number of confrontations with police and military began to climb. Nevertheless, the mobilization pressed on, with Indigenous Peoples carrying out daily protest actions across the country.

With the Indigenous Peoples showing no signs of backing down, on May 20, Peru’s Congress took a positive step forward by repealing one of four laws that sparked the mobilization: Legislative Decree 1090, a new forestry law that removed the protected status of some 45 million hectares of rainforest. Six days later, a second legislative decree, aimed at promoting private investment in irrigation projects, was declared unconstitutional.

While there was enormous relief over the removal of the two decrees, two others remained:

Legislative Decree 1064 removed a requirement that obliged companies to come to an agreement with indigenous communities over land compensation and land use before entering their lands (effectively giving mining, oil & gas, logging, and hydro companies free access to enter any Indigenous territory).
Legislative Decree 1089, meanwhile, gave unrestricted powers for land titling to COFOPRI, the government body that specializes in granting individual land titles.

With both decrees posing a significant threat to the security of Indigenous land rights, in addition to the fact that the government failed to carry out a process of consulting or seeking the consent of effected Indigenous Peoples–in violation of ILO Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples–the mobilization pressed on.

After a few more weeks of protest, it looked as if a resolution was at hand. Several thousand Awajun and Wampis Peoples had set up a series of strategic blockades on Fernando Belaúnde Terry road in Bagua, Amazonas Region. Having so effectively seized the important road, the government sought to strike a deal with the Awajun and Wampis, ultimately convincing the Indigenous Peoples to begin taking down their blockades. Many of the Awajun and Wampis were long gone by the time June 5 rolled around.

In the early morning hours of June 5, the Peruvian military police made their move.

When the dust finally settled, 38 people were dead and more than 200 were injured.

Two weeks after the brutal confrontation, Peru’s Congress overwhelmingly voted to strike down both Legislative Decree 1064 and 1089.

Following Congress’ vote, Daysi Zapata, vice president of the Interethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Jungle (AIDESEP), the organization that started the mobilization, officially called for an end to all protests, stating, “Today is an historic day, we are grateful that the will of indigenous peoples has been heard, and only hope that in future, governments meet and listen to the people, and not legislate the laws back in.”

Four years later, the decrees have remained off the books; the government taking judicial aim at many of the Indigenous Peoples who took part (or allegedly took part) in the mobilization. Since 2009, more 100 separate lawsuits have been filed involving at least 350 Indigenous men and women.

The upcoming lawsuit, known as the “Curva del Diablo”, will be the largest of them all. In fact, with 53 indigenous leaders facing anywhere between 35 years to life in prison, it is going to be the largest trial in Peru’s history.

AIDESEP President Alberto Pizango, who is among the 53 named defendants, recently commented in an internal AIDESEP interview:

There’s a “Before Bagua” and an “After Bagua”. A before in which the Peruvian State didn’t want to and didn’t know how to listen to the proposals of indigenous peoples. This exacerbated the situation until things came to what happened, which unfortunately took so many lives unnecessarily. I’d say an “After Bagua” because thanks to the Amazonian mobilizations I can say that today the indigenous agenda is not only inserted in the national level and within the State, but on the international level.

Pizango continues:

I’d just say to the indigenous peoples and my indigenous brothers who are being tried for these regrettable events that they should stay firm in continuing to lift up the voice of indigenous peoples. All we have done is comply with our role as being the official spokespeople and work to insert in the national public agenda the different claims as mandated to us by our peoples. I’d reiterate to my brothers that they should stay firm in the significance of indigenous peoples rights. We’re going to overcome these accusations, we should be conscious of the fact that we haven’t committed any crimes. Perhaps our only crime was to carry the voice of the people, which is what we’ll be judged for starting May 14th….

Tibetan Jumps to His Death to Protest Chinese Mine

9th May 2014 A young Tibetan stabbed himself and jumped to his death from the roof of a building in Tibet’s Chamdo prefecture on Wednesday after authorities tried to halt his protest against a Chinese mine being built in the area,

Phakpa Gyaltsen, 32, died instantly after throwing himself from a building in Dzogang (in Chinese, Zuogang) prefecture’s Tongbar town, a Tibetan living in India told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Wednesday, citing local sources.

