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Philippine climate activists expose risks of dirty coal. 24th April

300-strong climate activists and anti-coal advocates stormed the Department of Energy to voice out their opposition to coal mines and coal-fired power plants promoted by the government and to launch the group’s Campaign Against Dirty Energy and for People’s Access to Safe, Renewable and Democratic Energy Alternatives.

This is in celebration of Earth Day and the group’s National Day of Action against Coal.

Led by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), the groups brought body bags, gas masks and paper-made Philippine Cockatoos wearing masks to avoid the pollution from coal and highlighted how coal damages not only the environment and biodiversity but our lives, literally taking lives -, thus, the statement: COAL KILLS.

COAL KILLS—Why is coal dirty, toxic

Gerry Arances, national coordinator of PMCJ explained: “The promotion of coal as a major source of energy of Filipino communities is not the right solution to the alleged power crisis in several parts of the country. First of all, coal emits a large amount of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic – contaminating our waters; generates 500 tons of small airborne particles which cause asthma, bronchitis, and aggravate heart disease; coal ash disposal poses a very high risk of causing cancer to those exposed.

Second, coal plant emissions in surrounding areas kill the livelihoods of host communities as the studies in coal plants in Masinloc, Zambales, and Naga, Cebu, among others, have clearly shown.

Third, coal burning is the major cause of global warming and further promoting it will aggravate the climate crisis that we are facing now. This I believe is a greater damage to the present and future generations who will have to suffer the intensified impacts of climate change.“

RESIST COAL—Increasing local opposition to coal

Two of the major proposed projects now include the coal plants in Cebu and Palawan.

In Cebu, ash samples tested from a coal plants in Naga, Cebu, revealed presence of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic (carcinogen),both hazardous substances. Despite this, more projects are still underway. Naga is home to two coal plants.

“Health records in Naga for 2009-2012 reveal cancer as one if not the leading cause of mortality incidence in the area. Though could not be directly linked to the coal plant operations, that its incidence in Naga is higher than national averages should be sufficient basis for alarm. While we debate as to whether or not coal is the culprit for the deaths, cancer-related deaths in the area continue to rise,” said Atty. Aaron Pedrosa of Sanlakas.

“The same could be said of communities in Toledo City, Cebu where another coal plant operates. But instead of addressing the health concerns and conducting a probe into the situation, the government intends to put up another plant in the province”, Pedrosa added.

Cancer is among the many diseases that could be attributed to continued exposure to coal combustion wastes

Also threatened by coal projects is our Last Frontier, Palawan—where a 15MW coal-fired power plant project is being proposed to respond to a projected looming power shortage in the province. Environmentalists and conservationists in the province are strongly opposing as the plant is to be set up 1.5-kilometers away from Rasa Island, home to the critically endangered Philippine Cockatoo.

Katherine Leuch of Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy asserts that “The superficial cheapness of coal should not be the only consideration for allowing a coal-fired power plant in Palawan because the risks of such far outweighs the benefits given that Palawan is an ecologically rich and sensitive province. The negative effect of coal is as dark as it is.

What is saddening is that based on our study the projected power shortage is unfounded. It is mainly due to distribution problems and not because of the existing supply. Palawan can also provide cleaner and safer alternatives like mini hydro, and other renewable energy sources.”

RE-ENERGIZE ALL—Shift to REnewable, sustainable energy for all Filipino communities

The Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2008-2030 reveals that coal production will continue to escalate. From 39 coal operating contracts (COCs) in 2007, there are now 76 COCs—16 of which were awarded -– last February by the government.

Arances concluded: “The PEPs massive promotion of coal-based power is alarming and is a major cause of concern for our fragile ecosystem and the Philippine population. – Coal is far from the best or even good solution to our power crisis.

Studies show that the country’s potential renewable energy can provide as high as more than 200,000 MW even without tapping solar power. It is about time that we look at this and do away with large-scale, dirty and environmentally-destructive projects.

