Native American Indians

Amazon’s toxic waste: natives blame Texaco

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:19:18 +0200

Multinational oil giant Chevron Texaco is facing the most expensive environmental lawsuit in history. Accused by an Amazonian indigenous community of contaminating the land with toxic waste, the world's third biggest petrol supplier could face a fine of 27 billion dollars.

The story began in 1990 when Texaco closed down operations in an Amazonian area in Ecuador, home to the indigenous Cofàn community, where Texaco had been drilling oil since 1969. In accordance with government regulations and to avoid legal troubles, the company said it would spend 40 million dollars on cleaning the affected area.

The cleanup however was far from what was hoped for. In Lago Agrio and other towns in the Sucumbios region, ponds remain full of waste left by Texaco, two decades after the company moved out. In that time, the sludge has found its way into groundwater and seeped into the surrounding soil. According to the local residents, these toxic substances are the root cause of serious illnesses (leukaemia for example), and consequent deaths. On May 27 their claims were backed up by the Pichincha local prosecutor, Augusto Semanante.

Fifteen years after the case began, the Cofàn community received good news as legal proceedings, which began in New York in 1993, were transferred to a court in Ecuador - largely expected to side with the plaintiffs. President Rafael Correa has done little to hide his own feelings about the "crime against humanity".

Chevron Texaco however passed the buck to Petroecuador, the state-owned company which took over as operator of the site, and condemns the Equatorian government, calling the case a "judicial farce". The American firm fears that it will not face a fair trial in Ecuador. The judge, a former army chief, has already given his opinion on the matter: "It seems like a fight between Goliath, and a group of people who can't even pay their bills".

Police cover-up of Amazon clashes?

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:52:51 +0200

The police say they were attacked by spear-wielding indigenous protesters; the indigenous protesters say they were subject to a massacre at the hands of the authorities. Dozens have been killed, but the public still doesn't know what really happened on the morning of June 5 in Peru's Bagua province.

The crackdown began in the early morning of June 5 when 400 police troops stormed a roadblock staged by indigenous activists protesting a trade agreement which allows foreign companies to drill for oil and gas in the area. The protesters say that the agreement will lead to destruction of the land.

The authorities reported the incident as a gruesome rebellion in which 25 policemen were murdered and nine civilians killed, after which 43 were arrested.

The protesters and their supporters however, say that dozens of indigenous people were shot dead by police, hundreds more injured and more than 150 have gone missing in what they describe as a massacre.

Supporters of the protesters now say that the police are attempting to cover up the extent of the brutality by removing bodies from hospitals and dumping them in a ravine from a helicopter.

Indigenous communities march for Morales

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:20:24 +0200

Tens of thousands of largely indigenous demonstrators who trekked for nine days in support of President Evo Morales' constitutional reform - which would give more power to the country's indigenous majority - Monday celebrated the draft's approval by Congress. Our Observer from La Paz took part in the "long march".

The demonstrators marched into the capital and up to the Bolivian parliament on Monday, where MPs were examining Morales' planned reforms of the constitution. They hoped to put pressure on ministers to agree that the constitution be put to the people in a referendum. And after hours of debates, the go-ahead was given last night. The changes introduced by Morales include a chapter on the rights of the country's native people, and increased state control of the economy. Initially opposed to the project because it was thought to give too much power to the president, the opposition has since reached a compromise with the head of state. The referendum, which is expected to be passed, is planned for 25 January.

Six Indians killed defending a Maya site

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:25:47 +0200

For the past month, a group of Chiapas Indians had been occupying an archaeological site, demanding a better share of tourism profits. On Friday, state police arrived, killing six of them. Now a video showing the start of the police intervention is circulating on Indian blogs.

Indians from an environmentalist group had been occupying the Chinkultic Maya archaeological site, situated near to Montebello, on the Guatemala border, since 3 September. They were asking for profits from the touristic site to go into local infrastructure construction. On Friday the police came to remove the demonstrators, who had started to collect entrance fees. The Indians defended themselves with sticks and machetes, even managing to capture a large number of officers.

Six of the defenders were killed in the police intervention. The governor of Chiapas was made to publicly explain what happened, and five police officers were arrested on Sunday.

Abraham Bojorquez, no bling-bling rapper

Julien — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:00:00 +0200

Far from the gold chains and bimbos of American video clips, Abraham Bojorquez raps to his American Indian fans at 4000 metres above sea level.

Material compiled with the help of our regional editor for South America, Johana Kunin.