After telling local Tibetans that he would “do something” to oppose Chinese mining in Dzogang, Gyaltsen “went to the town center, climbed onto a high building, and called out for Tibetan freedom,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“When attempts were made to stop him, he stabbed himself twice and jumped off the building, dying instantly,” he said.

Tibet—called Xizang, or Western Treasure, by China—has become an important source of minerals needed for China’s economic growth, and mining operations in Tibetan regions have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms of disrupting sites of spiritual significance and polluting the environment as they extract local wealth.

Chinese mining operations at a site near Madok Tso called Ache Jema began almost two months ago, an exile source in Europe said, also citing contacts in Dzogang.

“They claimed that they are working to build a dam, but in reality they are planning to mine in the area, the source said.

“So the local Tibetans decided to stop the plan, and every day three Tibetans were sent to guard the area, working in rotation.”

Detained

Some of those watching the site were later detained by police in Tongbar but were released after a few days, he said.

“Local authorities also tried to convince area residents not to oppose the mining by offering each family 10,000 yuan [U.S. $1,603] in compensation,” RFA’s India-based source said, adding, “But the Tibetans argued that mining would have negative impacts [on the area].”

“Phakpa Gyaltsen then told the local Tibetans that he would do something himself so that they would not have to protest and cause problems.”

Gyaltsen, the elder son of the area’s Choeshoe family, is survived by a wife and three small children, with another child on the way, he said.

“Phone connections to the area are now blocked, and it is difficult to learn anything more about what is happening,” he said.

Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing’s rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008, with 131 Tibetans to date self-immolating to protest Chinese rule and call for the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Reported by RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Nearly a thousand environmental activists murdered since 2002

April 15, 2014 At least 908 people were murdered for taking a stand to defend the environment betwe

April 15, 2014 At least 908 people were murdered for taking a stand to defend the environment between 2002 and 2013, according to a new report today from Global Witness, which shows a dramatic uptick in the murder rate during the past four years. Notably, the report appears on the same day that another NGO, Survival International, released a video of a gunman terrorizing a Guarani indigenous community in Brazil, which has recently resettled on land taken from them by ranchers decades ago. According to the report, nearly half of the murders over the last decade occurred in Brazil—448 in all—and over two-thirds—661—involved land conflict.

"There can be few starker or more obvious symptoms of the global environmental crisis than a dramatic upturn in killings of ordinary people defending rights to their land or environment," said Oliver Courtney of Global Witness. "Yet this rapidly worsening problem is going largely unnoticed, and those responsible almost always get away with it. We hope our findings will act as the wake-up call that national governments and the international community clearly need."

But as grisly as the report is, it's likely a major underestimation of the issue. The report covers just 35 countries where violence against environmental activists remains an issue, but leaves out a number of major countries where environmental-related murders are likely occurring but with scant reporting.

"Because of the live, under-recognized nature of this problem, an exhaustive global analysis of the situation is not possible," reads the report. "For example, African countries such as Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Zimbabwe that are enduring resource-fueled unrest are highly likely to be affected, but information is almost impossible to gain without detailed field investigations."

In fact, reports of hundreds of additional killings in countries like Ethiopia, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe were left out due to lack of rigorous information.

Even without these countries included, the number of environmental activists killed nearly approaches the number of journalists murdered during the same period—913—an issue that gets much more press. Environmental activists most at risk are people fighting specific industries.

"Many of those facing threats are ordinary people opposing land grabs, mining operations and the industrial timber trade, often forced from their homes and severely threatened by environmental devastation," reads the report. "Indigenous communities are particularly hard hit. In many cases, their land rights are not recognized by law or in practice, leaving them open to exploitation by powerful economic interests who brand them as 'anti-development'."

As if to highlight these points, Survival International released a video today that the groups says shows a gunman firing at the Pyelito Kuê community of Guarani indigenous people. The incident injured one woman, according to the group. The Guarani have been campaigning for decades to have land returned to them that has been taken by ranchers.

