Mine Security Chief Ordered Assassination of Indigenous Protesters 4th June

Alberto Rotondo, executive of Tahoe Mine, San Rafael in Guatemala, gave direct orders to assassinate members of the community San Rafael Las Flores.

Alberto Rotondo, executive of Tahoe Mine, San Rafael in Guatemala, gave direct orders to assassinate members of the community San Rafael Las Flores.

The investigation of the mining conflicts in San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa, took a 180 degrees turn, after the Public Ministry submitted audio from wiretapping as evidence. In the audio it can be clearly heard how Alberto Rotondo, head of the San Rafael Mining Security outfit ordered to assassinate opponents of the mine.

The newspaper Siglo.21 published today a report titled “Rotondo ordered: Kill those sons of B..”, the report documents how the Security Chief gave direct orders to assassinate mining protesters and opponents of the mining project.

“The preliminary investigations found that Rotondo gave the order to attack the community, he also ordered the crime scene to be cleaned up and change the police report.”

The information reveals Rotondo making several statements: “God dam dogs, they do not understand that the mine generates jobs”. “We must eliminate these animals’ pieces of shit”. “We can not allow people to establish resistance, another Puya no”. “Kill house sons of Bitches”

Despite this situation, Rotondo is benefited by a benevolent surrogate measure of only house arrest by officials of the justice department of Guatemala. The prosecution has asked to revoke that proxy measure.

On the other hand, opponents of the mine are still detained without being brought before a judge, because their warranties were restricted by a state of siege.

Rortondo was apprehended at the airport La Aurora, when he trying to flee the country. Wire tapping of conversations between him and his son reveal that he planned to leave Guatemala for a while, because “I ordered to kill some of these sons of Bitches.”

Sources: La Hora Guatemala, Siglo XXI.

For more extensive information on the background of the conflict see: State of Siege: Mining Conflict Escalates in Guatemala, May 2, 2013

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/guatemala-archives-33/4270-state-of-siege-mining-conflict-escalates-in-guatemala

Letter No. 9: Tragedies and Dams (the struggle does not end there nor here)

In an unprecedented step, the Brazilian government has met protestors’ demands by flying the entire indigenous occupation – as well as their legal council and accompanying journalists – from Altamira to Brasilia to dialogue with President Rousseff’s Chief of Staff Gilberto Carvalho and other high officials and ministers. 

Led by the Mundurukú people of the Tapajós River basin, occupations of Belo Monte’s main work camp spanned 17 days from May to June demanding the suspension of dam construction and environmental feasibility studies for future dams on indigenous lands, and the guarantee of the constitutional right to prior consultation.

The 150 indigenous protestors who have staged a courageous nine-day occupation of the Belo Monte dam’s main work camp have traveled to Brasilia today to meet in the Presidential Palace with high officials from the Brazilian government. Today the indigenous groups issued a 9th letter to the government (see below)

Letter No. 9:
Tragedies and Dams (the struggle does not end there nor here)

We have left our occupation of the Belo Monte dam and have come to dialogue with the government.

We have not come to an agreement with you. We accept this meeting in Brasilia because the more we said we would not leave, the more you sent police to the work camp. And on the same day that we were to be removed by force by the police, you killed a one of our relatives, a Terena in Mato Grosso do Sul. Therefore we decided that we did not want another death. We avoided a tragedy, not you. You do not prevent tragedies, you commit them.

We came here to speak to you of another tragedy that we will fight to prevent: the loss of our territory and our life. We did not come to negotiate with you, because one cannot negotiate with territory nor life. We are against the construction of dams that kill indigenous land, because they kill culture when they kill fish and drown the land. This kills us without needing a weapon. You continue killing a lot, simply a lot. You have killed too much, for 513 years.

We did not come to talk only about dams on the Tapajós, as you are telling the press. We came to Brasilia to demand the suspension of feasibility studies and the construction of dams on the Xingu, Tapajós, and Teles Pires Rivers. You are not only talking with the Mundurukú people. You are talking with Xipaya, Kayapó, Arara, Tupinambás, and with all the people who are together in this struggle, because this is a major struggle of us all.

We did not bring wish lists. We are against dams. We demand the federal government’s commitment to consult us and ensure our right to veto projects that destroy us.