If the government is as serious about using renewable energy as it claims, it had best do away with contradictory policies. Government needs to revise its Philippine Energy Plan to ensure that vulnerable communities stop suffering from the harmful effects of coal; start investing in RE sources to make clean power accessible and affordable to our people.”

Local actions against coal

Anti-coal groups in host communities also led different information-awareness campaign activities locally, including Cebu City, Davao City, General Santos City, Palawan, Bataan, Leyte, and Quezon.

In Cebu, around 100 activists dumped coal on a life-size map of the Philippines symbolizing the government's rabid promotion of carbon-intensive technology and activities treating its adverse effects on the community's health, ecosystem and livelihoods as collateral damage.

Last Sunday, April 21, Suportado Movement and PMCJ also organized a Bike Tour para sa Abot Kayang REnewable Energy in Marikina, also in celebration of Earth Day.

In Palawan, advocates from Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE) installed streamers and COAL KILLS posters around Puerto Princesa, while in Panacan, Narra, Palawan several dirty coal educational activities were held Members of PACE also campaigned via local radio and a local forum the call against coal and opposition to the proposed coal plant in Narra, Palawan.

Anti-Mining Activist Daniel Pedro Mateo Kidnapped and Murdered in Guatemala 23rd April

Anti-mining community leader Daniel Pedro Mateo

In the midst of an ongoing genocide trial against a former president of Guatemala, which is now being suspended by the current president who is also implicated in the war crimes, violence against indigenous environmental activists continues, with another person found dead last week in Huehuetenango.

On April 16, 2013, the body of Qanjob’al community activist Daniel Pedro Mateo was found murdered in Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. He had been kidnapped for 12 days and his body showed signs of torture. Haz clic aquí para la versión en español.

Daniel, a founder of the community radio station Snuq Jolom Konob, disappeared on Sunday, April 7^th in the village of El Quetzal, Huehuetenango on his way to host a workshop on Indigenous rights in the community of Santa Cruz Barillas. His family was contacted by kidnappers and demanded a ransom of Q150,000 in return for his safety. Despite the efforts of his family and community to gather money to pay the ransom, Daniel’s body was found last night in his village of Santa Eulalia.

Daniel Pedro Mateo was a painter, teacher, a founder of Radio Snuq Jolom Konob, and a leader in the community resistance to mining and hydroelectric activities in Huehuetenango. Childhood experiences that exposed him to the grave inequalities and injustices confronting poor and indigenous communities in Guatemala motivated his lifelong commitment to work for a more just and humane society. After the armed conflict ended, he joined with other Qanjob’al Maya leaders in Santa Eulalia to start a radio station that would give voice to their community that formed the majority of the local population, but were nonetheless marginalized and silenced. Daniel was no longer involved in the day-to-day work of the station, but maintained close ties with many of the current volunteer staff and leadership.

Many in the community believe this violent act to be a repercussion of Daniel’s environmental activism. Lorenzo Fransisco Mateo, Daniel’s cousin and fellow member of Radio Snuq Jolom Konob stated, “The only crime he was ever guilty of was fighting in defense of the environment.” Daniel was an outspoken organizer against the Hydro Santa Cruz dam in Santa Cruz Barillas, a dam in his town of Santa Eulalia, and a logging company Maderas San Luis that had forced evictions of local Indigenous peoples. He was a member Cultural Survival’s partner organization Asemblea de Pueblos de Huehuetenango, and a member of the political party WINAQ, founded by Nobel prize winner Rigoberta Menchu.

Daniel’s death comes in a series of recent murders in Guatemala of Indigenous activists. Just last year, anti-dam activist and community leader, Andres Fransisco Miguel, was shot and killed by security guards of Hydro Santa Cruz in Barillas, where Daniel was headed to host a workshop. In March, Exaltación Marcos Ucelo, an Indigenous Xinca leader active against Canadian Tahoe Resources’ silver mine in Jalapa was found beaten to death, after being abducted alongside three other Xinca leaders. Six months ago, seven Indigenous protestors were shot and killed by Guatemalan military in Totonicapan.These events reflect the dangerous state that Indigenous leaders and environmental activists find themselves in Guatemala.

