2004/2005

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News Archive - LATIN AMERICA - 2004/2005

Suriname: Saramaccans Use Portable Mercury Analyzer to Self-Diagnose Risk of Mercury Exposure and Request Assistance with Three-Point Intervention Plan

December 2005

Tribal communities in Kwakoegron on the Saramacca River in Suriname, with assistance from the Suriname Indigenous Health Fund (www.SIHFund.org), used a Lumex portable mercury analyzer to self-diagnose the risk of exposure to mercury pollution. Mercury contamination, which can arise from natural and atmospheric sources, is a concern in Suriname where between 30 and 60 tons are released each year from artisinal gold mines. Additional mercury is also released from crushed Bauxite ore, which is processed extensively in Suriname.

Read the news coverage from SIHFund

Brazil: Indians Thrown off Land - Ranchers Burn Down Houses

December 2005

Over one hundred federal police evicted the Guarani-Kaiowa Indians of Ñanderú Marangatú, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, from their land yesterday morning. Ñanderú Marangatú was officially recognised as the land of the Guarani-Kaiowa in March this year, but ranchers are contesting the recognition in Brazil's supreme court. The eviction raises the renewed spectre of starvation among the Guarani. The tribe hit the headlines earlier this year after dozens of children were found to have died of starvation due to lack of land.

Read the news coverage

Colombia: Incursion of the Colombian National Army creates deep concern among communities in the Naya Region

November 2005

On Tuesday November 8, 2005, a contingent of the National Army began to enter the Upper Naya region in the southwestern part of Colombia. According to members of UTINAYA (The Inter-ethnic Territorial Union of the Naya) the contingent was comprised of 100 uniformed men, some of whom had their faces covered. At no time did the soldiers make a public announcement as to the reasons why they were entering the Naya. UTINAYA fears that the military presence will lead to restrictions of food and medicine into the communities and damage the indigenous peoples' efforts to control and manage their territory.

Read UTINAYA's plea for withdrawal of the military from the Naya region

Crisis within the Latin American indigenous movement

August 2005

During the debate in April in the UN Human Rights Commission regarding the recess or temporary suspension of the Inter-sessional Working Group on the Draft Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the polarisation within the Latin American indigenous movement became apparent, also at the international scene.

In a much debated article, Marcos Matías Alonso, indigenous expert and researcher at the Institute for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS Mexico), analyses the polarisation of positions which has brought about a risk of rupture within the Latin American indigenous movement. Alonso suggests ways to solve the conflict and urges both the leaders of Latin American indigenous organisations to resolve the conflict that afflicts them and the international indigenous movement to overcome the divergent positions and work on reaching consensus.

Read Marcos Matías Alonso's article

Rapa Nui: Indigenous Struggles for the Navel of the World July 2005 Except for its huge monoliths, Rapa Nui – this remote island in the Pacific also known as Easter Island – draws little attention. Yet, the story of its indigenous inhabitants is a fascinating tale of how a people ever since it was “discovered” and later colonized by Chile has struggled for recovering their land and self-determination. Read Willem Assies’ report on Rapa Nui.		Rapa Nui, Chile Photo: Grant McCall

The situation of the Indigenous Peoples in Colombia

April 2005

In a statement presented in the 61st meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in April 2005, the Indigenous Organisation of Antioquia (IOA) called for attention to the continuous serious humanitarian crisis affecting indigenous peoples in Colombia, which was also exposed by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for indigenous people during his visit to Colombia in March 2004.

Read IOA's statement

Mapuche seek OAS action on human rights violations

March 4, 2005

A Mapuche delegation from Chile yesterday presented a case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS (Organization of Ametican States) in Washington. The clear message from the delegation was that the Chilean state not only fails to recognize international standards on indigenous rights, but also systematically violates fundamental guarantees of human rights enshrined in international law.

Read the delegation's press release (Word)

Read more in Spanish on the mapuexpress web-site

Read more about the OAS at this web-site

Sarayaku from the Ecuadorian Amazon demonstrate in Buenos Aires November 10, 2004 Indigenous people from the Sarayaku communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon arrived in Buenos Aires a few days ago to denounce an Argentinian oil company for violating their rights. The picture shows Ecuadorian leaders and representatives from Salta communities (Argentina) in front of the government headquarters. Read more at the Sarayaku web site (web link)

National park in French Guyana threatens indigenous tribes

November 1, 2004

The French Government has plans to create a national park in the southern part of French Guyana, in an area that since the 1970s has been an Indian sanctuary and a restricted area for three indigenous tribes – the Wayampi, the Teko and the Wayana people – with a total population of 3,600. The area is also believed to be inhabited by at least four un-contacted indigenous groups.
     There is strong evidence that the French Government’s choice of the southern part of French Guyana as the location for the park, is due to the fear of having to confront the illegal gold seekers that are active in the central and northern part of the country where it was originally intended to create a large national park.
     Indigenous representatives have already objected to the plans but international pressure from among others the European Community of States - as a French “departement” French Guyana is part of the European Union - is urgently needed to prevent the French Government to establish an illegitimate national park, and urge it to respect the will of the indigenous peoples and take action against the illegal gold mining that is contaminating the tropical rain forest and putting at danger the surrounding populations – Indians as well as Maroons.

Read Freunde der Naturfölker's report from October 2004 (Word)


Indigenous peoples in isolation Public meeting in Copenhagen October 20, 2004 More than 100 years ago some indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon decided to isolate themselves from the sorrounding society. Their life style is now threatened by logging and oil extraction. Beatriz Huertas Castillo and Shapiom Nining Sesen from AIDESEP present their situation in this public meeting.


Military occupation of Yana Yacu territory in Ecuador May 11, 2004 The Quichua Yana Yacu community of Ecuador has faced various forms of military harassment, including physical and verbal attacks on families and occupation of their territory in Pastaza province, during the past months. Human Rights organizations are deeply concerned. Read the press release (Word)