[CTC] U.S. encourages South Korea to join Trans-Pacific trade talks

[Arthur Stamoulis]

http://amazonwatch.org/news/2013/0402-reopening-the-wounds-of-bagua?utm_source=Amazon+Watch+Newsletter+and+Updates&utm_campaign=c949eede4e-peru_20130402&utm_medium=email

Reopening the Wounds of Bagua
Peruvian government actions to criminalize social protest started with  
indigenous peoples
April 2, 2013 | Andrew Miller

Almost four years ago gunshots in the Peruvian Amazon were heard  
around the world. On the morning of June 5th, 2009, the Peruvian anti- 
riot police moved in to evict indigenous protesters blocking a road  
near the town of Bagua. The following violence in the place known as  
The Devil's Curve – including the related Pumping Station 6  
confrontation the following day – resulted in an official death toll  
of 34 people, between civilians and police.
Last month, the Superior Court of Bagua heard arguments about the  
proposed charges against 54 indigenous leaders in the "Curva del  
Diablo" case. The state prosecutor has asked for the most severe  
charges, including life sentences (usually reserved for murder and  
other heinous crimes). Peru's national indigenous federation, AIDESEP,  
sent lawyers to contest the charges, as did some of the country's most  
respected human rights groups.

These charges are not about bringing to justice those responsible for  
the deaths of either policemen or protestors in June of 2009. The  
criminal process has instead served as an underhanded political tactic  
to criminalize social protest and intimidate grassroots leaders.

Looking Back
The tragedy of the Bagua confrontation is that it was avoidable. In  
2008, Peru's indigenous peoples took to the streets en masse,  
protesting new laws that privileged the rights of international  
investors over those of local indigenous communities. Then-President  
Alan García claimed they were essential for Peru's free trade  
agreement with the United States. A number of the most egregious  
measures were scrutinized by the Peruvian Congress in late 2008, and  
judged un-constitutional for not having been properly consulted.

But the offending laws remained on the books, provoking a renewal of  
widespread indigenous protests across the Amazonian region starting in  
April of 2009. Instead of addressing the underlying issues, the  
government decided to militarize their response. As tensions grew,  
Amazon Watch staff identified several potential flashpoints. Bagua was  
at the top of the list.

A central fact in this history is as follows: The police provoked the  
bloodshed even though the protesters told them the night before that  
they intended to disband the following morning after breakfast. The  
police raid started at the crack of dawn. An unanswered question is:  
Why?

Perhaps characteristically, the state prosecutors under the current  
presidency of Ollanta Humala appear entirely uninterested in García's  
decision to violently repress. Instead, they are set on bringing  
charges against the indigenous occupiers and high-profile leaders of  
national indigenous organizations.

Case Status Today
Within days of the 7 March hearing, the Bagua Court requested that the  
case be remanded to a special terrorism court in Lima, established  
during the country's dirty war to try members of the Sendero Luminoso  
armed insurgency and drug lords. AIDESEP reacted immediately, calling  
the move illegal and requesting a nullification of the order. In the  
event their initial attempts for a legal injunction fail, they are  
prepared to take the case Peru's constitutional court and  
international human rights fora.

In a press communiqué, dated March 21st, AIDESEP detailed their  
opposition to moving the case's jurisdiction from Bagua to Lima while  
outlining a broader critique of the legal process.

"We are convinced of the innocence on the part of Alberto Pizango  
Chota and the other leader who have been accused of instigation,"  
AIDESEP writes. "We will never accept that the State try them using  
arbitrary accusation that intend to present our leaders as the  
responsible parties for the deaths at the 'Curva del Diablo.' We will  
never accept that the people truly responsible such as Alan García and  
Mercedes Cabanillas enjoy impunity for the death of our indigenous  
brothers and sisters."

Alarming Trends
Unfortunately, this case is emblematic of the Humala government's  
increasingly repressive response to growing social conflicts around  
extractive industries and community rights.

The week following the Bagua hearing, Peruvian human rights advocates  
brought serious concerns about the growing criminalization of social  
protest before the Organization of American States. In an associated  
meeting with international allies, they detailed how the current trend  
is chillingly similar to the early days of Peru's dirty war in the  
1980's.

Alarming patterns in Peru include:

Mining companies hiring Peruvian police as their own private security  
force;
A similar privatization of intelligence activities;
Private companies bringing on security consultants who served as  
police or military during the 'dirty war';
Mobilizing the military to deal with social conflicts that require  
good faith negotiation with communities impacted by natural resource  
extraction;
Charging one person for the same alleged crime in multiple  
jurisdictions, overwhelming them with criminal proceedings;
Leveling ridiculous charges against nonviolent protesters, like  
"causing psychological harm to the mining company"
Transferring of cases from regional courts to national anti-terrorism  
courts, as illustrated above in the Bagua case.
The Role of Amazon Watch
As an organization dedicated to the defense of Amazonian indigenous  
peoples' rights, we have been providing strategic support to AIDESEP  
and other Peruvian indigenous federations for over a decade.  
Responding to the current legal assault against indigenous leaders, we  
have offered minor financial support for lawyers and travel costs,  
leveraged our networks to encourage international legal assistance,  
and contributed to global awareness around the case.

At the same time, we cannot let the urgent legal defense monopolize  
all our efforts. There is still a tremendous need for AIDESEP and  
other Peruvian indigenous federations to promote indigenous rights,  
whether through land titling campaigns, resistance against harmful  
mega-projects on ancestral territory or fighting new laws that  
threaten their rights.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.citizenstrade.org/pipermail/ctcfield-citizenstrade.org/attachments/20130402/670d1d8f/attachment-0003.htm>