"This video gives a brief glimpse of what the Guarani endure month after month—harassment, intimidation, and sometimes murder, just for trying to live in peace on tiny fractions of the ancestral land that was once stolen from them," the director of Survival International, Stephen Corry, said. "Is it too much to expect the Brazilian authorities, given the billions they're spending on the World Cup, to sort this problem out once and for all, rather than let the Indians' misery continue?"

According to the report, two major drivers of repeated violence against environmental activists are a lack of attention to the issue and widespread impunity for perpetrators. In fact, Global Witness found that only ten people have been convicted for the 908 murders documented in the report, meaning a conviction rate of just 1.1 percent to date.

"Environmental human rights defenders work to ensure that we live in an environment that enables us to enjoy our basic rights, including rights to life and health," John Knox, UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment said. "The international community must do more to protect them from the violence and harassment they face as a result."

Rebels raid mining firm in Southern Philippines and torch heavy equipment

April 5 2014 New People’s Army rebels on Saturday raided a mining firm in the southern Philippine province of Agusan del Norte, reports said.

Reports said the rebels swooped down on Philippine Alstron Mining Company on the village of Tamamarkay in Tubay town and overpowered the security guards without firing a single shot before they torched several trucks and other heavy equipment.

The rebels also seized at least 6 shot guns and short firearms from the company’s security arsenal. There were no reports of casualties.

The raid came following threats made by the NPA on mining firms operating in the southern Philippines.

Just last month, rebel forces attacked a police base and government troops in Davao del Sur’s Matanao as punishment for their “reign of terror” against indigenous tribes and other communities opposing mining operations in the province.

Dencio Madrigal, a spokesman for the NPA-Valentine Palamine Command, said the deadly attacks were a punishment for police and military units protecting Glencore Xstrata. He accused the mining firm of exploiting nearly 100,000 hectares of ancestral lands of indigenous Lumad Blaans tribes, and peasants in the region.

Jorge Madlos, a regional rebel spokesman, also warned mining firms and fruit plantations in the region, saying military operations in Mindanao have escalated and have become more extensive with the aim to thwart the ever growing and widespread people’s protest against destructive mining operations and plantations.

Madlos said among their targets are Russell Mines and Minerals, Apex Mining Corp. and Philco in southern Mindanao; Dolefil, Del Monte and Sumifru plantations in northern Mindanao; TVI Resource Development Philippines in western Mindanao whose operations inside the ancestral domain of indigenous Subanen and Moro tribes are being opposed by villagers.

NPA and Moro rebels had previously attacked TVI Resources in Zamboanga province.

“If one recalls, more than 400 families were forced to evacuate their ancestral lands because of TVI and the ruthless military operations that ensued to protect it in Buug, Zamboanga del Sur. In order to defend the people’s human rights and general wellbeing, the NPA launched tactical offensives against TVI as well as against units of the AFP-PNP-CAFGU protecting it, such as the ambush on February 2012 that hit elements of the army intelligence group operating on the behest of TVI and the imposition of the local government to allow TVI mining operations on Subanen ancestral lands is one of the bases the NPA raided on April 9, 2012 the PNP station in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur,” Madlos said.

NPA rebels also intercepted a group of army soldiers who were using a borrowed truck from TVI and disarmed them in Diplahan town in Zamboanga Sibugay province two years ago. The rebels also burned the truck before releasing the soldiers.

“In view of these events, the NDFP in Mindanao calls upon the Lumad and Moro peoples, peasants and workers, religious and other sectors to further strengthen their unity and their courage to oppose the interests of imperialist mines and plantations, which are exceedingly damaging to Mindanao, to its people and to the environment. We call upon the units of the NPA in Mindanao to be ever more daring in their defense of people’s interests against the greed and rapacity of the local ruling classes and their imperialist master,” Madlos said.

TVI Resource Development Philippines has repeatedly denied all accusations against them. It recently ended its gold mining operation in Mount Canatuan in Zamboanga del Norte’s Siocon town after several years of operations and now has a gold-silver project in the town of Bayog in Zamboanga del Sur province and a nickel plant in Agusan del Norte province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Earth First! Direct Action Manual Is Ready for Print

Earth First! Direct Action Manual. To support this publication, preorder your copy or donate today.