But no. You trample everything and do what they [the dam building companies] want. And to achieve that you do everything to divide indigenous peoples. We came here to tell you to stop, because we will resist together and stand united. We have been gathered for 35 days in Altamira, and for 17 days we occupied the main hydroelectric dam that you are building. Along with this letter we are sending all the letters from the two occupations that we carried out. Read everything carefully to understand our movement. And in so doing respect us, as you have not done up until today.

Disrespect does not come only from words. It is demonstrated by your actions.

In the region of the Xingu River’s Big Bend, everything is being destroyed and has been turned upside down since you approved the construction of the Belo Monte dam. Everyone very sad and only the rich are doing well. Our indigenous relatives have fought a lot. Even the construction workers suffer.

On the Teles Pires and Tapajós Rivers, you are beginning this process now, but have already gravely disrespected us.

In August 2012, your researchers began to invade our lands, capture our animals and plants, count hectares, measure the water, and drill our land.

In October, [the indigenous agency] FUNAI and Eletrobras said in the meeting that the dams would be built in any circumstance, whether or not we want them. And that they would send the police force to our land if necessary.

In November, the federal police attacked and destroyed the Teles Pires village, where we are all against dams. Adenilson Mundurukú was killed, shot three times, and another 19 indigenous people were wounded. At the end of the month we went to Brasilia denounce the police operation to the Ministry of Justice, FUNAI and the General Secretariat of the Presidency. We also went to prosecutors from the Federal Pubic Ministry.

In January 2013, we held a large assembly in the Mundurukú village of Sai Cinza, where a document with 33 demands was delivered to a representative of the General Secretariat of the Presidency.

The following month, we returned to Brasilia demand a response from the General Secretariat on these 33 points. We managed to find the minister, but he ignored our demands and tried to get us to sign a document accepting dams on the Tapajós River.

To ensure that environmental impact studies of these dams were carried out, the government issued a decree in March 2013 authorizing the entry of police troops on our land. On the following day our villages were raided by police squads.

On the Teles Pires River, the ancient bones of our relatives were unearthed. You are destroying a sacred place.

We could not accept this situation anymore. For this reason we occupied your work camp, bringing our claims, demanding the government’s commitment to respect the original peoples of this country, to respect our right to land and to life. Or, at least for the government to respect its own law: the Constitution and the international treaties you sign. Yet you want to destroy the laws that protect us, indigenous peoples, with other laws and new decrees. You want to legalize destruction.

And now we come here to you. Hoping that you finally listen to us, rather than listening to those who pay for your political campaigns. Even if you are not willing to learn to listen, we are willing to teach.
– Construction site of the Belo Monte dam, Vitória do Xingu, June 4, 2013

URGENT: “We will die. We will not leave without being heard.” 4th June

Only two days after the reoccupation of the Belo Monte Dam began, the fate of 170 indigenous people is at stake. Yesterday, the Federal Court in Altamira ordered them to leave by 4 pm today or they would be removed by Federal Police. They responded by tearing up the order and refused to leave by the deadline. Instead, they are standing strong and are demanding that President Dilma’s Chief of Staff, Gilberto Carvalho, come meet with them. Their letter to the Brazilian government is below. Read, share and take urgent action right now!

You can also show your support by donating to the indigenous occupation on CAUSES.

Letter No. 8:
The massacre has been announced and only the government can avoid this fate

(Original version in Portuguese here)

We have occupied the construction site of the Belo Monte Dam. We are defending our lands. These ancient lands have always been ours and you have already taken a part of them. And now you are trying to take more. We will not leave.

You will come to kill us and we will die. We will not leave without being heard.

The federal government announced a massacre of indigenous peoples, the 170 warriors, women, children, leaders and shamans who are here. This massacre is going to happen at the hands of police, Funai, and the judicial system.

You have killed at Teles Pires and will kill again when you need to. You killed us because we are against the dams. We know what you are capable of doing.

This time the government and corporations have asked Norte Energia to kill us. Norte Energia pled their case to a federal judge, who subsequently authorized the police to beat and kill us if needed. Government of Brazil and corporations building Belo Monte, it will be your fault if any of us die.

Enough with the violence! Stop threatening us! We want our peace and you want your war. Stop lying to the press that we are kidnapping workers and buses and causing an inconvenience. The occupation is quiet The unrest is caused by the police sent by the judge, Norte Energia, and the government. You are the ones who are humiliating us, threating us, intimidating us, and assassinating us when you don’t know what else to do.

