Tag: The Amazon
Brazil: quilombo threatened by rancher gunmen
Rights groups warn that the Afro-descendant Quilombo Pontes community in Brazil’s lawless Maranhão state is being “systematically threatened” by gunmen in the pay of local ranchers.
Venezuela: Yanomami massacred by outlaw miners
Authorities in Venezuela pledge to investigate breaking reports that illegal gold miners in southern Amazonas state carried out a “massacre” of an isolated Yanomami indigenous community. Witnesses of the aftermath described finding “burnt bodies and bones” at the community of Irotatheri,… Read moreVenezuela: Yanomami massacred by outlaw miners
Peru: Shining Path control outlaw gold operations?
After a new Shining Path attack left five soldiers dead in Peru’s jungle, anti-terrorism prosecutor Julio Galindo said the guerillas control illegal gold-mining operations.
Bolivia: judicial crisis over Amazon road project
Gualberto Cusi, a magistrate on Bolivia’s Constitutional Tribunal, has been asked to resign after accusing the executive of pressuring the court to approve a rainforest road project.
Brazil: Xavante territorial rights affirmed following ranchers’ uprising
Brazil’s government reaffirmed a court decision calling for return of usurped lands to the Xavante indigenous people. When Xavante protested at the Rio+20 summit, local ranchers blocked roads and burned bridges.
Brazil: indigenous tribes occupy Belo Monte dam site
For two weeks the jungle construction site of the planned Belo Monte dam in Brazil’s Pará state has been under occupation by some 200 members of the Xikrin, Arara and other indigenous peoples, many armed with spears.
Bolivian indigenous leaders “unmask” Evo Morales at Rio People’s Summit
At the People’s Summit being held on the sidelines of the Rio +20 meeting, leaders from Bolivia’s eastern lowlands denounced President Evo Morales for violating the rights of indigenous peoples in the region.