Banner at Jul 28 2008 protest in D.C.

The two Indiana residents (Hugh Farrell and Gina “Tiga” Wertz) charged with misdemeanors for intimidation and improper use of property in the campaign against the I-69 “NAFTA Superhighway” accepted a plea deal on July 14. The defendants each pleaded guilty to two counts of trespassing and were sentenced to two years non-reporting probation and a $10 fine, plus court costs. If the defendants do not violate their probation in the first 15 months, they can have it terminated at that point.

The defendants had previously faced felony racketeering charges, but those were dismissed by the judge earlier this year.

The details of the plea agreements will eventually be posted on Hugh and Tiga’s support site, mostlyeverything.net.

The defendants have made it clear that they worked closely with their lawyers to make sure the plea deals do not implicate anyone else in any illegal activity.

Disclaimer: Opinions, statements or any information contained in this or any other communication from Root Force should not be taken as reflecting the beliefs of the defendants in any criminal or civil legal action, nor upon their guilt or innocence. Root Force posts, emails, and web site content reflect the perspective of Root Force only, unless explicitly noted.

Anti-LNG Banner (Portland, OR, Mar. 1 2008)

On July 6, the Palomar Pipeline project submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) withdrawing its application due to the project being on indefinite delay.

This good news was a direct result of the bankruptcy announcement of NorthernStar, and its ensuing cancellation of the planned Bradwood liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

This leaves the proposed Palomar Pipeline without a source of gas, making the project untenable. Project sponsors NW Natural and TransCanada have informed the FERC that they plan to make significant changes to the project and have therefore suspended the permitting and surveying process.

At the same time, the US Forest Service has ceased processing Palomar’s application to traverse Mt. Hood National Forest.

Local LNG opponents declared the announcement a victory but vowed to keep working for the complete cancellation of Palomar and all other pending LNG projects.

Coal River lockdown jul14-2010

On July 14, two protesters locked themselves to a highwall miner at the Bee Tree strip mine on Coal River Mountain, near the Brushy Fork Sludge Impoundment.

Four people were arrested, and three of them remain in jail.

The Land is Not for Sale! A community in resistance to La Parota dam.

Following our last La Parota post on June 29, when Mexican media reported that the project was postponed until 2018, things were looking good for the indigenous and campesino peoples defending the Papagayo River from destruction and their own communities from dislocation. On September 13, the Mexican government indicated that the project had been canceled, not allocating any funding for it in the proposed 2010 budget. After a seven year struggle, in which more than six resisters had lost their lives, the dam looked dead in the water.

Less than eight months later, however, the government restarted its push to force through the dam. On April 5, Jorge Antonio Mijangos Borja, director of Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA) announced that “if necessary, the hydroelectric dam La Parota will be built to provide water and electricity to the port of Acapulco.” He also announced plans for five other dams, three on the coast and two in Tierra Caliente.

The very next day, the state of Guerrero’s “leftist” governor Zeferino Torreblanca said, “[La Parota] is a project we should not abandon.”

Because the dam is slated to be built on communally owned indigenous land (ejidos and bienes comunales), the government must convince local communities to invoke a clause (added to the Mexican Constitution as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA) approving the government’s expropriation of their land. Previously, the government secured this approval through fraudulent “popular assemblies” that were eventually tossed out by federal courts.

Returning to the same tactics, an unelected pro-dam member of the La Concepción ejido convened an assembly on April 18. Lack of quorum and resistance by the Council of Ejidos and Communities in Opposition to La Parota Dam (CECOP) successfully shut that meeting down. The meeting was rescheduled for April 25.

At this second meeting, according to CECOP spokesperson Rodolfo Chávez Galindo, dam proponents recruited taxi drivers and other Acapulco residents, who they paid to illegally vote in an election meant only for community members. As a consequence, the assembly approved the expropriation of land for an access path to the construction site.

CECOP has promised to get this illegal expropriation overturned, just as it has with the past four.

Bagua, Peru police, June 2009

On June 5, protesters across Peru commemorated the anniversary of the government’s massacre last year of peaceful indigenous protesters who had blockaded a road in opposition to laws opening the Amazon up for large-scale resource exploitation. The official death toll was 33 (10 indigenous people plus 23 police officers later killed in retaliation), but local reports have contested this figure, alleging as many as 84 killed. One protester, Major Felipe Bazán Caballero, remains missing to this day. Following widespread social unrest in response to the massacre, the government eventually repealed four of the contested laws.

Early this summer, it appeared that the Peruvian government might be getting ready to soften its position on Amazon resource exploitation. A parliamentary commission on the Bagua conflict concluded that the indigenous people had been in the right, and on May 19, the Peruvian parliament approved the Consultation Law, requiring that locals be consulted as part of the approval process for any resource-exploiting projects. The law was hailed as a victory by indigenous social movements.

Ashanika warriors occupy oil boat May 2009

In the same week, however, the government announced a rash of new oil concessions across the Amazon. Representatives of the oil and gas ministry have begun touring European capitals, announcing 10.6 million ha (26 million acres) in new concessions.

