Their Grievances

Some of their grievances are as follows:

• Both companies Rimbunan Hijau and Shin Yang acted very arrogantly in relation to their claims.

• They have simply bulldozed their planted fruit trees and grave-yards without paying anything for the losses and damage that they have suffered.

• They also do not render any assistance to the Penan community who seek their help to send those who are ill to the nearest clinic in Long Bedian in cases of emergency.

• The companies simply encroached into their Communal Forest Reserves and carry out logging activities here, without any consultation and consideration for their source of livelihood.

The Penan protestors at the blockade claim that the road blockade is their way to call on the companies representatives to come and meet with them to listen to their problems. Otherwise, the companies ignore their plight.

The Penan community will continue with the blockade until their problems are resolved and they receive assurances from higher authorities.

Four Police personnel from the Marudi Police Station and one from Long Lama Police Station were sent to the blockade site on the13 August. So far, no arrests have taken place.

Kindly send your letters of appeal to the following persons urging them to exercise restraint in dealing with the Penans at the blockade side. Urge them to address the problems of these natives who are struggling for their livelihood and who ask for the logging companies to respect their native rights to the forest resources and their sacred sites

Kindly forward your appeals to:

1. Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, The Hon. Prime Minister of Malaysia, The Prime Minister's Office, Main Block, Prime Minister's Department, Administrative Centre, 62502, Putrajaya, SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN
2. Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, The Hon. Chief Minister of Sarawak, Chief Minister's Office, 22^nd Floor, Wisma Bapa Malaysia, Petra Jaya, 93502 Kuching, SARAWAK
3. Tan Sri Norian Mai, Inspector General of Police, The Royal Malaysian Police Force, Bukit Aman, 50560 KUALA LUMPUR
4. CPO,.Sarawak
5. Director Forests, Forestry Department, Wisma Sumber Alam, Stadium, Petra Jaya, 93660 Kuching, Sarawak. Fax No: 6082-441377
6. Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Kheng, Minister of Primary Commodities,
7. Datuk Freezailah Bin Che Yom, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Timber Certification Council, Malaysia, 19 F, Level 19, Menara PGRM No. 8, Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: ntcc@tm.net.my; Fax No: 603-9200

The incident took place on the 23rd of this month when a large troop of Forest Department personnel under the leadership of Mr. A.T. Poovaiah; the Forest Range officer landed in Kolengere tribal settlement in Nagarhole in 5 jeeps, 2 pick-up lorries and a transport van to forcefully dislocate the 30 tribal families from the settlement to the new rehabilitation site at Veeranahosalli at the fringes of the National Park and demolish their existing habitats. It also remains a mystery that how come Mr. A.T. Poovaiah; presently a transferred Officer from the area, lead this brutal crusade to dislocate the tribals from Nagarhole National Park. The tribals and the local people resisted the move of the Forest People automatically developing into a clash. The local dailies the very next day morning carried the false news to the effect that the local people instigated the clash with the support of NGOs like CORD, Kushalnagar and DEED, Hunsur; a highly false report cooked up by the Forest Department to defend their savagery committed in the settlement.

The historical conflict between the Forest Department and the Tribal inhabitants in Nagarhole National Park simmered during the recent years with the move the Government of Karnataka to implement the controversial WB aided Eco development Project in the National Park. In total violation of the operational directives of WB with regard to the Indigenous/Tribal People and the existing Constitutional Rights and Privileges of the ST population of the country; and even more, neglecting the established Human Rights, the planning and implementation of the controversial project went ahead. The inhabitant tribals of the national park on the other hand, foreseeing their catastrophic plight with the lose of their habitats; their life support systems and traditional culture & identity mounted severe protests and resistance to the project. The tribal position was justified by World Bank Inspection Panel with their visit to the National Park on 1-3 September, 1998 and the subsequent Report that was presented to WB in December, 1998. In their response to WB, the India Management and Government of Karnataka have repeatedly maintained (of late the public utterance to this effect was by Mr. Chakravarthy, Chief Planning Conservator of Forests on 30th June, 2000, at National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore) that no forceful dislocation is or will be effected from Nagarhole National Park and that if at all any shifting process occurs, it would be with the expressed wish and full consent of the people concerned. While asserting so with the donor agency on the one side, on the other, Government of Karnataka through its project implementing agency;- The Forest Department - is arranging rehabilitation sites and applying indirect and direct force in shifting the resident tribals from Nagarhole almost totally against their wish. The first manifestation of this planned plot had been on the 12th of June, 1998 when 51 families were shifted under terrorizing tactics and the second effort now demonstrated at Kolengere on the 23rd of this month. The question is: If there be the collective expressed wish and consent of the people for dislocation, then why such clashes taking place again and again? The truth is that of the 30 families in Kolengere settlement only 2 family heads under indirect threats of the Forest Department Officials have given their consent to move out. One is a forest watcher whose salary is withheld by the concerned officials for the last 2 months and threatening with transfer to the far away station at Kaimara (Hand post, H.D. Kote Taluk) if he didn't give his consent to move out. The other was forced by denying the deserved job in the Forest Department for his dependent. Are there any true willful expressions for dislocation from Nagarhole? If so, it remains obligatory on the part of the Forest Department and Government of Karnataka in the interest of public concern; and more importantly obliging to their own commitments to World Bank for obtaining funds, to disclose information as to how many resident tribal families inside the National Park have so far declared their uninfluenced willingness for dislocation with details of the located tribal settlements.

