A delegation of some 60 members of the Yukpa indigenous group from Venezuela's western Sierra de Perijá held a rally in Caracas Nov. 7, protesting violent aggression against their communities by cattle ranchers who covet their traditional lands near the Colombian border. Community leaders charged that seven Yukpa men have been have been killed this year at the hands of ranchers or their sicarios (hired assassins) in the municipality of Machiques, Zulia state. Ironically, the violence escalted after the government granted Yukpa communities title to their traditional lands last December. Ranchers claim they never received the 250 million bolivars ($58 million) pledged them by the government as compensation for contested lands. "The title to the land has been granted to us, but it hasn't been enforced because the cattle ranchers still live on our territory, and there are still massacres occurring in our community," said Yukpa leader Zenaida Romero, who still carries a bullet from a recent attack. The Yukpa are demanding direct talks with Minister of Indigenous Peoples Aloha Nuñez  to resolve the issue.

The Turkish military carried out a ground operation against guerillas of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq Nov. 6, followed by airstrikes in the  Kandil Mountains along the border in the following days. Turkish Maroon Beret troops crossed the border and went five kilometers into northern Iraqi to carry out an operation against PKK forces, and returned to Turkey after completing the operation. No official statements have been released by the General Staff about the ground operation pr air strikes, but they were confirmed by local officials on both the Turkish and Iraqi sides of the border. Skirmishes were also reported in Turkey's southeastern province of Şırnak, leaving at least three PKK fighters dead, while 23 people were detained in the eastern province of Van on charges of attacking schools with Molotov cocktails over the past months. This past summer saw an upsurge in PKK attacks in southeast Turkey, notably in the Hakkari region. (Reuters, Nov. 9; Today's Zaman via Phantom Report, Nov. 7)

In a landslide victory, Montana voters approved an initiative on Nov. 7 Election Day stating "that corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights because they are not human beings." The initiative directly challenges the US Supreme Court's now infamous Citizens United decision, which allows corporations to contribute unlimited amounts of money for campaign groups know as "Super PACs" and "shadow money" organizations. Initiative 166 will likely win by 75% according to a projeciton by the Billings Gazette. The initiative states:

Thousands have held demonstrations in Ankara, Istanbul and Diyarbakir over the past month to show solidarity with Kurdish political prisoners who have been on hunger strike in Turkey. About 70 Kurdish prisoners started an indefinite hunger strike in prisons across the country on Sept. 12. In the ensuing weeks, hundreds more prisoners have joined them, with the total refusing food now standing at 715. Their demands include greater cultural and political rights for Trukey's Kurds, the country's largest ethnic minority that now numbers some 20 million. Most of the strikers are supporters of the outlawed Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), the so-called "urban branch" of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is labelled a "terrorist organization." They come from a wide range of backgrounds: journalists, students, teachers, professionals, lawyers, town mayors, and even two elected members of parliament. The strikers’ first demand is the "right to defense in Kurdish"—that is, the ability to give their testimony in Turkish courts in their native tongue. The Turkish government is refusing to consider their demands, and has repeatedly unleahsed repression against protesters marching in support of the hunger strikers.

Amnesty International called on Iranian authorities to protect all detainees and prisoners from harassment and degrading treatment, after nine female political prisoners—including some deemed "prisoners of conscience" by Amnesty—started a hunger strike Nov. 1 in response to alleged abuse by prison guards. The women,  all held in Tehran's Evin Prison, include activists and journalists. They say they were subjected to humiliating and degrading body searches and had personal belongings conficated by female guards from the Prison Security Section the day before they began their strike. The women plan to continue their hunger strike until they receive a formal apology from the prison authorities, return of their belongings, and guarantees that such incidents will not happen in future.

In a sign of community divisions in Peru's northern region of Cajamarca, campesinos from the "influence zone" of the proposed Conga mineral project demonstrated in the regional capital Nov. 1, where they threatened to evict the "Guardians of the Lagunas"—campesinos who oppose the mine, and have established an encampment near the concession bloc to assure that the Yanacocha mining company does not begin work that would impact the zone's highland lakes. "We don't want violence, but they are ursurping our lands and we are reaching an agreement to expel them," said Felipe Palma López, leader of the ronda campesina (peasant self-defense patrol) in the community of Quengorio Alto. Demonstrators accused the Guardians of being "manipulated by politicians."

New fighting was reported from the southern Philippines island group of Mindanao Oct. 29, despite a recent deal on regional autonomy aimed at ending the decades-long insurgency. Former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels accused the Philippine military of attacking its members in western Sulu province, sparking a gun battle that left four soldiers dead and several more wounded. The MNLF said marine troops attacked its followers at a village in Patikul municipality, who were only harvesting coconuts. But the military's Western Mindanao Command insisted that troops had clashed with militants of the jihadist group Abu Sayyaf. The army was reportedly sent into the area after reports that Abu Sayyaf's kidnap victims had been spotted. The military said two militants were also killed in the clash. (See map.) (Mindanao Examiner, Oct. 29)

The government of Indonesia this month responded to UN recommendations to recognize the rights of its indigenous peoples by claiming that none live in the country. In a response to the UN's Universal Periodic Review, a four–year human rights check-up for all countries, Indonesia said, "The Government of Indonesia supports the promotion and protection of indigenous people worldwide… Indonesia, however, does not recognize the application of the indigenous peoples concept… in the country."