Bolivia's Minister of Autonomy, Carlos Romero, June 21 appealed to the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of the Oriente of Bolivia (CIDOB) to call off its cross-country march for territorial autonomy, to return to the dialogue table, and to "shake off" the interference of foreign-backed NGOs. CIDOB broke off talks with the government last week, and on the 21st launched a march from Trinidad, capital of the Amazonian department of Beni, to La Paz. CIDOB is demanding that the government accept its broader definition of indigenous rights than that in the new national autonomy law.

Oil company Perenco has been slammed for denying the existence of uncontacted tribes by a Peruvian indigenous leader almost immediately after his return from 11 months in political exile. Alberto Pizango, leader of indigenous organization AIDESEP, has condemned Perenco for denying the existence of uncontacted Indians in a remote region of the Peruvian Amazon where it aims to build a pipeline to exploit an estimated 300 million barrels of heavy crude oil.

After 16 years, Peru's single-chamber Congress finally passed into law on May 19 the rights enshrined in International Labor Organization Convention 169, which commits nations to protecting indigenous and tribal peoples. In 1994 Peru ratified ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, which establishes in article 6 the right of native peoples to be consulted on matters affecting their territories. In the intervening years, some 70% of the Peruvian Amazon has been opened to oil companies, and mining projects on indigenous lands have proliferated in the Andean sierras.

Alberto Pizango, exiled president of Peru's national organization for Amazonian indigenous peoples, AIDESEP, was arrested May 26 at Lima's airport as he arrived from Nicaragua, where he was granted political asylum in the aftermath of last June's Bagua massacre. He faces charges of "sedition, conspiracy and rebellion" for his alleged role in the Amazon violence. AIDESEP sees the charges as part of a wider campaign by the government to undermine Peru's indigenous movement.

A reserve for uncontacted tribes in the remote Peruvian Amazon has been made off-limits to oil and gas companies. The decision was revealed May 21 at a promotional event held in London by Perupetro, the state company responsible for promoting oil and gas exploration in Peru. The vast majority of the reserve had been previously open to exploration by Brazilian company Petrobras, in an area known as Lot 110.

Talks are underway in Lima between small-scale miners and Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines to arrive at a National Plan for Formalization of Artisanal Mining following a paro, or protest campaign, by miners last month to demand clarification of land and prospecting rights. Clashes with National Police at roadbocks established by thousands of protesting miners near the coastal village of Chala, Arequipa department, April 4-7, left six miners dead. Reports said protesters threw stones and sticks at the police, who responded with tear gas and live fire. Charges have been brought against leaders of the National Federation of Artisanal Miners of Peru (FENAMARPE) and the affiliated Mining Federation of Madre de Dios (FEDEMIN).

On May 1, a second rancher was sentenced for his role in the murder of Dorothy Stang, the US-born nun who was assassinated in 2005 in retaliation for her efforts on behalf of poor farmers in Brazil's Amazon rainforest. Regivaldo Galvao was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a jury in the city of Belém. Last month rancher Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for hiring hitmen to kill Stang. Three gunmen were earlier sentenced for the crime.

Spanish-Argentine oil giant Repsol-YPF has applied to Peru's government to cut 454 kilometers of seismic lines and construct 152 heliports in its search for oil on uncontacted tribes' land in the remote Amazon rainforest. Repsol's plans were revealed in a report sent last month to Peru's Energy Ministry, which will now decide whether to approve the project. Cutting seismic lines, a key part of oil exploration, involves clearing paths through the forest and detonating explosives at regular intervals.