And all these happen when the district has 3 Ministers in the ruling government- one among them from the affected section itself. We have protective Laws and Acts to safeguard the life and sustenance of the minority majorities of the country; but often neglected and violated tactfully by the lawmakers themselves. The situation in Nagarhole is brewing up for more tensions among the minorities especially from among the tribal people; since they are committed Constitutionally and politically to safeguard their traditional rights and their place in the national polity as a distinct people.

At the outset, the Kolengere incident is a planned atrocity committed against the poor tribals of the habitat by the Forest Department of the state, even not, sparing the women and nursing mothers. There should be a proper inquiry into the incident and the culprits, whoever they are, should be booked under the Tribal (Prevention of Atrocities Act) of the country. Kindly send your protest messages (see sample letter) and demanding appropriate actions against the culprits to:

The Deputy Commissioner,
Kodagu District, Madikeri-571 201,
Karnataka, India.
e-mail: dckodagu@blr.vsnl.net.in

The Minister for Environment & Forest,
Government of India,
New Delhi - 110 001
Environment: mef@envfor.delhi.nic.in

The Minister for Forest & Environment,
Government of Karnataka,
Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore-560 001.

The Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka,
Vidhana Soudha,
Bangalore-560 001

Justice V.N. Venkitachellaiah, Chairperson,
National Human Right Commission,
Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sardar Marg,
New Delhi- 110 001.

Belize NGOs say that they simply don't understand how the IFC or the government of Belize can support the shrimp farms without knowing the carrying capacity of the Placencia, Lagoon, the wildlife (marine and terrestrial) that reside in the Lagoon habitat, and its pollution susceptibility. The Lagoon is extremely important to the people on this Peninsula, and many livelihoods will be destroyed if it is stressed beyond its ability to survive. That is why NGOs in the region have repeatedly stressed to the IFC that they would like them to finance a baseline study of the Lagoon.

The Placencia Lagoon in southern Belize is a shallow lagoon, fringed with mangroves and bordered by an extensive pine savanna. Studies indicate that the Lagoon may harbor the world's largest number of the endangered West Indies Antillean manatee, as well as significant numbers of the endangered salt-water crocodile. Dolphins find shelter in the Lagoon and it nurtures much of the area's lobster, finfish (including tarpon and snook), crab, conch and other shellfish.

The Placencia Lagoon is in large part responsible for the area's pristine waters and abundance of fish that formerly provided a livelihood to Placencia's artisanal fishermen. Today, the pristine waters, fish and the area's proximity to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef still furnish the basis for most resident's livelihoods - but the primary commodity is now tourism rather than fish.

Unfortunately, all that may soon change. Two new shrimp farms have been proposed and are in the process of applying for operational permits. Two existing shrimp farms want to expand and are in the final approval phase for their expansions. All shrimp farms are or will be semi-intensive or intensive operations, with one planned super-intensive expansion.

Little hard information is known about the Lagoon even though it was slated for formal protective status in 1995 (final approval was never given by the Belize government and funding was withdrawn for a baseline study of the Lagoon environment).

Local residents have already seen a decline in the area's fish stock and fear that the new and expanded shrimp farm operations, plus increasing commercial and residential developments will continue to degrade the Lagoon environment - and their livelihoods.

The Belize government does not derive any significant tax revenues from shrimp farms because extremely favorable tax incentives are available to the shrimp farming industry, including, in some cases, perpetual tax abatement (for certain kinds of taxes). Further, no cohesive aquaculture regulations have been enacted for the country. For example, effluent laws do not specifically address shrimp farm effluents and shrimp producers are not legally required to set-aside funds for pond reclamation or to clean-up waters polluted by farm effluent. Further, fines in Belize are too low to deter much illegal conduct. For example, the fine for illegal cutting of mangrove is only $500 BZD ($250 USD); a low enough amount to be accepted by residential and commercial developers as merely a cost of doing business.