“The Garcia administration does not seem to have learned the harsh lessons of Bagua,” said Atossa Soltani, executive director of Amazon Watch. “The government [has] intensified its assault on indigenous rights by offering yet more indigenous territory to foreign oil corporations so that half of all indigenous lands in the Peruvian Amazon now fall within oil concessions.”

Only days later, indigenous leader Alberto Pizango, who fled to Nicaragua during the Bagua uprising, returned to Peru in defiance of an outstanding warrant on sedition charges. He was immediately arrested, but was released on bail later that day. Pizango promptly issued a public statement condemning the government’s new oil push, especially condemning oil company Perenco for denying the existence of “uncontacted” indigenous nations in areas it has slated for a new oil pipeline.

Amazonian indigenous archers threatening a helicopter flyover, May 2008

According to an article published on GroundReport:

“Perenco recently revealed it has transported, by helicopter, ‘more than 50,000 tons of material and consumables, the equivalent of seven Eiffel Towers’ into the region. The company denies the tribes’ existence, although, in a ‘contingency plan’ presented to Peru’s Energy Ministry earlier this year, it recommended that its workers, in certain instances, ‘scare and repel’ the Indians if contact is made.”

On June 1, while Peruvian President Alan García was meeting with U.S. president Barack Obama, two women chained themselves to the White House fence, while protesters rallied across the street in support of their call for an end to resource extraction without indigenous consent.

Then on June 19, Argentinian company Pluspetrol spilled hundreds of barrels of oil into the Maranon river in the Peruvian Amazon, marking the company’s 78th spill in the region in the last four years.

Two days later, García announced his refusal to sign the Consultation Law, returning it to Congress with his objections. García is demanding that the law be modified to allow the government to override indigenous peoples’ objections to development projects. He also wishes to exclude Andean indigenous peoples from the consultation requirement.

“President García has missed a huge opportunity to show Peruvians and the world that his government is willing to respect indigenous peoples rights and willing to bring Peru closer in line with international norms,” Soltani said. “García has taken another step backwards in repairing relations with indigenous peoples and demonstrated yet again his administration’s deeply troubling policies towards the country’s original inhabitants.”

Congress can override García’s de facto veto by a majority vote. Indigenous, environmental, and civil society groups are encouraging it to do so.

The assault on the Amazon continues. On June 22, Garcia and Brazilian President “Lula” da Silva signed an agreement for the construction of six hydroelectric dams in the Peruvian Amazon to supply more than 6000 MW of electricity to Brazil.

According to International Rivers:

“One of the first projects to be built under the accord would be the Paquitzapango Dam on the Ene River, which would impact close to 17,000 Ashaninka indigenous people and threaten the Ashaninka Communal Reserve, as well as the Otishi National Park, both of which are legally protected areas. …

“The Inambari Dam on the Madre de Dios River is also likely to constructed under the bilateral accord signed yesterday… . Inambari would flood more than 46,000 hectares of land, which would leave more than 15,000 people without agricultural lands.”

The dams are likely to face legal as well as on-the-ground challenges in Peru.

Previous Articles on the Peruvian Amazon:

Temporary Resolution in Peru Conflict Following Government Reversal (June 19, 2009)

Week of Action in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru (June 12, 2009)

Upcoming Peru Solidarity Protests (June 10, 2009)

Peru Update: Take Action! (June 7, 2009)

Action Alert: Stop Peruvian Infrastructure Push! (June 5, 2009)

Peruvian Police Murder Indigenous Protesters: Take Action! (June 5, 2009)

Peru Indigenous Holding Strong in Standoff (June 3, 2009)

Peru Indigenous In Standoff With Government (May 22, 2009)

Perenco to Drill for Oil in Territory of Uncontacted Indigenous (January 7, 2009)

Peru Indigenous Issue Oil Ultimatum (October 22, 2008)

Indigenous Victory in Peru! (August 24, 2008)

Temporary Truce in Indigenous Peru Standoff (August 21, 2008)

Peru Declares Martial Law Over Indigenous Protests (August 18, 2008)

Oil Pipeline Shut Down by Ongoing Peru Protests (August 17, 2008)

Indigenous Peruvians Seize Energy Infrastructure (August 12, 2008)

The Appalachia Rising anti–mountaintop removal convergence will take place in Washington, DC between September 25 and 27. It follows a long history of social action for a just and sustainable Appalachia, coming directly out of the work of organizations in coalfield states. It unites coalfield residents and organizations with national allies from all walks of life.

The first two days will consist of a conference called Voices from the Mountains, and Monday will be a day of action “calling for an end to mountaintop removal strip mining in Appalachia though a vibrant march, rally, and dignified non-violent civil disobedience for those who choose.”

