 Water
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URGENT!!! URGENT!!! URGENT!!! URGENT!!! URGENT!!!
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CALL FOR IMMEDIATE SOLIDARITY!
MOVE SKY AND EARTH TO SAVE THE LIFE OF KIMY PERNIA DOMICO!
The Canada-Colombia Solidarity Campaign has just been informed
that Kimy
Pernia Domico, friend and respected leader of the Embera Katio
Nation of
Colombia has just been kidnapped.
MUNICIPALITY OF TIERRALTA, CORDOBA PROVINCE, COLOMBIA:
The Autonomous Governments (Cabildo Mayor) the Alto Sinu and
Rio Verde
inform that: on Saturday, June 2, 2001 at approximately 6:20pm,
Embera Katio
leader KIMY PERNIA DOMICO was taken by force by armed men on
motorcycles.
KIMY was forced onto a motorcycle by three armed men who then
forced him
onto a white motorcycle. Kimy then stepped off the motocyle
to be later
forced back on with a pistol to his head. Two of the armed men
rode with him
on one motorcyle and a third followed behind on another. According
to
witnesses, KIMY was yelled out "They have me!" as the motocycles
left
Tierralta heading towards the city of Monteria, Cordoba. Close
to a gasoline
station, KIMY threw himself from the motorcycle to be later
forced back on
by the amered men who continued their route towards Monteria.
The manner in which the kidnapping was carried out indicates
that the act
was perpetrated by paramilitaries.
For those reading this letter who live in Canada, you may have
met Kimy
Pernia Domico, when he came to Canada a few years ago to denounce
the
violations of his people's rights in reaction to their resistance
to the
Urra dam mega project, financed in part by the Canadian government.
The Urra dam project was protested by the Embera Katio people
of Colombia as
the mega project threatened their very survival. For demanding
their rights,
several leaders were assassinated, community members were kidnapped,
others
dissappeared.
Despite the barbarism used to break the resistance of the Embera
Katio
Nation, they continued their struggle with dignity in large
measure to the
courage and persistance of KIMY PERNIA DOMICO.
Thanks to the relentless spirit of struggle fo the Embera people
and their
leaders, the Urra corporation and the Colombian government signed
and
agreement for compensation for and mitigation of Urra's damages
to the
Embera people and thier terrotorial integrity on April 19, 2000.
Although it
was expected that the violence would end after the singing of
the agreement,
it did not and the Emra continued to as targets of kidnappings
and
disappearances.
The Cabildo Mayor Embera Katio -CAMAEMKA - asks of citizens of
the world
along with international humanitarian and human rights organizations
to to
pronounce themselves in solidarity with their demand for THE
LIBERATION OF
THEIR BROTHER, KIMY PERNIA DOMICO, respect for the Embera Nation,
their
culture and their Autonomy.
CAMAEMKA also asks the world to join them in their demand to
the Colombian
government for the fulfillment of the April 19th Agreement concerning
the
PROTECTION OF THEIR LEADERS AND COMMUNITIES.
Please direct your calls/letters/faxes to:
Colombian Embassy in the U.S.
2118 Leroy Place, NW Washington, DC, 20008
(202) 387 8338 - Fax: (202) 232 8643
emwas@colombiaemb.org
SeÒor Presidente AndrÈs Pastrana Arango
Presidente de la Rep™blica
Palacio de NariÒo, Carrera 8 No.7-26
Santa Fe de Bogot·, Colombia
Fax: + 571 287 7939, + 571 284 2186, + 571 289 3377 or + 571
337 1351
Salutation: Dear President / Excmo. Sr. Presidente
SeÒor Vicepresidente Gustavo Bell Lemus
Alto Consejero Presidencial para asuntos de Derechos
Humanos y lucha Contra la CorrupciÛn
Cra. 8 #7-26, Palacio de NariÒo
Santa Fe de Bogot·, Colombia
Fax: + 571 337 1351
Salutation: Dear Vice-President / Excmo. Sr. Vicepresidente
Dr. Humberto de la Calle
Ministerio del Interior
Carrera 8, No.8-09, Piso 2
Santa Fe de Bogot·, COLOMBIA
Fax: + 57 1 286 8025 / 281 5884 / 342 3201
Salutation: Sr. Ministro/Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
OrganizaciÛn Nacional IndÌgena de Colombia ONIC
Apartado AÈreo 32395
onic@colnodo.apc.org
Cabildo Mayor Embera Katio CAMAEMKA
camaemka@col3.telecom.com.co
The Canada Colombia Solidarity Campaign
colombiacrisis@latinmail.com
CENSAT AGUA VIVA
Amigos de la Tierra (FoE)
Di·gonal 24 N† 27a-42
SantafÈ de Bogot·
Colombia Sur AmÈrica
Telfax: 57-1-244 05 81 y 244 24 65
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#3
Crisis for the Embera Katio People of Colombia
Fact Summary
1. The Embera KatÌo are members of a traditional Indigenous
community or
tribe, and they have resided in rainforests of the upper Sin™
River in
northern Colombia since the days of their ancestors, long preceding
the
arrival of the Europeans. Their collective lands are legally
recognized and
protected by the Colombian constitution. The main staples of
their diet are
fish and plantains, both of which were plentiful until the recent
events
described below.
