Argentina: a forestry company invades Guarani community lands in Misiones

For many years now the indigenous Mbya Guarani communities from the villages of Tekoa Yma and Capii Yvaté (Pepiri Guazu) have been inhabiting lands located at El Soberbio, in the Municipality of San Pedro, Province of Misiones, where the Uruguay river descends the Mocona falls.

In 1999 the Mocona S.A. Forestry Company started cutting the forest using machinery and heavy vehicles, opening up paths, building houses and illegally occupying the lands that belong to the ancestral territory of the Guarani indigenous communities, to exploit native forests.

The company offered the communities 30 hectares to settle them. These rejected the possibility that the land could have an owner and that they were being offered 30 hectares of those communal lands where their ancestors had lived and where they were living, borrowing them from their children. Subsequently the offer went up to 200 hectares. The company still did not understand the essence of the Guarani culture.

The situation has generated criminal and civil action in the courts of the Province of Misiones, but has not managed to curb the irrational exploitation of native forests and invasion of the indigenous communities lands. Justice has sentenced in favour of the powerful and the community lawyers are presently appealing this decision.

A campaign in support of the defence of the territorial rights of the indigenous peoples has been promoted, requesting that the National Constitution, article 75, item 17 and ILO Convention 169, addressing indigenous people's rights, be respected and inviting those who would like to join and collaborate with this campaign to write a letter of support (click here for sample letter in Spanish) to the indigenous Tekoa Yma and Capii Yvate communities of the Mbya Guarani People to the authorities detailed below: 

-Sr. Gobernador de la Prov. de Misiones 
Ing. Carlos Eduardo Rovira
gobernador@misiones.gov.ar
Conmutador Fax: 03752 447035

-Sr. Ministro de Ecología y RNR
Dr. Miguel A. Alterach (h)
ecologia@misiones.gov.ar
Tel/Fax: 03752 447597

-Sr. Presidente de la Cámara de Diputados de Misiones, solicitando se remitan copias a los presidentes de Bloques de la Legislatura Misionera. viana@misiones.gov.ar
sandoval@misiones.gov.ar
jldieminger@misiones.gov.ar

 -Señores Senadores Nacionales: 
Losada, Mario Aníbal: losada@senado.gov.ar 
Puerta, Federico Ramón: puerta@senado.gov.ar  
Oviedo Mercedes Margarita: oviedo@senado.gov.ar

-Sres. Diputados Nacionales por Misiones: 
López, Juan Carlos: jlopez@diputados.gov.ar
Humada, Julio César: jhumada@diputados.gov.ar
Damiani, Hernán Norberto: hdamiani@diputados.gov.ar
Isla de Saraceni, Celia Anita: cisla@diputados.gov.ar
Sodá, María Nilda: msoda@diputados.gov.ar 
Solmoirago, Raúl Jorge: rsolmoirago@diputados.gov.ar
Palou, Marta: mpalou@diputados.gov.ar

-Presidente de INAI Sr. Jorge Pereda Fax: 011 4348 8235

- Sr. Presidente de la Nación Argentina Dr. Eduardo Duhalde 
Fax: 011 4344 3700 Tel: 011 4344 3800

Please, send a copy of the letters sent to:
Equipo Nacional de Pastoral Aborigen (ENDEPA)
Tel/Fax: 03722 444 1336 - e-mail: endepa@arnet.com.ar