Finally, Belize desperately needs foreign dollars - and its national government supports shrimp farm industry expansion as a way to obtain those dollars.

Individuals can express their concern (see sample letter) about potential damage to the Lagoon environment and local cultures by contacting the following Belize ministers and organizations:

- Honorable Said Musa, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Belize, Belmopan, Belize, Central America.
Phone: 011-501-8-22305, e-mail: primeminister@belize.gov.bz

- Honorable John Briceno, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, the Environment and Industry, Belmopan, Belize, Central America.
Phone: 011-501-8-22331; e-mail: Licenbze@btl.net

- Honorable Daniel Silva, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Belmopan, Belize, Central America.
Phone: 011-501-8-22241 or 22242; e-mail: Mafpaem@btl.net or minister@btl.net

A) Dos nuevas noticias alientan la esperanza de que pronto pudieran ser liberados Rodolfo Montiel Flores y Teodoro Cabrera García:

1) Finalmente, después de un año de nuestra petición oficial, la Comisión de Derechos Humanos (CNDH), un organismo gubernamental, emitió una recomendación oficial (N° 8/2000 de 14 de julio del 2000) reconociendo que a nuestros compañeros campesinos ecologistas les fueron violados sus derechos humanos por miembros del ejercito, de que fueron ilegalmente detenidos, torturados, y les fueron sembradas pruebas para acusarlos falsamente de delitos que no cometieron.

2) La organización especializada Physicians on Human Rights de Dinamarca, comprobó e hizo público su dictamen acerca de que las patologías que todavía sufren Rodolfo Montiel y Teodoro Cabrera son derivadas de la tortura a que fueron sometidos.

Estos son dos valiosos elementos más que se suman a la persistente defensa de los derechos humanos que, personalidades y organizaciones ciudadanas mexicanas, estadounidenses y de muchos países mas, hemos hecho de los campesinos ecologistas de la Sierra de Petatlán y Coyuca de Catalán.

Hoy el caso legal de Rodolfo y Teodoro está en las manos del Juez Quinto de Distrito, Maclovio Murillo Chávez, quien por procedimiento formal tiene que dictar próximamente su sentencia (alrededor del día 25 de agosto próximo).

El expediente que tiene el Juez Maclovio Murillo Chávez carece de la confirmación de acusación que originalmente hicieron los elementos del ejercito que detuvieron ilegalmente y torturaron a los campesinos, por la sencilla razón de que no pudieron sostenerla.

Al expediente se agrega la recomendación de la CNDH y el dictamen medico sobre torturas.

Legalmente existen todos los elementos para que el juez dicte sentencia de liberación a Rodolfo y Teodoro, pero en México todavía existen intereses políticos extra-legales que pudieran retrasar la sentencia.

Es por ello que solicitamos con urgencia firmas de solidaridad pidiendo la liberación inmediata de los campesinos ecologístas Rodolfo Montiel Flores y Teodoro Cabrera García. La carta adjunta la enviaremos al Juez Maclovio Murillo Chávez y la fecha límite para que Uds envíen sus adhesiones será el 22 de agosto próximo.

http://www.sierraclub.org/human-rights/Mexico/index.asp

En el año de 1998 el Congreso de Honduras, con el propósito de alentar la industria turística, pretendió modificar el artículo 107 de la Constitución nacional, el cual nos había protegido de que los extranjeros pudieran comprar las playas. El pueblo Garífuna nos movilizamos en masa para evitar dichas pretensiones.  Un mes después del embate del huracán Mitch se aprobó la reforma por parte del Congreso Hondureño cuando todavía no nos habíamos repuesto de la destrucción causada por el fenómeno meteorológico.  Para 1999 la solidaridad de organizaciones indígenas y ambientalistas, logró que por el momento se suspendiera la ratificación de la infame moción. Nuestro pueblo sufre actualmente de la crisis creada por el aparecimiento del Amarillamiento letal del Coco, que ha hecho estragos en toda la costa, conllevando a la extinción de la nuez. Los programas de replantación no pasan de ser actos cosméticos que van dirigidos más a la sustitución de los cocotales en las playas, con el fin de complacer a los inversionistas turísticos, que ha regenerar los cultivos que han sido pieza fundamental en nuestra cultura. La economía informal que ha girado alrededor del coco ha sido vital en nuestra sociedad matrifocal, surgiendo una hambruna en algunas de las comunidades. La muerte del coco aunado al huracán Mitch ha dado lugar a que  comencemos a poner en duda nuestra sobrevivencia como pueblo.

