Amazon Theater

Peru: Amazon uprising spreads

Nine more police officers were reportedly killed in a standoff with indigenous protesters in Peru's Amazonas region June 6, bringing the total dead since the previous day's police attack on a road blockade in Bagua municipality to an estimated 60. Authorities say 22 officers of the Peruvian National Police (PNP) have been killed—seven with spears. Indigenous leaders say at least 40 of their people have been killed, including three children. The government says it can confirm only nine civilian deaths. Thousands of indigenous protesters armed with spears are blockading roads throughout the region.

Peru: 25 dead as National Police attack Amazon road blockade

In the early morning hours of June 5, Peruvian national police forces staged a violent raid on a group of indigenous people at a peaceful blockade on a road outside of Bagua, in a remote area of Amazonas region. Several thousand Awajun and Wambis indigenous people were forcibly dispersed by tear gas and bullets, leaving at least 25 dead and many more injured.

Peru: protesters seize Camisea pipeline valves, pledge to resist army

Indigenous protesters June 1 seized two valves on the pipeline that moves natural gas from Peru's Camisea field in the Amazon rainforest to the Pacific coast—the lastest escalation in a campaign across the region to force the government to resist new laws that would ease corporate access to natural resources on indigenous lands. Transportadora de Gas del Peru (TGP), a consortium of energy firms that includes Argentina's Pluspetrol and US-based Hunt Oil, said about 50 protesters took control of the valves over the weekend. The operators said flows have not yet been affected. (Reuters, June 1)

Peru: strike backs indigenous protests

Peru's largest labor organization, the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP), held a one-day nationwide strike on May 27 in support of indigenous people who have been protesting since April 9 in the country's northeastern Amazon region against a package of laws they say will open up their lands to mining and drilling without consultation with local communities. The CGTP strike came on the second day of a May 26-27 strike called by the Inter-Ethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Forest (AIDESEP), an indigenous organization which has led the protests in the Amazon region.

Peru: dozens decamp in jungle jailbreak

Dozens of prisoners escaped from Bagua Grande prison, in Peru's Amazonas region, and fled into the jungle in a daring jailbreak May 31. At least 44 inmates escaped, taking an AK-47 rifle with them, after ambushing prison guards and threatening them with knives, authorities said. The majority of those who escaped were convicted or facing trial for violent robbery. Authorities are seeking agreement with indigenous leaders to stop and search vehicles in the area, and a senior official from Peru's national penal authority has been flown in to coordinate the man-hunt. (BBC News, May 31)

Peru: Canadian oil company signs deal to explore uncontacted tribe's land

A Canadian oil company has signed a deal with Peru's government allowing it to explore land inhabited by one of the world's last uncontacted tribes. The company, Petrolifera, has reached an agreement to explore almost four thousand sq kms of a remote part of Peru where uncontacted Cacataibo indigenous bands live. Two local organizations, the Common Good Institute (IBC) and the Native Federation of Cacataibo Communities (FENACOCA), have previously asked the government to turn the area into a reserve for the indigenous groups.

Brazil: dam protesters arrested

The Movement of People Harmed by Dams (MAB) and the local branch of Vía Campesina ("Campesino Way") held a vigil the evening of May 7 at the Mártires de Abril Plaza in Belém, capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará, to demand the release of 18 people arrested on April 26 when the state's militarized police broke up a sit-in near the Tucuruí dam. The prisoners each face at least 11 charges; if convicted they could be sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Peru: indigenous peoples block Amazon tributary to resist oil operations

A large number of Kichua and Arabela indigenous people have for two weeks blockaded one of the Amazon's main tributaries, the Río Napo, in response to the violation of their rights by oil companies and Peru's government. The protesters have blocked the Napo with canoes and a cable to stop oil company vessels getting upriver at Santa Clotilde, Napo district, Maynas province, Loreto region. According to Survival International, two boats, including one from the Anglo-French company Perenco, have managed to break through the blockade. Three shots were allegedly fired at the Indians who chased after them.

Syndicate content