Community organizations in Santa Eulalia are calling for contributions to cover funeral expenses and to support Daniel’s family in this difficult time. He leaves behind an ailing wife and eight children.

Earth Day Action – Part Two 23rd April

San Mateo County Residents Protest Toxic Jail

In commemoration of Earth Day, community members from around San Mateo County gathered outside of the new jail site and the County Center wearing hazardous materials suits and gas masks to illustrate the toxic nature of the new jail. Carrying a giant banner that read “Jails are Socially and Environmentally Toxic,” they spoke about the ways a new jail will harm communities and the environment as well as draining the county’s budget of desperately needed resources. The new jail project will cost $160 million to build and $30 million each year to operate, and the county has not yet secured the needed construction funds.

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Quakers Protest Against MTR

A Quaker group and other protesters on Tuesday asked PNC Bank to stop funding projects that use mountaintop removal to produce coal and, if it doesn’t, asked investors to divest from the sixth-largest bank in America.

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Barricades for Earth Day in the Philippines

After the number of police swelled and a truck barred the gate at the Provincial Capitol, about 1,000 activists held a barricade for a few hours in the main road of Mati Tuesday morning. They were earlier blocked several times by the police and military in two separate incidents.

“We were forced to set up the barricade because they didn’t allow us to hold the rally yesterday. We could just not leave with our quest for justice compromised,” said Karlos Trangia, spokesperson for Barug Katawhan, a movement of Pablo victims.

Earth Day Protests – Part One 23rd April

Meadville group protests against oil and natural gas well fracking

While chanting “DEP, can’t you see you’re the case of all this misery?” and “No fracking way,” a crowd marched peacefully from Diamond Park down Chestnut Street on Monday while carrying a coffin to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s northwest regional office in Meadville.

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Pittsburg environmentalists protest DEP in honor of Earth Day

Protestors came by land and by sea to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office on Monday.

About 15 protestors kayaked down the Allegheny River to the DEP office, joining with nearly 100 other protestors in a march to the DEP office, part of a statewide protest of the agency’s regulatory actions regarding hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — activity in the state.

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Protest against battery plant in China

SONGJIANG District officials said they are still evaluating the environmental impact of a battery factory planned for the district this year after residents concerned over safety protested its construction.

Residents in more than 40 cars traversed the district on Sunday in a protest that lasted over two hours over the battery factory. Plans for the factory call for it to be one of China’s biggest.

More than 10,000 residents living in the district have signed a petition against the construction, which will be sent to the local government, one of the campaign organizers said.

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Utah protests get down at the governor’s mansion

Activists feted Earth Day with a part-celebration, part-protest outside the Utah Governor’s Mansion.”People want clean air, clean energy, a clean future,” said the Sierra Club’s Tim Wagner, standing before a banner festooned with blue ribbons bearing messages for Gov. Gary Herbert and other state leaders.”That’s what people want. That’s what people are demanding.”

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Activist Locks Himself to Keystone XL Heavy Machinery Launching a “Red River Showdown” Over KXL South 23rd April

On Earth Day 2013, to mark the close of the State Department’s public comment period for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL Northern Segment (KXL North) pipeline’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), an activist with the Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance has locked himself to a piece of Keystone XL heavy machinery in Oklahoma, temporarily halting work site construction. Alec Johnson, a 61-year old climate justice organizer from Ames, Iowa took direct action to defend the Red River in solidarity with the Mayflower, Arkansas community, which is currently reeling from last month’s massive tar sands spill. The disaster, due to a 22-foot long gash in ExxonMobil’s ruptured Pegasus tar sands pipeline, has resulted in chronic health problems for nearby residents and has left Lake Conway dangerous polluted.

“This is our environmental impact statement,” stated artist/activist and Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance spokesperson Richard Ray Whitman. “TransCanada claims its technology will prevent spills, but that same technology was used on the Pegasus line, too. That didn’t work, now, did it? We are taking a stand to protect our access to clean water. KXL South is already being constructed with or without the North, and the destruction of our waterways in its path is not a question of if, but when. No toxic pipeline is worth the gamble and no communities in Texas or Oklahoma deserve the fate of Mayflower, Arkansas.”