En fecha reciente el Ministerio de Turismo ha comenzado un "Proyecto de Desarrollo Turístico Sostenible en la Costa Norte de Honduras", el cual es financiado por el Banco Mundial. Se han comenzado a efectuar  por medio de una Ong local encuestas en las comunidades Garífunas, pero no se nos está considerando parte del diseño de dicho plan. Las comunidades han protestado en forma vehemente ante lo que ven como una injerencia en los asuntos internos. La desprotección jurídica al no estar amparados por una titulación válida, hace temer que serán las  empresas multinacionales turísticas las que se beneficiaran del proyecto. Como respuesta a la ofensiva por parte del Ministerio de Turismo, estamos desarrollando un plan que incluye un ecoturismo sostenible, la clave consiste en  querer ser beneficiarios más que víctimas, como ha pasado en muchos confines del planeta.

Nuestras comunidades se movilizaron a Tegucigalpa, la capital de Honduras, el pasado 20 de Julio, con el propósito de protestar sobre las supuestas titulaciones recibidas y la amenaza que representan. En días anteriores el INA – la agencia Gubernamental encargada de la titulación -  expedió un título a la comunidad de San Juan, donde se le otorgaron 26 hectáreas a 6.000 habitantes, esa expropiación jurídica pone en duda la buena voluntad del Estado, que ha procedido a dotar de títulos definitivos a una serie de militares, y a un conocido político del partido gobernante.

 Al mismo tiempo entablamos un diálogo con el Ministerio de Turismo para que se tome en cuenta nuestra opiniones, y se nos considere como actores en el diseño del futuro proyecto turístico. En un futuro próximo estaremos presentando a la opinión nacional  e internacional un Plan de Ecoturismo que será totalmente manejado por nosotros.

Por lo tanto pedimos su colaboración en escribir (ver carta modelo) a las diferentes entidades Gubernamentales, las cuales tienen el poder de decidir sobre nuestro futuro, pues en Honduras, la presión internacional cuenta más que nuestras suplicas.

Casa Presidencial:
Carlos Flores
Fax: 239 8583

Lic Anibal Delgado Fiallos
Fax: 232 2173
Ministerio de Turismo
1hturism@hondutel.hn

La comunidad Mapuche Pillan Mahuiza, obstinados en alcanzar la plenitud de nuestros derechos, persistimos a pesar de todo en sostener la recuperación de nuestras tierras.

La persecución y el hostigamiento de la policía de Corcovado a recrudecido. No solo han intensificado la cantidad de veces que vienen por día a invadir nuestro lugar, sino que además han desalojado los animales del lamuen (hermano) Ruperto Bustos, quien había traído unas pocas vacas para invernar; han arrancado el cartel que identificaba a la comunidad en un operativo de impresionante despliegue policial, cuyas escenas se asemejan a las vividas en el proceso.

Están realizando también una eficaz tarea de inteligencia para aislarnos socialmente, infundiendo en la población civil temor e inseguridad, a fin de que no recibamos apoyo por parte de la población. Es así que cada vez que nos acercamos al pueblo nos enteramos de nuestro inmediato desalojo, el cual por supuesto no se efectúa nunca. Pero lo que ha superado todo asombro son las amenazas de muerte sufridas por la werken Moira Millán, quien para estas horas ve amenazada su integridad física y la de su familia.

El subcomisario ha afirmado a los pobladores que a la werken, Moira Millán, "pronto la vamos ha sacar de las mechas" y "si sigue jodiendo la vamos hacer boleta", estas y otras frases amenazadoras nos han llevado a presentar ante la justicia un habeas corpus preventivo, al cual ya se le ha dado curso, haciéndose cargo de la causa, el Procurador Fiscal del tribunal de Esquel, Dr. Oscar Luis Balsamelo.

Necesitamos que den difusion a este comunicado y envien cartas (ver carta modelo) a las siguientes direcciones a fin de que se investiguen estos delitos y se imparta justicia, en resguardo de nuestra comunidad.

Un abrazo,
Coordinadora Puelchewilliche: puelwillimapu@hotmail.com.ar

Enviar cartas a:

a.. Procurador Fiscal Dr. Oscar Luis Balsamelo, y al Fiscal de Cámara Dr. Eduardo Falcón jcolabelli@juschubut.gov.ar   Fax 0054, 02945,451236.

b.. Director del INAI (Instituto Nacional de Asuntos Indígenas) Lic. Alejandro Islas templar@siscor.bibnal.edu.ar  

c.. Gobernador de la provincia de Chubut José Luis Lizurume Secretaria General sggcht@infovia.com.ar 

d.. Casa de la provincia de Chubut cchbas@infovia.com.ar 

e.. Gobierno Nacional Dr. Fernando De La Rua spyd@presidencia.gob.ar 

f.. Defensoría General de la Nación defgralnac@infovia.com.ar 

Por más informacion ver: http://www.sindominio.net/libertadk/comunidades/index.htm