The Andes
Colombia: land restitution advances
International human rights advocates commended Colombia on the return of usurped lands to 32 families displaced by paramilitaries in northwest Córdoba department.
Tag: land
Palestine
SodaStream greenwashes occupation of Palestine
Israeli firm SodaStream bills itself as eco-friendly by obviating the need for soda bottles—as it illegally operates on stolen Bedoin and Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
Southern Cone
Chile: 20 arrested at Mapuche prisoner’s hearing
Some 20 Mapuche protesters, including women and children, were assaulted and arrested as they demonstrated outside a hearing for a prisoner on hunger strike.
Central America
Honduras: brother of slain Aguán attorney killed
The brother of murdered campesino lawyer Antonio Trejo Cabrera was himself gunned down in the latest violent episode in the Aguán Valley’s ongoing land dispute.
Central America
Honduras: Aguán campesino leader arrested
The president of a campesino organization claiming disputed lands is arrested, while the landowners and their security guards enjoy impunity amid ongoing violence.
Central America
Guatemala: campaign for evicted campesinos
An international campaign is demanding that President President Otto PĂ©rez Molina provide land for indigenous campesino families expelled from their fields in the Polochic Valley.
Southern Cone
Brazil: landless leader assassinated
CĂcero Guedes dos Santos, a leader of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) who led an occupation of unused property in Rio de Janeiro state, was shot dead by unknown gunmen.
Palestine
Israeli pol: ‘blow up’ Dome of the Rock
Knesset candidate Jeremy Gimpel sparked outrage when Israeli TV broadcast footage of him joking before a Florida church group of plans to "blow up" the Dome of the Rock.
Southern Cone
Chile: ‘terrorist’ attacks in Mapuche region
The Chilean government prepared to step up repression against Mapuche activists after an elderly couple died in a fire set at their estate by some 20 masked men.
Central America
Honduras: two more campesinos killed in Aguán
Two campesinos were shot dead as violence continued in land disputes in the Lower Aguán Valley; the victims had been occupying land claimed by a university.
South Asia
India: institutionalized rape targets ‘untouchables’
The deadly gang-rape in Delhi has sparked outrage across India—but it remains to be seen if protests will address the institutionalized use of rape to enforce the caste system.
Inner Asia
China: Han-Tibetan solidarity emerging
Human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong, who defends Chinese peasants struggling to keep their lands, proclaims his support for the Tibetans and calls for Han solidarity with their cause.