2. Several years ago, the Embera KatÌo people became aware
of the government
construction of a large hydroelectric dam (known as the "Urr·
Dam") on their
river. The dam was built near their collective property without
notice and
without the legally required collective consent of the tribe.
3. The construction of the dam has had a disastrous and deadly
impact upon
the Embera KatÌo community. The fish supply has been
destroyed and the most
fertile and important portion of their lands for plantain crops
is now under
water. For the first time their peoples are suffering from malnutrition,
as
well as new diseases, including malaria from the newly created
swamps, and
dengue. The wildlife population is being seriously damaged as
well.
4. Faced with this crisis, the community sent their leadership
to Bogot· to
seek assistance and protection from the courts of law. After
a lengthy legal
struggle, a judgment was issued in favor of the Embera, requiring
that a
plan for compensation, as well as mitigation of their damages,
be developed
and carried out.
5. In response to this resistance, the Colombian paramilitary
forces began
to enter the Embera KatÌo reserve for the first time.
They threatened and
intimidated the different tribal leaders. Three leaders were
murdered and
one has "disappeared" and never returned. Houses and boats have
been burned.
The paramilitary forces have also told the Embera people to
grow coca, which
the Embera have always prohibited. The campesino or peasant
communities just
outside the borders of the reserve have been massacred and forced
to flee.
The Embera peoples have chosen not to flee.
6. The paramilitary violence and repression is a direct response
to the
Embera KatÌo peoples' legal actions of resistance to
the dam. Embera
warriors guard and protect their borders, and coca cultivation
has never
been permitted. Nor have any guerrilla enclaves or activities
been permitted
on their lands. Although there have been frictions with nearby
guerrilla
groups, the guerrillas have respected the Embera's right to
independence and
their right to life.
********
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For photos, go to Mid-Atlantic Infoshop page at
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=01/07/07/7430612
TANKS AND TROOPS ATTACK BOLIVIAN WORKERS (July 7, 2001)
Juventudes Libertarias (Anarchist Youth), Bolivia
The Bolivian workers are continuing their battle against the
government
without letup. The regime is trying desperately to defuse
the conflicts by
giving in to the demands of various groups one at a time.
It is expecting
to keep its essential policies in effect. The exploited
have no confidence
in the government's promises or in the church's call to the
producing
population for social peace.
Acquired experience and ingrained awareness have prepared the
workers to be
more and more determined to fight every aspect of bourgeois
capitalist
imperialist policy and ready to seek a revolutionary solution
to their
problems.
Direct action is the order of the day in Bolivia, but the media
remain
ignorant and silent about the events. This contrasts with
the solidarity
being shown by others in struggle. On July 11 the CNT
in Madrid will
protest at the Bolivian embassy, as will the Fédération
Anarchiste Française
(French Anarchist Federation) and Alternative Libertaire (Anarchist
Alternative) in Paris.
HIGHWAY BLOCKADES: TROOPS AND TANKS POSITIONED ON THE HIGHWAY
FROM LA PAZ
TO THE ALTIPLANO REGION
Bolivian Army tanks have been positioned along the highways connecting
La
Paz and the Altiplano. Yesterday they entered the village
of Achacachi.
When Aymará farmers went into army headquarters they
found troops on alert
and waiting for orders to attack. During September, 2000,
the military
carried out a massacre of villagers in the same place.
In these arid regions there has been an atmosphere of open war
for the past
two weeks, with Aymara farmers blocking roads and basically
demanding land
and an end to neoliberalism. A week ago the army occupied
the region and
murdered two farmers in the process.
An emergency assembly of all Bolivian farmers has been called
for July 9, at
which an analysis will be made of the effectiveness of the partial
road
blockages up to now and decisions made about how to move forward.
In Huarina one woman farmer explained that there is a state of
tension in
the area because soldiers are constantly watching the roads,
demanding
identification papers and recording information about people
walking along
the roads, or even crossing them. In Achacachi the farmers
have indicated
that they are ready to continue the blockades for 90 days.
Until now there
have been no shortages because food supplies were arranged for
before the
blockades began.
The government claims to want dialog, but the farmers denounce
this as
phony. They point to the many arrests, and a massive presence
of assault
vehicles, tanks and troops armed with battle weapons.
"We will develop a new strategy that will prevent a military
reaction. We
will create new ways to struggle and be heard," said Filipe
Quispe, general
secretary of the farmers' confederation. "We are just
watching. The
soldiers have been pointing their machine guns at the farmers.