Kayapo Dancers at Xingu Encounter 2008

From a May 21 press release by International Rivers:

“A group of Kayapo indigenous people led by Chief Megaron Txukarramãe have been blockading the Xingu River crossing of the BR-80 – a major Amazon highway in Mato Grosso State – since April 23 in protest of the government’s plans to build the massive Belo Monte Dam. Dozens of Kayapo warriors have been blocking the ferry crossing over the Xingu River … and are determined to remain there. Their actions have disrupted a major transportation artery for commercial goods in the region. …

“Chief Megaron has been joined in these protests by Kayapo Chief Raoni Metuktire, an emblematic leader for over 20 years of indigenous resistance to the Brazilian government’s plans to dam the Xingu River. In a May 1st interview with the French channel TF1, Chief Raoni said ‘I have asked my warriors to prepare for war and I have spoken of this with other tribes from the Upper Xingu. We will not let them [build this dam].’

“Leaders of the Arara, Xipaia and Juruna indigenous peoples of the Lower Xingu echo the vociferous opposition of the Kayapo to the Belo Monte Dam, and have also vowed to lay down their lives to stop the project, which would destroy their communities and livelihoods.”

If built, the 11,000-megawatt Belo Monte hydroelectric dam would be the second-largest dam in Brazil and the third-largest in the world. It would divert more than 80 percent of the Xingu’s flow, flooding an area of 170 square miles and directly or indirectly affecting 66 communities and 11 indigenous reserves comprising more than 30,000 people.

International support is urgently needed; it helped stop the dam before, and can do so again. The time to put pressure on Brazil is now, before violence breaks out, lest we see a repeat of the massacre that took place in Peru’s Amazon last year. Call the Brazilian Embassy today and register your concern about the government’s support for Belo Monte Dam.

From DC Direct Action News:

“At lunchtime on the 4th of June, protesters stormed the doors of BP’s corporate office building at 1101 NY Ave.

“After a rally outside featuring a giant oil drum, people crossed the street and pushed through the outer doors of the lobby, intending to make a “citizen’s arrest” of BP executives for the oil spill off the Gulf Coast. The spill was described by Rev Yearwood (who is from Louisiana) as “worse than Katrina” for African-American and Native-American fishermen on the Gulf Coast, as it will probably result in a possible permanent end to their way of life.

“The attempt to take BP executives into custody for their crimes was not a success.”

The Deepwater Horizon spill, which began on April 20, is ongoing with no signs of slowing. It is having devastating consequences on the ecology of areas islands, marshlands and fisheries, and threatens to destroy the way of life of the 700-member Pointe Aux Chenes Indian Tribe.

The ancestors of the Pointe Aux Chenes settled the Louisiana marshlands more than a century ago after being driven off their original land. Because they lack federal recognition, they have had no success in getting government assistance during the ongoing Gulf disaster.

Although the Pointe Aux Chenes successfully prevented some of their sacred land from being used for an oil pipeline in the 1970s, the oil industry has devastated their lands nonetheless, destroying the marshes and causing the coast to erode. With the oil spill, the industry threatens to begin what it has started.

Anti-LNG Banner (Portland, OR, Mar. 1 2008)

From Cascadia Rising Tide:

“After a five-year long grassroots organizing push by a broad coalition of Oregonians and Southern Washingtonians, NorthernStar, the Texas-based company proposing the Bradwood LNG terminal on Columbia River, has indefinitely suspended development of the LNG terminal and filed for bankruptcy. This is wonderful news for anyone in the region concerned with climate change, protecting forests, and preserving rural farmland. It’s great news for local communities threatened with eminent domain and a huge victory for the people vs. Big Energy. Thank you for any part you played in achieving this victory.

“But it’s not over yet. There are still two LNG terminals proposed in
Oregon (On the Columbia River and in Coos Bay) as well as hundreds of miles of pipelines. Now, the No LNG coalition is turning its attention toward pressuring NW Natural to completely cancel the Palomar pipeline, which still threatens to clearcut through 47-miles of Mt. Hood National Forest, and brings heavy construction to 300 rivers and streams and 1500 landowners.”

For more information or to get involved, contact Cascadia Rising Tide: cascadia  risingtidenorthamerica (dot) org.

We have added the Gateway Sucks campaign to our list of anti-infrastructure contacts. In their own words, “Gatewaysucks.org is a loose voluntary association of individuals and organizations who are ticked off about Gateway.”

What is the Gateway Project?

“The project is a massive old-school highway-expansion plan being launched by the BC Government, spearheaded by Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon.

“Key points of the scheme are:
• massive reconstruction and enlargement of the Delta shipping port
• construction of 10-lane Port Mann “Superbridge”
• Expansion of Highway One to eight lanes between Langley and East Vancouver
• construction of North and South Perimeter Roads through Delta, Langley, Richmond and Surrey

“Historic homes are being demolished, and ancient indigenous sites are under threat from the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) project … on the Fraser River bank.

” ‘Our neighbours are being forced out of their homes, and ecosystems are being bulldozed,” says Delta resident Ernie Baatz. “Schools and programs are being cut across the province to pay for this climate changing freeway. We have to stand up to this appalling waste.’ “