While the current fate of KXL North rests upon U.S. Presidential approval, KXL South’s now lies in the broad-spectrum opposition it has garnered in the form of legal cases as well as the grassroots civil disobedience campaigns by groups like Great Plain Tar Sands Resistance and Tar Sands Blockade. Should KXL North be permitted to start construction, these groups along with grassroots indigenous organizations, several Lakota Nation tribal councils, and over 60,000 others have pledged resistance in the form of non-violent direct action to halt pipeline construction.

International treaties like the Treaty to Protect the Sacred and strongly-worded tribal council resolutions like those recently passed by the Oglala and Ihanktonwan Oyate/Yankton Sioux General Councils pledging resistance to KXL North “by all means necessary” indicate a tremendous unity amongst Great Plains indigenous nations. The strong reactions come after years of inadequate consultation on the part of TransCanada with regards to impacts on the Lakota Nation communities by its toxic tar sands pipeline. In recognizing the dire threat to their first medicine, sacred water, the communities are also embracing the spirit of international solidarity with First Nation communities downstream from tar sands mining sites. After years decrying the chemical pollution and resulting destruction of traditional life ways from tar sands exploitation in what some affected indigenous peoples refer to as a “slow industrial genocide,” Cree and Dene Nations are experiencing an upsurge in sympathy and solidarity with their plight.

“I am personally amazed at how resistance to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and education as to what tar sands exploitation looks like continues to grow every day,” Johnson wrote in a statement prior to his action. “Because it would be irresponsible, we’re not stopping until the industry stops poisoning our futures with lies, unnecessary risks, and death for their profit. As long as the tar sands industry promises it will kill, we will blockade.”

UPDATE 7:30PM – Correction – Friends are being held on a combined $9,000 bail and will be spending the night in jail.

Sorry for the confusion, as charges and associated bail change. Our friends are in high spirits and would like to be bailed out together. Hopefully tomorrow!

Donations have been pouring in and we really appreciate the support! However, we still need some help to get our friends out of jail together…

Help GPTSR get our friends out of jail here!

UPDATE 5:30PM – Four activists are currently being held on a combined $14,000 bail

Alec has been charged with criminal trespass for shutting down the KXL construction site today and is being held on a $3,000 bail. The charges for the 3 other activists also include criminal trespass.

UPDATE 1:00PM – Rally at the Atoka County Courthouse – Celebrate Earth Day and support our brave activists

Dozens are gathering after the KXL construction site shutdown. Come join a rally happening right now with local indigenous leaders and KXL pipeline activists @200 E Court St. Atoka on this beautiful Earth Day.

See more photos from today’s action here.

UPDATE 11:30AM – Alec has been extracted and arrested for shutting down a KXL construction site – 4 arrests on Earth Day so far

UPDATE 11:00AM – Fire Department trying to remove Alec from KXL machinery – Construction shut down on both sides of road

UPDATE 10:30AM – Two arrests so far at site of Keystone XL construction shut down – Alec still locked to heavy machinery

Activists with Idle No More Southern Oklahoma rally in solidarity with Alec and Mayflower residents living with the health affects of toxic tar sands.

UPDATE 10:00AM – LIVE VIDEO: Alec locks himself to Keystone XL heavy machinery

Watch this live footage shot by live streamer @jak_nlauren of Alec locking himself to Keystone XL heavy machinery. 10 minutes into the video local police show up and arrest Jak for his coverage of the story.

Video streaming by Ustream

Tsleil-Waututh First Nation Sign International Treaty to Oppose Tar Sands Development 21st April

In the latest step toward opposing oil pipelines at every port in Canada, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation of Burrard Inlet signed on to the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred yesterday. The nation held a press conference at the Sheraton Wall Centre where newly elected Chief Maureen Thomas signed the document, witnessed by the president of the BC Union of Indian Chiefs Stewart Phillip and national chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn Atleo.

