The Andes
FARC threatens to disavow renegade units
A threat to the Colombian peace talks emerged as some FARC units unilaterally attacked government forces and declared their non-compliance with the ceasefire.
Tag: land-grabbing
East Asia
China: victory for anti-pollution protesters
The mayor of Xiantao in central China announced suspension of a waste incinerator after a wave of protests—but residents continue to take the streets in defiance of authorities.
The Andes
Peru: incoming admin threatens communal lands
Peru's president-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has unveiled a platform that calls for privatizing and "individualizing" communal lands to facilitate mineral and agribusiness development.
Mexico
Pressure on Mexico to free peasant ecologist
Mexican ecological defender Ildefonso Zamora is now in his seventh month behind bars, despite calls for his relase from Amnesty International and Greenpeace.
Central Asia
Protests rock Kazakhstan over land-grabbing
Hundreds have been detained in protests across Kazakhstan over a new government policy to privatize farmlands and open the agricultural sector to foreign capital.
The Andes
Peasant strike rocks Colombia
Campesinos launched a strike across Colombia, with some 100,000 blocking highways and effectively shutting down at least half of the country's 32 departments.
The Andes
Peru: peasant mine opponent wins Goldman Prize
Maxima Acuña, a campesina from Peru's Cajamarca region, was awarded a 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize for her struggle to defend her family lands from Newmont Mining.
The Andes
Paramilitary threat holds up Colombia peace talks
Havana peace talks between Colombia's government and the FARC are stalled as the government refuses to acknowledge the existence of far-right paramilitaries.
South Asia
Bangladesh: deadly repression of anti-coal protest
Police opened fire on peasant protestors at the site of a coal-fired power plant project in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh, killing at least four.
Central America
Honduras: another indigenous leader assassinated
Honduran activist Nelson Noe García Lainez was gunned down upon returning home following the Military Police eviction of a peasant squatter community on contested lands.
South Asia
Land-grabbing behind India’s new caste wars
Inter-caste violence and protests mount in India as corporate interests seize untitled peasant lands, increasing economic pressure on rural communities.
Central America
Guatemala: harsh terms for crimes against humanity
A retired army officer and an ex-paramilitary were sentenced to 120 years and 240 years, respectively, for sexual slavery and crimes against humanity during Guatemala's civil war.