After several years in development, the Earth First! Direct Action Manual is ready to go to press. A group of frontline activists has assembled over 300 pages of diagrams, descriptions of techniques and a comprehensive overview of the role direct action plays in our campaigns in defense of the Earth.

We are now in a three-week fundraising campaign to ensure that this critical book gets out to people who can use it. You can preorder your copy and get some extra thank you gifts for your early endorsement by donating today. More importantly, though, we have offered a chance for you to help us spread this knowledge. Every donation over $50 gives you the chance to send a free copy of the manual to a campaign of your choice. The more you give, the more manuals we can put in the mail.

The manual will be printed in the coming month with longtime Earth First! partner, The Gloo Factory. This community-minded, union print shop has supplied Earth First! and its affiliates with stickers and merchandise for decades and remains committed to using a high standard for recycled and reclaimed material, as well as supportive worker conditions.

The manual was first printed nearly two decades ago and has been out of print since its initial dissemination. Though many of the considerations for civil disobedience and intervention have remained tried and true, new elements have altered the ways we put these tactics into action. The Earth First! Direct Action Manual will continue the role of safe and effective actions in stopping the destruction of the planet.

Support this effort today!

Brazil: Munduruku People Kick Miners Off Indigenous Territory, Seize Equipment

Translated from Portuguese by Thomas Walker / Earth First! Newswire

Threatened by Death, Muduruku Expel Miners from their territories, West of Para.

Under threat of death, Muduruku expel miners from their territories, west of Para.

Night had hardly arrived when indigenous Munduruku people landed on the bank of a mine on Tropas River, a tributary of Tapajós river, in a region west of Pará. From the five speedboats, all of them full, came warriors and children, all with one objective: to drive out illegal miners from Munduruku land.

Right at the entrance of the shed, the indigenous encountered two of the twelve miners present. Painted for war, the Munduruku held strong.

“You have ten minutes to get out. Get your things, go away, and don’t come back. This is the land of the Munduruku,” ordered Paigomuyatpu, chief of the warriors, while the miners were packing their bags and preparing to abandon the area.

According to the workers in the mine, the four pairs of dredges, used for the extraction of gold, belonged to Alexandre Martins.

Known as Tubaína, Martins is also owner of at least two more mines in the region, and left the site three days before the operation, exactly when the Munduruku started the survey in the Tapajós basin.

“He (Tubaína) said that he was going there to another of his posts. He isn’t there, and he isn’t here. No one knows,” confirmed Mara Almeida, who cooked in the posts for the miners in Tubaína. The action came after numerous complaints filed with government agencies. Ozimar Dace, Munduruku member of the movement and reporter of the operation, said that the indigenous have already tried to kick out the pariwat (who are not indigenous) by way of the Brazilian Environmental Institute (Ibama), Institute Chico Mendes of Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), and National Foundation of the Indigenous (Funai).

“The people decided that these authorities would never give results to us. They are never going to do this so that we can live in peace. They gave the deadline for when they would give results, but this never happened. So, for these reasons, we decided to resolve the issue by our own account.”

The illegal exploration of the mine inside the indigenous land of the Munduruku is not new. Accounts trace the start of these activities to the 1980s. One story of threats, agreements with a small group of leaders, and exploitation of indigenous labor weave a web that does not benefit the majority of people.

According to local communities, the miners have caused various problems in the indigenous lands due to uncontrolled exploitation. Pollution of the river, lack of fish, misunderstandings, and threats are the main reasons cited for the indigenous actions. For these reasons, the indigenous were “expelling miners and taking their machines,” explains Paigomuyatpu, chief of the Munduruku warriors.

“The miners already made too many damages in our territory. We are evicting problems, sickness, and many other things that are happening. We are evicting this for our future generation,” he added.

The surveillance started on January 15, lasted almost twenty days, and passed through various tributaries of the Tapajós river basin, such as Tropas river, Kaburuá river, Kadiriri river, and Kabitutu river. In all, the Munduruku confiscated twelve dredges. They will remain in the villages for a month while the indigenous decide what they will do.