The West Coast Oil Pipeline Summit followed the signing. The theme of the event was urgency, with several leaders touching on the need to oppose development at a grassroots level.

Stewart Phillip told reporters and community members assembled that the First Nations of BC are committed to using the legal system to defend their constitutional rights, but that’s not the only strategy they’re using.

“More importantly, we have committed to standing shoulder to shoulder on the land itself.”

Atleo echoed Phillip’s fatigue with the justice system and spoke to the urgent nature of the struggle not just for Aboriginal land rights, but also for environmental protection for everyone.

“This is not just a North American moment you’re witnessing,” he said. “The tipping point we have reached is global.” He also spoke to the inadequacy of the legal avenues available to First Nations to settle land claims and hold the government accountable. He said he doesn’t want to see the courts clogged with cases.

“We don’t need to be pulled down into the weeds of whether consultation has happened.”

Tsleil-Waututh is the first nation whose territories are directly in the path of one of the proposed pipeline projects to sign the treaty. Phil Lane Jr., hereditary chief of the Yankton Sioux nation from South Dakota, said one of the key goals of the treaty is get signatures from all of the nations whose territories are directly affected.

The West Coast Oil Pipeline Summit brought together First Nations leaders from across the province as well as activists and business people from a handful of different alternative energy sectors.

The event was hosted by 2G Group of Companies, a consulting firm whose mandate is to help develop equitable relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal business ventures.

Economist Robyn Allan gave a keynote speech highlighting the Harper government’s extreme shifts in energy policy from the Kyoto Protocol and plans to limit bitumen exports to the current push to expand tar sands development. She criticized the message that the economy and the environment are on opposite sides of the debate.

“This is a fabricated trade-off designed to put ordinary Canadians against ordinary Canadians,” she said.

A panelist of five speakers discussed different facets of the tar sands debate from the economics of renewable energy development to the effects of climate change around the world.

Ben West, director of the tar sands campaign for Forest Ethics Advocacy, discussed the viability of alternative energy sources and the ways in which conventional methods of development—such as the construction of the Port Mann Bridge to relieve congestion—are often counter intuitive.

“If we could build our way out of congestions, LA would be the best city in the world to drive in,” he quipped. For the cost of the $3 billion bridge, he said, Vancouver could build streetcar infrastructure to serve the better part of the city.

“We’re talking about very real technology, very real solutions.”

Also in attendance was Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who stood up to talk about Monday’s vote in the House of Commons that will determine whether the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPA) will go through.

She said she was impressed by the breadth of information presented throughout the evening particularly fact about how Canada imports the condensate required to transport bitumen.

“I don’t think we’re hearing about it nearly enough that we’re creating dependency on Middle Eastern fossil fuels rather than upgrade it in Alberta and refine it in Alberta,” she said, adding that she’s not seeing the response she’d like from BC politicians.

“Where is Adrian Dix on this project? It does not seem that provincial NDP is opposed to this project and that’s a big problem.”

Sri Lankans Protest Planned Deforestation 20th April

Director of Environment Conservation Trust (ECT) Sajeewa Chamikara says that the mass destruction of environment may take place if a forest reserve in Sri Lanka’s northeast Padaviya area is vested to Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority.

He said that 12,900 hectares (50 sq miles) of the 48,451 hectare Padaviya forest reserve are to be handed over to Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority to establish settlements.

The gazette notification in this regard has already been compiled and it is to be published soon, said the environmentalist.

According to him, this area situated to the west of the Padaviya reservoir is a catchment area of the reservoir with unique environmental features. The environmental destruction in this sensitive area may have severe backlash, he said.

Further, the area provides habitat to the elephants and many other vulnerable species, he said.

Sri Lanka President is expected to visit the Mahaweli settlement near this area today to hand over deeds to 3,000 farmer families in the Mahaweli L Zone in the northeast part of the island.

