WW4 REPORT readers are aware that the Nasa Indian community of Toribio in southern Colombia's Cauca department have been under siege for the past several weeks as guerillas and army troops fight for control of their village. Army and guerillas alike are operating in violation of the constituionally-recognized autonomy rights of the Nasa, who have declared their territories closed to all armed actors. (See our recent report [1].) Two representatives from Toribio are currently in New York City to raise awareness about the situation their people face, and will be speaking in Manhattan this Friday.
THE STRUGGLE FOR INDIGENOUS AUTONOMY IN COLOMBIA
Ezequiel Vitonas and Manuel Rozental of the Association of Indigenous Councils of North Cauca (ACIN [2]), representing the Nasa (Paez) people of Colombia, will be presenting a video and discussion on the Nasa's struggle for peace and autonomy in the midst of Colombia's escalating war, the state of armed siege currently faced by their communities, and last September's unprecedented 60,000-strong indigenous march [3] on Cali.
At SEIU 1199, 7th-Floor Conference Room 1, 310 West 43rd St. (near 8th Ave.)
Friday May 27, 6:30 PM
Sponsored by Colombia Support Network [4] and Colombia Media Project
For more information: 212-920-0494
See our last post on Colombia [5].
