Peru

June 12, 2009 by rw

Since April, Indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon have been protesting new laws that would allow expropriation of resources from the Amazon without consultation with the Indigenous peoples who live there.

Over two thousand protesters blocked a road into the region, but were attacked by police this past weekend. According to various reports, 40 or more of the protesters were killed, as were 22 police officers. The US news program Democracy Now! has covered these events:

See: Peruvian Police Accused of Massacring Indigenous Protesters in Amazon Jungle.

The Peruvian Congress has suspended the laws in question, but only temporarily:

See: Peruvian Congress Suspends Land Laws.

One NAISA member, Vicki Grieves, sent the following link, which includes links to sending messages to officials in Peru to denounce these acts. I have already sent a message as NAISA President supporting these Indigenous people, and I hope you will join me in doing so.

See: Latin American Solidarity Network.

Please comment and let other members know what else we need to know and what else we as concerned scholars can do.

Robert Warrior
NAISA President

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