“In relation to the mines, they will stay put. After a month passes and we decide what we are going to do with machines: if we are going to do projects to benefit the communities in the area where there are already machines. But we need alternative projects to generate funds for the community, like fish farming, flour production, nut extraction, copal and honey. We need the support of FUNAI,” Paigomuyatpu said.

Pressed by the Munduruku, the FUNAI supported the autonomous action of the indigenous, financing fuel for the boats.

“It was one of their demands, it came from pressure. They wanted this to happen in any form they could. We think that taking their own initiative is even better, so that they can understand themselves with their relatives and decide that they are not going to permit the entry of the miners anymore,” commented Julian Araujo, from the coordination of the FUNAI of Itaituba.

According to Juliana, since she arrived in the region in 2010, FUNAI has received complaints from the Munduruku on illegal mining on indigenous land. In October of last year, the complaints were reiterated and forwarded to ICMBio and the Federal Police. In 2012, an operation against the miners had only a provisional effect because the miners returned. Because of this, it was suggested that FUNAI work towards awareness within the manage plant.

“It’s not enough to just do the operation and afterwards other indigenous people authorize the entrance of miners. We resolved to take a little more care with this. As much as ICMBio, we have personal difficulties. There is one person that is responsible for a number of units when we are monitoring [the area], so we will try calling volunteers from other places because the local volunteers end up being targeted by the miners.”

The climate is tense in the region. Communicating by radio, the leaders discovered that they are being followed. There is a list with at least five names of indigenous leaders marked for death. The author of the threats could be Tubaína. According to a Munduruku, he commands a group of gunmen with automatic weapons.

“Tubaína is feared in the region and walks with a rifle in his right hand through the village. No one says anything. I said, ‘Hey, inside indigenous territory, only the Federal Police and FUNAI are authorized to be armed,’” Valmar Kaba related. Beyond the leaders, Tubaína has allegedly threatened the chief of the village surveillance station, Oswaldo Waro, and his son, Joao Waro. In the last nineteen days, the two closed the village airstrip with sticks and stones in order to make sure that the miners leave with the seized machines.

“Tubaína passed the radio to the chief and said that when Oswaldo went to work, in the Bananal, Tubaína would catch him and his kid,” said Leuza Kaba, an indigenous woman. One of the workers expelled by the Mundruku, known as Shorty, informed that the miners of Humaita and from 180 kilometers across the Tranamazonica (Trans Amazon Highway) would be planning to go to Tapajós and to “work things out” with the indigenous people. Shorty did not reveal his true name. He is frank and soft-spoken. At a bar table, Shorty said that he became a miner 14 years ago, when his partner left him.

“I’ve only been here in the region for six years. The people tell a lot of lies about the miners. They talk a lot about Tubaína, but he is a good person and helps everybody,” he said.

He left saying that he is still going to return to get the gold from the indigenous area. Some acquaintances said that Shorty got out of prison two months ago. He was imprisoned for killing a man with a knife in a mining village near Caton, within the indigenous area.

“And he killed another with a .20 bullet, right here, on this road,” said one of his acquaintances. The reporter was not able to contact Tubaína. On Friday, (January 31^,2014), indigenous leaders in the Jacareacanga delegation registered a police report denouncing the threats of the mine owner and reported the situation to federal prosecutors.

Letter

In a letter, the indigenous say they do not have fear of death and that they will continue fighting for their rights.

Carta VI—Letter of the Munduruku Ipereg Ayu Movement

We, chiefs, leaders, and warriors, came across to greet you, ladies and gentlemen—those who support our movement Munduruku Ipereg Ayu.

We, warriors, did our surveillance of our territory. We took out and expelled the invading miners from our territory and we seized their machines. Now they are threatening us with death, but we are not intimidated.

This is the first step. We are going to defend our territory, our river, our forest, our riches, and our people until the end. This is our word.

We finish this letter with much peace and friendship. Sawe! Sawe! Sawe!

Sincerely,

Munduruku Apereg Ayu Movement

Carocal Village, Tropas River,

In the Municipality of Jacareacanga, West of Para.

