Naso village demolished for the second time this year
As many as 300 troops from Panama's National Police have once again demolished a Naso village in Bocas del Toro.
No injuries have been reported, however, some 150 adults and 65 children have been left with no shelter and limited access to food and water.
The demolition was carried out on November 19, after the Governor of Bocas del Toro tried to convince the Naso community of San San Durui to voluntarily abandon their ancestral territory. The Naso refused to accept the Government's terms.
Once the police arrived, according to Panama Profundo, the community did their best to resist. However, they were eventually forced to give way to the police and their indiscriminate use of tear gas.
With the Naso unable to protect their village, the police allowed the Ganadera Bocas cattle company---who claims to own the community's land---to move in with their equipment to destroy the village. This is the second time in 8 months the same village has been leveled.
On March 30, 2009, Esther Mena de Chi, the last Governor of Bocas del Toro, ordered the Naso to be cleared off their land, which they have been trying to reclaim since the 1960s.
As a result of the order, eight children were hospitalized from exposure to tear gas and some 30 homes were destroyed, along with several other buildings. The police were also ordered to arrest several Naso leaders, which they attempted to do by preventing all men, women, and children from leaving or gaining access to food or water.
Soon after this, Panama's Ombudsman pointed out that the police committed an “abuse of power” and failed to guarantee the Naso “due process”.
The same is true for last week's eviction, even though, this time, the Ombudsman has refused to hear the Naso's complaints.
According to the Naso, the police did not have a legal eviction order. Instead, they were acting solely on the word of Governor Becker and Justice Minister José Raúl Mulino, who warned the Naso on October 27 that an eviction would no longer be delayed by ongoing court proceedings.
With few other options, the Naso are currently preparing to file a complaint with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), who has acted responsibly toward the Naso and the Ngobe in the past.
PHOTO: LA PRENSA/Pedro Rodríguez
What You Can Do
To Support the Naso community of San San Drui and other threatened communities, please sign this petition urging the Panamanian Government to safeguard their human rights.
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I have just forwarded this article to about 10 green and social justice discussion and news lists in the US.
If someone would like to help, who do they contact?
I truly feel for these poor people i signed the petition i pray it helps.I am getting sick and tired of the rich and governments bullying my people all over the world.I am on my last nerve with these type of humans if that at all.Sometimes i feel we need a global revolution,to oust these greedy bastards.
I couldn’t find any direct contact information, Les, but I would suggest contacting Cultural Survival and the Alliance for Conservation and Development (ACD Panama). They are both actively working with the Naso.
Alliance for Conservation and Development (ES)
Website: http://www.acdpanama.org Email: acdpanama@gmail.com
Cultural Survival (EN)
Website: http://www.culturalsurvival.org Email: culturalsurvival@cs.org
I’m pretty sick of it too, Shadowwolf. It’s the exact same thing over and over again. They’re all a bunch of hypocrites, sociopaths, and racists. No government would dare inflict these abuses on the majority population— but it’s alright to do it to us?!
It really goes back to the Papal Bull Inter Caetera, which declared all non-Christian people to be non-humans. In effect, this made indigenous people “rapable”, “killable,” “disposable”. It’s still true today.
Working on changing that Ahni all over the planet,what saddens me the most is that these people are familia they have black hair and brown skin just like the rest of us.They are traitors to me and our ancestors who are shaking their heads to such abuses of their own kin.This is what capitalism is responsable for oppression and injustice all over the planet.
But change is coming soon thankfully.