Newsletter n. 624
CLOSING OF THE 2nd CONTINENTAL MEETING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND NATIONALITIES OF THE AMERICAS
On Sunday (the 25th), over 700 indigenous people closed the 2nd Continental Meeting of Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of Abya Yala rejecting the policy adopted by the US government of intervening and setting up military bases in various countries and imposing programs such as the Puebla-Panama Plan and the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas).
According to the indigenous leaders convened in the meeting, free trade treaties (FTT) constitute a threat to indigenous peoples. “In my country, American military units are supporting the government and extremist paramilitary right-wing groups, the action of which is displacing indigenous communities from their areas, which are then occupied by these groups,” said an indigenous leader from Colombia.
Besides the American intervention, the indigenous communities are facing conflicts with large oil and mining companies, large landowners, and other economic groups which, supported by their governments, are invading larger and larger areas inside indigenous territories without any respect for the laws which ensure the right of indigenous people to their territories.
During the discussions held in the meeting, the participants brought up the issue of the Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous land in the state of Roraima, where conflicts with rice farmers and other political and economic groups became more intense in recent months due to the long time it is taking for president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to sign a decree officially confirming the bounds of that land. The participants approved a decision to send a document to the Brazilian president requesting the immediate legal recognition of all indigenous lands, particularly of the Raposa/Serra do Sol land.
The event was also marked by the participation of Adolfo Pérez Esquivel – Peace Nobel Prize laureate – and of Venezuelan delegations, which led the participants to applaud and support president Hugo Chávez Frias. For the popular leaders attending the Meeting and the Social Forum of the Americas, Hugo Chávez is a symbol of resistance against the interventionist projects that the US government wants to implement in the Americas.
The four days of discussions about ten major topics resulted in a document which will be sent to the governments of the different countries of the American continent with the aim of laying a foundation for the establishment of pluri-national states in which indigenous people are recognized and participate without any restrictions in different decision-making bodies and agencies. (click here to read the full document ).
In the document, in addition to expressing their outrage with neo-liberal policies and the repression of national governments in the Americas, characterized by the violation of human rights and of their rights as indigenous people, the indigenous leaders decided to create a permanent forum for exchanging information, so that indigenous peoples and nationalities may fight together against neo-liberal globalization policies, define a common agenda for actions and mobilization campaigns, and develop alliances with other sectors of society, particularly with social movements.
Also on Sunday, the 1st Social Forum Social of the Americas began, which will last until the 31st. More news on the Forum can be found on the Cimi website. www.cimi.org.br.
Brasília, 29 July 2004.