We demand the suspension of the order to repossess the construction site, until Thursday morning, May 30th, 2013. The government needs to come here and hear us. You already know our agenda. We demand the suspension of all works and studies of dams on our lands. We demand the removal of the National Force from our lands. The lands are ours. You have wasted enough of our lands.

You want us to be tame and quiet, obeying your civilization without question. But in this case, we know you would rather see us dead because we are making noise.

Brazil Police Shoot Indians – More Violence Feared 31st May

 

 

The Belo Monte occupation is the latest in a series of protests over the government’s failure to consult with the indigenous population.

Police in southern Brazil yesterday killed a Terena Indian and wounded several others while violently evicting them from their land. Members of the tribe had returned to live on part of their ancestral territory currently occupied by a rancher who is also a local politician.

Elsewhere in Brazil, an eviction order was served on Kayapó, Arara, Munduruku, Xipaya and Juruna Indians occupying the controversial Belo Monte dam site. Armed police have surrounded the protesters and tensions are rising amid fears that there will be similar violence.

Munduruku Indians are also protesting construction of a dam on the Tapajós river. One Munduruku was shot dead when police invaded a community last November.

Paygomuyatpu Munduruku said, ‘The government is preparing a tragedy. We will not leave here. The government has ignored us, offended us, humiliated us and assassinated us… They are killing us because we are against the dams.’

The Brazilian constitution and international law enshrine the right of tribal peoples to be consulted about projects on their land. Yet a raft of bills and constitutional amendments proposed by a powerful agricultural and mining lobby threaten to undermine these land rights. Indians are angry that, despite being in office for two and half years, President Dilma Rousseff has yet to meet any Indians.

The Belo Monte occupation is the latest in a series of protests over the government’s failure to consult with the indigenous population.
© Atossa Soltani/ Amazon Watch

Survival International is calling on President Rousseff to halt the eviction of indigenous protesters, to consult with the Indians, and to recognize the territories of Terena tribespeople immediately.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry said, ‘History is repeating itself. The Figueiredo report, chronicling the genocidal atrocities of a past generation, has been unearthed at exactly the same time as new attacks on the Indians are unleashed. Killings of Indians should not be tolerated anywhere, let alone in a country planning to host world sporting events.’

Update From the Amazon: No Consultation, No Construction! 31st May

Indigenous protesters are once again occupying the construction site of the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon to shed light on how hydroelectric mega-dams cause serious environmental and social impacts and destroy the way of life of the region’s peoples and traditional communities. For example, the construction of Belo Monte will cause 100 km (60 miles) of the Xingu to dry out on the river’s Big Bend if completed. In the case of the hydroelectric dams planned for the Tapajós River, the ancient riverside villages of the Mundurukú people would be completely flooded.

Indigenous protesters occupied the Belo Monte Dam construction site in early and late May 2013 to protest the government’s lack of consultation with affected communities thorugh out the Amazon.
Photo courtesy of Ruy Sposati via mundurukudenuncia on Flickr

This is the second occupation of Belo Monte’s construction site in less than a month. On May 2nd the indigenous protestors occupied the same work camp and stayed there for eight days. They left the last occupation peacefully because the federal government ensured that there would be a negotiation, which did not happen. In this case the protestors guarantee that they will maintain their occupation until representatives of the federal government talk with them and meet their demands.

Indigenous people also criticize the presence of the military’s National Force in the region in order to ensure safety of teams carrying out environmental impact studies for dams on the Tapajós River.

In addition to the police officers who were already housed within the construction site to ensure the protection of Belo Monte, other contingents of police have been arriving at the occupation site.

See the latest letter from the occupation below:

Letter No. 7: Federal Government, we have returned

We are indigenous Munduruku, Xipaya, Kayapo, Arara and Tupinambá people. We live in the river and the forest and we are opposed to the destruction of both. You already know us, but now we are more.

You (the Government) said that if we left the construction sites of Belo Monte, we would be heard. We left peacefully – and prevented you from the shame of using force to take us out of here. However we were not heard. The government did not receive us. We called Minister Gilberto Carvalho and he did not come.

Waiting and calling did not work for us. So we again occupied your construction sites. We didn’t want to be back in your desert of holes and concrete. We have no pleasure in leaving our homes and our lands to hang our hammocks in your buildings. But how not to come when that could mean we losing our lands?

