Tag Archive for 'violence'

18
Nov

Mass Tribal Uprising in West Bengal

What we are witnessing in the tribal belt of West Bengal is [an] historical moment. A long oppressed people have risen up and are daring to confront their oppressors and question the logic of “development” that destroys their lives and livelihoods.”

In what started out as a protest against police brutality, on November 7 more than ten thousand Santhal men and women converged in the Indian state of West Bengal to demand the end to state oppression and the constant dispossession of their lands.

It is an historic moment for the tribal peoples in the region — and one so unprecedented that authorities are not even sure what to do about it.

“Even the political parties and civil society are at a loss trying to come to terms with what is happening,” says Partho Sarathi Ray, in one of several reports on …

Published on
November 18, 2008
  0 Comments 257 views

31
Oct

A new season of soya, a new season of conflict

Tension and conflict is growing hand in hand with the start of the new soya season in Paparaguay.

Peasant organizations have begun to increase pressure on the government for land reforms, food sovereignty, and the end to pesticide use which gravely impacts their communities.

In turn, the farmers have been repeatedly met with violence: Numerous evictions have taken place, at least two leaders have been murdered, and hundreds of peasants have been tortured, beaten and arrested. This is despite Paraguay’s new government, which has stated a commitment to protect small farmers against soya plantations, pesticide spraying and deforestation.

La Soja Mata (Soya Kills) is putting together a series of video reports on the conflicts and various other events related to the soya industry in Paraguay. Here’s a handful of the reports they’d made so far:

Please note: these reports are in Spanish, …

Published on
October 31, 2008
  0 Comments 750 views

29
Oct

Brazil: Tupinamba Community Assaulted by Police

On the morning of October 21, a group of 120 heavily armed police attacked the Tupinamba community of Sierra Padeiro in the Brazilian state of Bahia.

According to an open letter from the community, the police marched into their territory a day earlier. The Tupinamba immediately requested a meeting with FUNAI, Brazil’s department of Indian Affairs, to which the police agreed. But when the Tupinamba went on their way, the police, without any warning or provocation, began to attack the community.

“They attacked our children, threw bombs, smashed our houses, took our work tools, stole our food and beat our elders,” states the open letter. The police also used rubber bullets which left behind massive contusions.

“On top of that, [the police turned around and] lied to society [by] saying that we were …

Published on
October 29, 2008
  0 Comments 255 views

21
Oct

The Military Represssion of Xoxocotla, Mexico

Earlier this month, police and military forces in Mexico were used against families in the indigenous town of Xoxocotla. Currently, there are reports of at least 70 people missing, of whom only 20 have been officially ‘arrested.’ See the video below for footage taken during the attack.

“Long known for their effective community organizing and for their willingness to show solidarity with other social movements,” notes a detailed report by Gregory Berger, residents of the town had set up a series of blockades along the Alpuyeca-Jojutla highway, to show solidarity with teachers who have been on strike in the state of Morelos for the past 2 months.

“The teachers of Morelos and the townspeople of Xoxocotla are united in a common struggle to stop the rapid privatization of public resources,” Berger explains. “Teachers on strike in Morelos are trying to halt a …

Published on
October 21, 2008
  0 Comments 393 views

16
Oct

Army responds to Indigenous uprising with bullets

More then 75 people were injured and at least one was killed after a violent military crackdown against the National Mobilization of Indigenous and Popular Resistance, or Minga, currently taking place in Colombia.

“It was terrible, and so unfair. We had no weapons. We only have our ceremonial staffs which symbolise authority. At this moment (midday on Wednesday) they are still shooting, although they have removed us from the Pan American highway,” said Manuel Rozental, a spokesperson for local indigenous groups.

The Mobilization began on October 12 as a national effort to commemorate 516 years of indigenous resistance, and as Mario A. Murillo explains, to “protest the government’s failure to comply with dozens of promises regarding land rights, compensation for past crimes committed against them by organisms of the state, [and] the extensive militarization of their territories.”

Among the many protests taking place …

Published on
October 16, 2008
  0 Comments 353 views

13
Oct

National Indigenous Popular Mobilization in Colombia

More than 7,000 indigenous activists and representatives of other popular and social sectors throughout Cauca and the southwestern region of Colombia have mobilized to commemorate 516 years of resistance, and to consolidate the “Commotion of the Peoples” against the current regime of greed and terror in the South American State.

The mobilization began on October 12, with a plan to hold an Indigenous and Popular Congress and restate the popular mandate of September 2004. “We do not accept Free Trade Agreements like the ones negotiated behind closed doors with the United States, Canada, the European Union, the European Association of Free Trade, or any other deal that looks to displace us of our rights, our culture, our knowledge and our territory.” states an October 10 Press Release from the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (ACIN).

“We want treaties between …

Published on
October 13, 2008
  0 Comments 288 views

08
Oct

Chiapas: Police attack Indigenous farmers, killing six

Five days ago, on October 3, 2008, federal and state police in Chiapas, Mexico, carried out a violent operation that left six people dead, 17 injured, and 36 more detained, almost all of whom were inhabitants of the ejido (communally held land) of Miguel Hidalgo, located in the municipality of La Trinitaria, Chiapas.

Leading up to the attack, on September 7th, members of the ejido attempted to reclaim a Mayan archeological site located near the city of Comitán, with the plan of taking over its administration. In response, the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia y Historía (INAH, National Institue of Anthropology and History), which had previously been administrating the site, filed a lawsuit against those involved in the reclamation. A series of negotiations followed, with the last one taking place on October 2.

The International Service for Peace (SIPAZ) explains what happened the …

Published on
October 8, 2008
  0 Comments 529 views

Eight Mayan Women

Eight Mayan Women is a story of continued resistance to the Canadian mining company Goldcorp.

For the past three years the company has been extracting gold and silver in the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, Guatemala. The people of San Miguel have been opposed the operation, primarily out of a concern that it is destroying the environment and draining the region of its water. Many also say they were deceived and forced into selling their lands, and that …


Underreported Struggles #20, November 2008

In the month’s Underreported Struggles: Talisman decides to ignore warning from the Achuar to “get out now”; A spontaneous tribal uprising forms in West Bengal; Vedanta Resources gets chased away by more than …


I Am A Defender of the Rainforest

Known as ‘Soy defensor de la selva’ in Spanish, I am a Defender of the Rainforest is an award-winning documentary that was filmed, edited, and directed by members of the Sarayaku community in southern Ecuador.

The film shows how the …


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