2000 March Against Taitung Miramar Resort 20th April

More than 2,000 people, including many dressed in traditional Aboriginal garb, marched through the streets of Taipei yesterday afternoon protesting the controversial Miramar Resort Village construction project on Taitung County’s Shanyuan Beach (杉原沙灘).

The parade, initiated by an alliance of more than 40 civic groups and Aboriginal tribes from across the nation, was held to protest the development project, which has been ruled invalid more than once by the Supreme Administrative Court, but still gained approval at a local environmental impact assessment meeting last year and is scheduled to go into operation this year.

The march was titled “Don’t say goodbye to the eastern coastline,” and the protesters expressed concern that the Miramar case would set an example for other development projects along the eastern coastline and cause irreversible damage to the environment.

The crowd in Taipei was joined by a group of people that had marched for 17 days from Taitung to Taipei.

At the head of the parade was an Amis bamboo raft with a banner that read “Return our domain to us,” carried by 20 men, to express their hope to live in harmony with nature.

The protesters said the hand-made raft represents the idea of taking “just enough” from nature instead of abusing and exhausting natural resources.

“Aborigines do not have a specific life philosophy, but they do feel strongly connected to the land,” Aboriginal folk singer Panai said. “Please feel our affection for the land. This is what residents in Taipei have lost.”

The parade marched through the streets of Taipei, singing an Aboriginal verse signifying waves and the ocean in response to the chanting of Aboriginal folk singer Nabu.

They shouted demands such as “tear down the Miramar, protect the eastern coastline,” “protect our homeland” and “we don’t want cement dumped on the beach.”

The protesters arrived at the Miramar Garden Taipei (美麗信花園酒店), a hotel owned by the same corporation as the Miramar Resort Village in Taitung, and the crowd waved silver grass, mimicking a ritual aimed at expelling evil spirits and purifying the heart.

Reaching Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, the protesters held hands and performed an Amis harvest festival dance.

The leader of the walking group, Lai Ching-lung (賴進龍), born in the Malan Tribe of Taitung, walked the whole journey to Taipei barefoot.

He said the journey had been exhausting, but while walking through the many tribes along the way, he felt the significance of bringing their message of protecting traditions and the environment to the Presidential Office.

“I hate that the government is treating us like this. It is using inappropriate measures to take our land and ocean from us.” Lai said, adding: “The coast is where the Amis used to collect food and live. Now we are concerned that the ocean will be polluted and destroyed by development projects.”

Burma: Police Crack Down On ‘Unlawful’ Gas Pipeline Protestors 19th April

Hundreds of locals gathered in Arakan state’s Kyaukpyu township to protest against the Chinese-backed Shwe Gas Pipeline on 19 April 2013 (Htun Kyi)

At least three people were detained and questioned by local authorities in Arakan state on Friday, for their role in staging an unauthorised protest against the Chinese-backed Shwe Gas Pipeline in western Burma earlier this week.

On Thursday, over 400 locals in Arakan state’s Kyaukpyu township rallied against the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) – a major shareholder in the Shwe Gas Pipeline – demanding that the company take responsibility for the damages caused to their livelihoods and local environment.

According to one of the organisers, they had sought permission to protest three times before, but after being repeatedly refused they decided to go ahead with the rally anyway.

“The arrests have begun – the [police] are looking for [organisers] in Kyauktan, Ywarma and Pandeinse villages,” said Htun Kyi, adding that three people had already been interrogated and asked to seek bail guarantors.

The police reportedly took their personal details and pressed them on who helped them organise the protest and how they got the money to print out t-shirts and other campaign material.

“My family just informed me that police officials also showed up at my house and asked them to tell me to go to the police station when I get back and also to bring guarantors along,” said Htun Kyi, who was in Kyaukpyu as of this morning. “We are prepared – we are ready to accept any punishment.”

Hundreds of locals, wearing white t-shirts with red crosses over CNPC logos, gathered near the Chinese company’s office on Madaykyun island on Thursday and shouted out slogans against the controversial pipeline.