We want the suspension of studies and the construction of dams that flood our territories, cut the forest down the middle, kill the fish and scare the animals, and open the river and the land to the devouring miners. That will bring more companies, more loggers, more conflicts, more prostitution, more drugs, more diseases, more violence.

We require that you consult us about this construction before it begins, because it is our right guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution and international treaties. This right was disrespected here in Belo Monte, on the Teles Pires River, and it’s not being complied with on the Tapajós River as well. It is not possible that all of you will continue repeating that indigenous people were consulted. Everyone knows that this is not true.

From now on, YOU (the Government) has to stop telling lies in press releases and interviews. You need to stop treating us like children: naive, irresponsible, and manipulative. We are indigenous people and you need to deal with it. You also need to stop lying to the press that we are fighting with the workers: they are sympathetic to our cause! We wrote a letter to them yesterday! Here at the construction sites we played soccer together every day during the last occupation. When we left, a worker to whom we gave many necklaces and bracelets told us: “I’ll miss you.”

We have the support of many relatives in this fight. We have the support of all the indigenous people from the Xingu. We have the support of the Kayapo. We have the support of the Tupinambá;  the Guajajara; the Apinajé; Xerente; Krahô, Karaja; Xambioá-Tapuia; Krahô-Kanela; Avá-Canoero; javaé Kanela from Tocantins and Guarani. And the list is growing. We have the support of the national and international society even though that bothers you – you are alone with your campaign donors and companies interested in craters and money.

We occupied your construction sites again – and how many times will we need to do this until your own law is respected? How many restraining orders, fees, possesion orders will cost you until you hear us? How many rubber bullets, bombs and pepper sprays do you plan to spend until you admit that you are wrong? Or will you kill again? How many indigenous will you kill besides our relative Munduruku, from the Teles Pires, simply because we do not want dams?

And do not send the National Force to negotiate for you. Come yourselves. We want Dilma to come talk to us.

The Unist’ot’en People Maintain a “Soft Blockade” On the Morice River 30th May

The Unist’ot’en People (a.k.a C’ilhts’ekhyu) of the Wet’suwet’en Nation maintain a “Soft Blockade” keeping pipeline workers and subcontractors out of their territories. The blockade is located 66km on the Morice West Forest Service Road south of the town of Houston BC.

Hundreds of supporters, volunteers, recreationalists, and mushroom pickers have been able to cross into the guarded territory by showing respect to the territory owners and answering some simple questions. The questions were as follows:

  1. Who are you?
  2. Where do you come from?
  3. How long to you plan to stay?
  4. Are you working for government or industry?
  5. What is your business here?
  6. How will your visit benefit the Unist’ot’en People?

There were some people who have chosen not to answer any of the questions and were not permitted into the lands. Some of the people rejected were outright racist and belligerent; some people refused to recognize the authority of the territory owners; and some were simply unable to truthfully answer any of the questions until they could develop a relationship with the Unist’ot’en.

The decision to control territory traffic came when workers for the proposed Apache/Chevron Fracking Gas Pipelines were caught in the territory last November after being previously warned for trespassing. The Unist’ot’en have been leading a movement among the larger Wet’suwet’en population to stop ALL proposed Pipelines (including Fracking and Tar Sands) from crossing their territories.

In 2008, the Unist’ot’en alongside the other four Clans of the Wet’suwet’en walked away from the BC Treaty Commission negotiation process. They found that since the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada’s Delgamuukw v. Queeen Court decision, government and industry have only escalated their activities on their lands at an alarming rate without meaningful consultation.

Freda Huson, the Spokeswoman for the Unist’ot’en states, “The plaintiffs in the landmark Delgamuukw Supreme Court of Canada case are the Hereditary Chiefs and their members. Government and Industry are breaking their own laws when they choose to only consult with Indian Act band councils. The propaganda writers for the Pacific Trails Pipeline like to say that they have 15 First Nation People’s support, when in fact they have only been talking to Indian Act communities. That has to stop. This struggle to protect our lands is not about holding out for financial gain. It is about protecting our lands from destructive practices from industry. Our actions will not only benefit our future generations but everyone’s future generations.”