Earth First! Winter Moot 7-9 March 2014: programme up

A weekend gathering for people involved or want to know more about ecological direct action around the UK including fighting opencast coal, fracking, GM, nuclear power, new road building and quarries with discussions and campaign planning – emphasis on the tactics and strategies, community solidarity and sustainable activism.

Evening Friday 7th – afternoon Sunday 9th March 2014, Nottingham

Cost scale £20 to £30. This includes full vegan meals and accommodation.

It will be an indoor floor sleeping space so bring a warm sleeping bag and mat. Train to Nottingham then tram to Beaconsfield street– walk to the end turn right on to Gladstone St — 245 Gladstone St, Nottingham NG7 6HX — www.earthfirst.org.uk

Full map/travel details

For offers of help or questions email themiddle@earthfirst.org.uk

Programme

Friday

16.30-17.30 Security Workshop
17.30-18.30 Film

18.30 Dinner

20.00 Benefit Gig

Saturday

8.30-9.30 Breakfast
9.30-10.45 Intro go round of campaigns

10.45-11.00 Break

11.00-12.00 Future of Earth First Part 1
12.00-13.00 Security Workshop

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.00-14.30 Lush/fundraising workshop
14.30-18.15 Campaign Workshops (timings to be finalised to include Fracking, Nuclear, Roads and Coal)
18.15-18.30 Summer Gathering handover

18.30 Dinner
20.00 DJ??

Sunday

9.00-10.00 Breakfast fry up
10.00-10.30 Tidy up of venue
10.30-11.30 Feedback go round
11.30-12.30 Future of Earth First Part 2
12.30-14.00 Summer Gathering Planning (and time of other workshops to run in parallel)

14.00-15.00 Lunch
15.00 End

Blockade of Mine Site Enters Third Day

14th January 2014 Activists have blockaded the Maules Creek mine site at Boggabri in New South Wales, Australia, for three days now.<

14th January 2014 Activists have blockaded the Maules Creek mine site at Boggabri in New South Wales, Australia, for three days now.

On Monday, 30 protestors, including members of Aboriginal groups and the organization Leard Forest Alliance, descended on the site, with some locking themselves to heavy machines.

Yesterday, 10 more protestors joined the group, re-enforcing an ad-hoc encampment and locking down to bulldozers.

The Leard Forest is set to be destroyed by the open pit coal mine, and the heavy machines are supposed to start clearing forest for Witehaven Coal’s operation. The forest is important habitat, as well as a cultural and burial site for Aboriginal people in the area.

Activist group the Leard Forest Alliance said the heavy vehicles were at the site to begin clearing forest for a road and railway line to service Whitehaven Coal’s $767 million open-cut coalmine. The alliance says the mine will destroy Aboriginal cultural and burial sites and valuable forest and animals.

Peru: Achuar Indigenous Leader on Prison Hunger Strike

Monday, January 13th, 2014 Achuar indigenous leader Segundo García Sandi began a hunger strike Jan. 7 to demand his freedom at Huayabamba prison in Iquitos, Peru. García Sandi was arrested Dec.

Monday, January 13th, 2014 Achuar indigenous leader Segundo García Sandi began a hunger strike Jan. 7 to demand his freedom at Huayabamba prison in Iquitos, Peru. García Sandi was arrested Dec. 5, on charges of tampering with an oil pipeline run by Argentine company Pluspetrol through his people’s territory in the remote north of Loreto department. He claims he is being held illegally without evidence, but a habeas corpus action filed by his supporters has met with no response by Peru’s judicial authorities.

García Sandi’s organization, the Río Corrientes Federation of Native Communities (FECONACO), asserts the arrest is retaliation for his demands for environmental justice. FECONACO reports that five Achuar children died in December as a result of contamination related to oil operations in the area, and that a state of emergency announced by Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal in October for the Corrientes Valley, calling for special monitoring, is going unenforced. The Environment Ministry in November took the rare step of fining Pluspetrol $7 million for contamination to the Loreto rainforest. (Servindi, Jan. 11; La Región, Loreto, Jan. 8; Mariátegui blog, Jan. 7; La Región, Dec. 20; AP, Nov. 27)