Africa
Darfur: ethnic war exploding again
Efforts by pastoralist militias to bar refugees from returning to their lands in Darfur have sparked yet a new wave of fighting and displacement—with 250,000 uprooted this year.
Tag: land
Southern Cone
Chile: Mapuche step up struggle for land and water
Mapuche activists are occupying land, planning a march to protest the usurpation of their territory—and questioning the safety of Chile’s growing salmon farming industry.
Palestine
Israeli forces evict ‘protest village’ near Bethlehem
Israeli forces evicted a protest village near the Kfar Etzion settlement compound south of Bethlehem, organized by the Popular Struggle Committee Against Settlements and the Wall.
Mexico
Mexico: municipal uprising against road project
Comuneros in the Mexican village of Tepoztlán seized the town hall and took the mayor captive to demand cancellation of a highway expansion they say violates their land rights.
The Andes
Colombian ambassador to US resigns over land-theft scandal
Colombia's ambassador in Washington, Carlos Urrutia, resigned after being implicated in the illegal transfer of lands from campesino communities to ag-biz companies, including Cargill.
Mexico
Anti-mining protests in Mexico, Canada
The July 22 Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining, most widely observed in the Andean nations, also saw coordinated protests in NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada.
East Asia
China: authorities detain activist Xu Zhiyong
Anti-corruption activist and lawyer Xu Zhiyong was arrested by Chinese authorities on suspicion of having "gathered crowds to disrupt public order."
Mexico
Chiapas cancels carbon deal with California
The government of Chiapas cancelled a controversial forest protection plan that critics said failed to address root causes of deforestation and endangered indigenous peoples.
The Andes
Peru: deadline for payment on expropriated lands
Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal issued a decision ordering the government to honor debt owed for land confiscated under the agrarian reform that began in the 1960s.
Palestine
Israel razes Bedouin village —again
Israeli forces used bulldozers to demolish the “unrecognized” Bedouin village of al-Araqeeb in the Negev desert—amid protests over a Knesset bill that would expropriate Bedouin lands.
The Andes
Colombia: ranchers fear ‘communist’ redistribution
Colombia's federation of cattle ranchers rejected the recent agrarian deal with the FARC, charging that it could lead to Venezuela-style expropriations of private property.
The Andes
Peru: peasant leader killed in Cajamarca
Carlos Vásquez Becerra, a campesino leader who opposed mining projects in Peru’s conflicted Cajamarca region, was found beaten to death in a canyon.