According to Htun Kyi, who is also a spokesperson of the Rakhine Social Network, said that local authorities had previously promised to help them negotiate with the company over their demands, but later done nothing.

Protestors are calling for compensation for confiscated land, new job opportunities, local infrastructure, including better roads, as well as a fair share of the electricity that will be generated from the project.

The protest was joined by hundreds of local residents, including fishermen who have lost their jobs because of the pipeline, as well as a number of civil society organisations.

The controversial Shwe Gas Pipeline, which is scheduled for completion in May, is a joint venture between the state-owned Chinese company and the military-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), as well as three other foreign firms.

The pipeline will connect western Burma’s Arakan state and China’s Yunnan province, slicing through many ethnic minority territories, including the conflict-torn Shan and Kachin states. Human rights groups have complained that the project has led to mass confiscations of local farmlands, forced labour, human rights abuses and increased militarisation across the country.

Earlier this month, a group of activists warned that the 800-kilometre pipeline is likely to fuel conflict in northern Shan state, where clashes between ethnic rebels and the Burmese army are ongoing.

“Running an over-ground gas pipeline in a location where an armed conflict taking place is absolutely unadvisable,” said Michael Oxlade, a consultant with Westminster International, a UK based firm that specialises in providing security services for global oil operations.

The Burmese government is estimated to earn USD$29 billion over the next 30 years from the dual pipeline, which will pump gas from the Bay of Bengal and oil from the Middle East to mainland China.

Brazilian Indians Occupy Congress in Land Protest 19th April

As Brazil marks its annual ‘Day of the Indian’ today, hundreds of Brazilian Indians of various tribes invaded and occupied part of the country’s Congress this week, to

As Brazil marks its annual ‘Day of the Indian’ today, hundreds of Brazilian Indians of various tribes invaded and occupied part of the country’s Congress this week, to protest at attempts to change the law regarding their land rights.

The Indians are outraged about a proposed constitutional amendment that would weaken their hold on their territories. They fear that ‘PEC 215’, by giving Congress power in the demarcation process, will cause further delays and obstacles to the recognition and protection of their ancestral land.

The Indians say they will not stop protesting until the planned amendment is scrapped.

Alongside Directive 303, amendment 215 is a result of pressure by Brazil’s powerful rural lobby group which includes many politicians who own ranches on indigenous land.

It could spell disaster for thousands of indigenous peoples who are waiting for the government to fulfil its legal duty to map out their lands.

Whilst Brazil’s sugar-cane industry booms, benefitting from plantations on indigenous land, the Guarani Indians of Mato Grosso do Sul suffer from malnutrition, violence, murder and one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Guarani spokesman Tonico Benites explains, ‘Guarani suicide is happening and increasing as a result of the delay in identifying and demarcating our ancestral land’.

Elsewhere in the country, indigenous peoples are fighting for their land to be protected from waves of invasions at the hands of loggers, ranchers, miners and settlers. The Awá Indiansin the north-eastern Amazon are now Earth’s most threatened tribe. The uncontacted Awá will not survive unless action is taken now to protect their forest.

Yesterday, the Yanomami association Hutukara organized a demonstration of about 400Yanomami in Ajarani, in the eastern part of their territory. This area has been occupied by cattle ranchers for decades. Despite a court order to leave, they have refused to do so.

Hutukara’s vice-president Maurício Ye’kuana said, ‘The presence of the ranchers in the region has caused huge harm to the indigenous people and to the environment, such as deforestation and burning of the forest. We want an end to this.’

Meanwhile Munduruku Indians have been protesting for months against the proposal to build a series of hydro-electric dams along the Tapajós, a large tributary of the Amazon.

Last month the military and police launched ‘Operation Tapajós’ in an attempt to stamp out the Indians’ protests against the arrival of technical teams surveying the area for the first dam, São Luis do Tapajós.

On 16 April a federal judge ordered that this operation be suspended, and that the Indians and other affected communities be consulted before technical studies are carried out. The judge also ruled that an environmental impact assessment should be carried out on the cumulative impact of all the dams planned for the Tapajós.