The logging road leading into the territory is managed by the CANFOR logging company and CANFOR is taking the lead to begin a meaningful process of consultation. The Unist’ot’en are welcoming this new relationship with CANFOR and are hopeful that other industry projects will choose to begin asking permission rather than implementing projects without meaningful consultation.

Indigenous communities oppose ‘extreme energy’ at Shell’s AGM 20th May

As the business case for tar sands extraction falters, Arctic drilling is suspended, and the company is investigated for price fixing, Shell’s board will be under  pressure to defend the direction it is taking at its AGM in The Hague on Tuesday 21 May.photo

Eriel and Mae in the Netherlands, preparing to take on Shell tomorrow!

Two Indigenous women, representing communities impacted by Shell’s operations abroad, will attend the AGM to confront the Chairman and Board over the massive human and ecological rights violations and economic devastation that the company’s operations bring to Indigenous communities. They will argue that Shell’s decision to pursue highly risky ‘extreme energy’ projects, like Arctic drilling and Canadian tar sands, will have little long term benefit for the company, and expose it to both reputational damage and political risk, including litigation.

One of the communities represented, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), which resides downstream from tar sands operations, is currently suing Shell for violating past agreements that have threatened their treaty rights. The community is also actively opposing two new tar sands mines Shell is proposing to develop on their land. For more details, watch the powerful film above. Legal challenges by other First Nations against tar sands extraction on their traditional territories is also increasing.

Eriel Deranger, community member and spokesperson for ACFN, states:

“Shell’s current and proposed tar sands projects violate terms of our treaty, destroy our land and contaminate waters critical to our survival. The ACFN leadership has made a commitment to protect our lands, rights and people currently being threatened by tar sands development. We have tried exploring amenable agreements and options with Shell only to be disappointed by their inability to compromise and adjust proposed plans to adequately work with us which has led and continues to lead toward litigation. Our culture, lands and rights can no longer stand for unabated and irresponsible development of tar sands in the region by Shell or any operator.”

Shell is also under fire for its Arctic operations. The company has spent $4.5bn securing permits to drill in Arctic waters. However it has been proven incapable of operating in the area and has had to suspend its plans for drilling this summer.

Mae R Hank, tribal member of the Native Village of Point Hope, Alaska, said:

“The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas are critical to the Inupiaq culture and traditions, and provide a vital habitat for the endangered bowhead whales, beluga whales, polar bears, walruses, seals and migratory birds. If an oil spill were to occur in the Arctic’s extreme conditions, there is no proven method to clean it up during Winter. Shell is taking a deadly risk with Inupiat and other Arctic Indigenous peoples’ cultures and food security for shortsighted profit, while the community faces long term consequences to their survival.”

polar bears by Martha de Jong-Lantink

Shell wants to drill in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, which provide a vital habitat for polar bears as well as many other endangered species. Photo by Martha de Jong-Lantink.

In addition, the UK Tar Sands Network is bringing concerns to Shell’s shareholders over other long-term risks to the company’s investments in tar sands.

The tar sands are landlocked, making them difficult and expensive to get to market. The pipelines that present the industry’s only viable solution to this problem – such as Keystone XL and Enbridge Northern Gateway – are facing massive public opposition, and look unlikely to be built soon. The price of tar sands crude has dropped as a result. Meanwhile, in Europe, the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) is likely to strongly discourage future tar sands imports into Europe. Lax standards and lack of adequate environmental regulation have led to several high-profile leaks and spills in recent weeks, including the flooding of an Arkansas suburb with tar sands oil. Meanwhile, a recent report by the Carbon Tracker initiative identified an alarming ‘carbon bubble’, arguing that 80% of oil companies’ current fossil fuel reserves are ‘unburnable carbon’, and anticipating a crash in prices as climate regulations kick in.

In March, French oil giant Total pulled out of one of its three Canadian tar sands projects, citing the high costs and fragile profit margins that are besetting the whole industry. Total was willing to take a $1.65 billion loss rather than press ahead with what has become a bad investment.

Shell will also be criticised by UK campaigners for heavily lobbying the UK government against the labelling of tar sands as highly polluting in the Fuel Quality Directive. Shell was revealed to have a close relationship with its former Chief Economist, now Secretary of State for Business and Industry and official ‘Minister for Shell’ Vince Cable, in a letter published last year. The letter urged him to harden the government’s line against the FQD, a move which was revealed to have happened in leaked documents published last week.

