Over the past 10 years, more than 40% of Colombia’s national territory has come under the control of multinational corporations for oil, mineral and biofuel production—part of what critics decry as a global land-grab.
In a surprise move, Bolivian President Evo Morales rescinded the contract of a Brazilian firm to build a controversial highway through the Amazon rainforest. But opponents of the project suspect a move to undermine their struggle.
Peru’s President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in La Convención province, following the abduction of workers from the Camisea Consortium by presumed guerillas of the Shining Path.
Nine miners were rescued after six days trapped in a tunnel at an “informal” copper mine in Peru. President Ollanta Humala said the incident points to the dangers of informal mines—but several such disasters have recently struck legal mines.
A Beijing court sentenced activist lawyer Ni Yulan and her husband Dong Jiqi to two years in prison on charges of “inciting a disturbance.” The couple had assisted victims of government land seizures, including those displaced by the Beijing Olympics.
An April 9 report on WNYC Radio informs us that last year, 21 bicyclists were killed in vehicle crashes in New York City—but only two drivers were arrested. Local district attorneys, when pressed to cite convictions for cyclist deaths, gripe… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Ali Mushaima, a 28-year-old Bahraini activist, has been on hunger strike for 10 days outside the US embassy in London, to call attention to Washington’s complicity in the repression of Bahrain’s civil revolutionary movement.
Police in Tunis used tear gas and baton-charges against unemployed protestors demanding jobs and relief. President Moncef Marzouki decried the violence, but criticized the protesters for holding an unauthorized demonstration.
While Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) claim to control the north of Mali, a growing number of Islamist militant groups are also declaring power across much of the vast desert territory.
A court in the west Indian state of Gujarat convicted 23 people of participating in the "Ode massacre" committed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Muslim families were locked in their homes and burned alive in the massacre.
A Brazilian federal judge suspended the construction license of the Teles Pires hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rainforest, saying the permitting process violated the riights of the Kayabi, Apiaká and Mundurucu indigenous peoples.
Peru’s government is ignoring new UN guidelines on the protection of isolated indigenous peoples in the Amazon, Survival International charged last week. The landmark document was issued by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