They took
over the schools in Huarina and Guaqui and arrested the leaders,"
he added.
The army is expecting orders to arrest all union leaders.
ARMED MINERS OCCUPY MINES
More than a hundred infuriated sulfur miners armed with dynamite
entered the
"TH-1" mine, located near the Bolivian town of "Abaroa," five
kilometers
from the Chilean border. One of the protesters, 25-year-old
Misael Mamani
Choque, lost his right arm when he moved a load of dynamite.
There have been many injuries and the police have called for
reinforcements.
We don't have any more information about this, but, the police
make it
appear as a conflict between individuals.
PRISONERS ARE FREED WHILE REPRESSION IS PREPARED
On Monday, July 2, hundreds of small debtors occupied a bank
building armed
with dynamite, gasoline and Molotovs, and detained 60 bureaucrats.
They
called for total cancellation of their debts and accused the
bank of usury.
The participation of anarchist feminists was essential to the
development of
these events. Negotiations led to release of the people
held, and
protesters left the building. This resulted in cancellation
of agreements
the government made which enabled it to take in around 70 activists.
Apparently the street demonstrations led to this. But
the government is
preparing a legal gimmick to imprison more activists.
The agreement reached includes sanctions against institutions
that commit
abuses against small borrowers, reconciliation of accounts,
investigation of
cases of usury, recognition of the anarchists as facilitators
in the
negotiations, government payments to the banks for suspension
of legal
proceedings, etc.
Six thousand borrowers have been protesting in La Paz for three
months,
demanding cancellation of their debts, which range on average
from one
hundred to five thousand dollars each. The drought, the
enormous economic
crisis, and the obvious usury have combined to make these debts
unpayable.
The people who belong to the small debtors' movement are mainly
poor workers
and farmers. They represent more than 12,000 families,
the victims of the
banks' usury. They have paid principal and interest on
their loans, but now
they are being required to pay interest on their interest, plain
and simple.
Nearly fifty heads of families, and some whole families, have
committed
suicide because they could not find any way to solve their problems
with the
banks.
The bank plans to go back on its agreements once the pressure
has been
reduced and the government puts a few hundred in jail.
The debtors have
called for resistance, and hundreds have taken refuge in the
University of
La Paz. They refuse to leave because they fear repression.
PRISONERS LOCK THEMSELVES DOWN AND REFUSE FOOD AND WATER
Around four thousand prisoners have been on hunger strike for
six days. A
group of women, three of them with their children, have crucified
themselves
on a roof, and others are refusing food and water.
The state has been prosecuting citizens, most of them poor, locking
them up
for years, with the presumption of guilt. It has allowed
corruption to rule
in the justice system, turned the country's prisons into disastrous
places
where human and constitutional rights are trampled on a daily
basis. The
draconian anti-drug laws have imprisoned thousands who, out
of desperation
due to the economic crisis, have been forced to work as drug
transporters.
The government locks them up, while it honors the mafia chieftains.
The men and women prisoners are demanding pardons, better living
conditions
and an end to separation of families. In the Palmasola
de Santa Cruz
Prison, more than three thousand prisoners are on a hunger strike
that began
six days ago. They are drinking no liquids.
In the women's section of the San Sebastián de Cochabamba
Penitentiary a
group of prisoners climbed onto the roof to crucify themselves.
Some had
their children with them, others were pregnant. There
are more than 300
strikers. From today on they are sealing their lips.
Similar conflicts are also occurring in the city of Tarija, where
800
prisoners are on strike.
NAZIS ARRANGE TO MEET "PRIVATELY" IN LA PAZ
The Second International Ideological Conference on Nationality
and Socialism
took place "privately in the city of La Paz July 1 to 5," according
to a
five-point document reported on July 5. According to a
press release, the
meeting included representatives of Nazi movements in Bolivia,
Ecuador,
Colombia, Chile and Peru. They agreed to form a non-governmental
organization that will "look after the interests of the movements
that are
explicitly based on nationality and socialism in South America
and the
world."
In Bolivian law there is no reference to Nazism, but the country
has
suffered gravely under brutal military dictatorships which have
had as
advisors known Italian Fascist mercenaries, and Nazi war criminals
such as
Klaus Barbie.
The current rightist government is presided over by the bloody
general
Banzer, who headed a terror regime during the 1970s. Today,
thanks to an
electoral alliance, he runs a bloody terror regime that has
littered the
country with the corpses of people involved in social struggles.
THE BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT IS AT DEATH'S DOOR
The bloody General Banzer is hospitalized in Washington, D.C.,
in the United
States. According to unofficial reports he has been diagnosed
with systemic
cancer, but the government is attempting to deny that.
He is near death.
No doubt his demise will debilitate the state and energize the
movement.
Juventudes Libertarias, Bolivia
Email: jjll_bolivia@hotmail.com
Web: www.come.to/jlb