Eriel Deranger, Robert Thompson, Ron Plain, by Ben Powless

Representatives from Indigenous communities in Canada and the Arctic attended Shell’s AGM last year, but did not feel their concerns were taken seriously. Photo by Ben Powless.

Suzanne Dhaliwal, from the UK Tar Sands Network, commented:

“The risk factors that recently led Total to ditch a major tar sands project are increasing. The tar sands are landlocked and expensive, and opposition to new pipelines has led the price of tar sands crude to drop. Meanwhile, the industry’s high emissions mean that Canada’s oil is increasingly looking like ‘unburnable carbon’. Despite Shell’s frenzied lobbying, upcoming EU legislation on transport emissions could close off this key future market and set a precedent that other countries will follow. Shell should ditch its expansion plans before the carbon bubble bursts, exposing its shareholders to financial disaster.”

Indigenous Peoples Stop Dam Construction With New Occupation at Belo Monte Site 2nd May

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Altamira, Brazil – Some 200 indigenous people affected by the construction of large hydroelectric dams in the Amazon launched an occupation today on one of the main construction sites of the Belo Monte dam complex on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon. The group demands that the Brazilian government adopt effective legislation on prior consultations with indigenous peoples regarding projects that affect their lands and livelihoods. As this has not happened, they are demanding the immediate suspension of construction, technical studies and police operations related to dams along the Xingu, Tapajos and Teles Pires rivers. Shock troops of the military police were awaiting indigenous protestors when they arrived at the Belo Monte dam site, but they were unable to impede the occupation.

The indigenous protestors include members of the Juruna, Kayapó, Xipaya, Kuruaya, Asurini, Parakanã, Arara tribes from the Xingu River, as well as warriors of the Munduruku, a large tribe from the neighboring Tapajós river basin. The indigenous peoples are joined by fishermen and local riverine communities from the Xingu region. Initial reports indicate that approximately 6,000 workers at one of the main Belo Monte construction sites, Pimental, have ceased operations as a result of the protest. The occupation, according to the indigenous communities, will continue indefinitely or until the federal government meets their demands.

 

Indigenous peoples of the Xingu and Tapajós released this statement [English translation]:

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We are the people who live in the rivers where you want to build dams. We
are the Munduruku, Juruna, Kayapo, Xipaya, Kuruaya, Asurini, Parakanã, Arara,
fishermen and peoples who live in riverine communities. We are Amazonian
peoples and we want the forest to stand. We are Brazilians. The river and the
forest are our supermarket. Our ancestors are older than Jesus Christ.
 
You are pointing guns at our heads. You raid our territories with war trucks
and soldiers. You have made the fish disappear and you are robbing the
bones of our ancestors who are buried on our lands.
 
You do this because you are afraid to listen to us. You are afraid to hear that
we don’t want dams on our rivers, and afraid to understand why we don’t
want them.
 
You invent stories that we are violent and that we want war. Who are the
ones killing our relatives? How many white people have died in comparison to
how many Indigenous people have died? You are the ones killing us, quickly
or slowly. We’re dying and with each dam that is built, more of us will die.
When we try to talk with you, you bring tanks, helicopters, soldiers,
machineguns and stun weapons.

What we want is simple: You need to uphold the law and promote enacting
legislation on free, prior and informed consent for indigenous peoples. Until
that happens you need to stop all construction, studies, and police operations
in the Xingu, Tapajos and Teles Pires rivers. And then you need to consult us.
 
We want dialogue, but you are not letting us speak. This is why we are
occupying your dam-building site. You need to stop everything and simply
listen to us.

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Occupations against the Belo Monte dam complex and mobilizations against other Amazonian dams have become increasingly commonplace. Construction on Belo Monte has been halted on at least seven occasions over the last year due to the efforts of affected indigenous communities and fishermen to call attention to the failures of the Norte Energia dam building consortium and government agencies to comply with the project’s mandated environmental and social conditions. On March 21st, approximately 100 indigenous peoples, riverbank dwellers (ribeirinhos) and small farmers expelled dam workers and occupied the Pimental site, maintained by the Belo Monte Construction Consortium (CCBM). Additionally, recent strikes and protests by dam workers have created additional unrest at CCBM construction sites.

The Munduruku indigenous people and other local communities have mobilized against a cascade of over a dozen large dams slated for construction on the neighboring Tapajós river and its major tributaries, the Teles Pires, Juruena and Jamanxim. One of the first major dams under construction, UHE Teles Pires, has been the subject of lawsuits by Federal Public Prosecutors for lack of prior consultations with the Kayabi, Apiaká and Munduruku indigenous peoples. In recent weeks, the removal of funeral urns of the Munduruku people by dam contractors at the Sete Quedas rapids, considered a sacred site for indigenous tribes, provoked outrage.

Last March President Dilma Rousseff signed Decree no. 7957/2013 allowing the use of the National Guard and other armed forces to ensure that dam construction at places like Belo Monte and technical studies for planned Amazonian dams are not interrupted by indigenous protestors. In April, upon a request of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, approximately 250 federal and military police troops were dispatched to the Tapajós region to ensure continuation of technical studies for the first two large dams scheduled for construction, São Luiz do Tapajós and Jatobá. The military operation came in response to protests from the Munduruku people, whose traditional lands would be directly affected by the two large dams and who have suffered from a history of military operations on their lands.

“Today’s protest demonstrates the relentless resistance of a growing group of united peoples against Belo Monte, Tapajós and other destructive dams throughout the Amazon,” said Leila Salazar-Lopez, Amazon Watch Program Director. “These are the final moments to change course as construction closes in on the Xingu and other lifeline rivers of the Amazon.”

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Lockdown Continues in the “Red River Showdown” 25th April

A protester with the group Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance has stopped construction of the Keystone XL pipeline by locking his arm into a concrete capsule buried directly in the pipeline’s proposed path. Fitzgerald Scott, 42, is the first African American to risk arrest while physically blockading TransCanada’s dangerous tar sands pipeline, and the second person to take action this week. On Monday a 61 year old man locked himself to a piece of construction equipment effectively shutting down another Oklahoma pipeline construction site. This week of action, called the “Red River Showdown,” is intended to protect the Red River, which marks the border between Oklahoma and Texas and is a major tributary of the Mississippi.

The site Scott has blockaded is a wetland area where crews are attempting to lay sections of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline directly into the marshy waters. An undetected pinhole leak at this location would cause cancer causing chemicals to mix directly into the local community water table.

Scott, who has a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois, Chicago, is a longtime activist for social and environmental justice. While organizing against Keystone over the past five months, Scott has met many people struggling to protect their homes from TransCanada’s abuse of eminent domain.

“I am doing this for the people who don’t have the financial resources to protect themselves from a bully like TransCanada,” explained Scott. “Imagine how much worse it is for them – like the mostly African American neighborhood in Winona, TX, where protesters with the Tar Sands Blockade found holes in welds of the pipeline section that runs right behind a children’s playground, and neither TransCanada nor the government will do anything about it!”

As construction on the southern portion of Keystone XL nears two thirds completion, no regulators or politicians show any willingness to halt the project or even inspect those faulty welds. According to George Daniel, spokesperson for Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance, “Scott’s action sends a clear message: because every other avenue has failed to stop this deadly project, we will blockade – all summer and on into the fall, if that’s what it takes.”

Today’s action comes just a few weeks after the devastating tar sands spill in Mayflower, Arkansas, which has left communities across Oklahoma and Texas terrified that they may be the next victims of reckless industry practices. Survivors of the spill in Mayflower have reported nausea, blurred vision, vomiting, and black outs caused by the same blend of raw tar and poisonous chemical solvents that will be transported through Keystone XL.

UPDATE 9:30 AM Work is still stopped on the easement due to the large amount of police and emergency equipment needed for extraction!  Show your support for Fitzgerald here!

UPDATE 9:10 AM: Firefighters have extracted Fitzgerald and he’s now in police custody. Please show your support with a generous donation to his legal fund.

UPDATE 8:49 AM: Another fire rescue vehicle on scene, officer just commanded “everyone not involved in emergency services, back off now!” and workers retreated slightly.

UPDATE 8:30 AM: Half a dozen work trucks, four police cars (3 sheriffs and 1 state trooper), four cops, four firefighters, 2 EMTs, one fire truck and a fire rescue truck on scene. Special fire department equipment truck just arrived; large group of officials crowded around Fitzgerald.

UPDATE 7:42 AM: Sheriff on scene.

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.”