greenpeace tar sands action 7-24-08

Groups in five European cities have called for an International “Stop the Tar Sands!” Day on July 17:

“The tar sands of Alberta, Canada, are one of the world’s largest and dirtiest energy projects. Even though European oil companies and banks are financing this climate crime, the tar sands are relatively unknown in Europe. It is time the destructiveness of the tar sands receives the attention it deserves.

“We are organizing five demonstrations in five European cities (tentatively scheduled for July 17th) in support of shutting down the tar sands for good. Join us and help us raise awareness about this climate disaster!”

The tar sands have attracted widespread opposition for their contribution to global warming, contamination of the environment, and effects on local communities. The downstream First Nation community of Fort Chipewyan, for example, has suffered from sharply elevated rates of rare cancers since the Syncrude project began. The need for natural gas to process the sands into petroleum has also led to a boom in pipeline building.

Rivers for Life 3: The Third International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and Their Allies
Temacapulin, Mexico
October 1-7, 2010

Papagayo River, Mexico

From International Rivers:

“Hundreds of representatives from dam-affected communities, NGOs and other groups across the globe will gather to share experiences, develop collective strategies, create new alliances and strengthen the international movement to protect rivers and human rights.

“This meeting will take place in Temacapulin, a small village in the highlands of Jalisco state threatened by the Zapotillo Dam. We hope organizing this meeting in a dam-affected village will help strengthen relationships amongst dam-affected people and their allies and strengthen the movement to stop the dam.”

Only 300 participants will be accepted, so apply now. Learn more about the meeting and register online here.

Root Force logo

We have updated the info for our affiliate groups in Durango, Colorado, and also added a new contact in British Columbia and one in the Phillipines. Are you part of a group campaigning against infrastructure that wants to be listed on our contacts page? Get in touch!

We just received this press release concerning the ongoing occupation of the US Border Patrol Headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, in protest of border militarization. This action draws attention to the way border militarization perpetuates the colonialism of indigenous lands and cultures.

Border militarization is one of the more obvious examples of how the system uses violence to control people and the land, and is deeply tied to issues of global trade and perpetuating First World dominance in the Western Hemisphere.  For more of our analysis on this and related issues, please see:

Indigenous Sovereignty Factsheet
Border and Migration Factsheet
This article about the connection between free trade, infrastructure and border militarization (specifically in regard to Deep Integration and the SPP).

And now, the press release:

Friday, May 21, 2010
For Immediate Release

Media Contact:  Leilani Clark (520) 982-5687

OCCUPATION OF BORDER PATROL HEADQUARTERS DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, TUCSON, AZ

1st NATIONS AND MIGRANTS OPPOSE SB1070; DEMAND DIGNITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND END TO BORDER MILITARIZATION

“The militarized border imposed by the U.S. has led only to cultural and environmental destruction of the indigenous peoples whose land is on or near the border. This militarization brings death and terror for indigenous peoples from other parts of the continent migrating to this land.”

Tucson, AZ – More than a dozen people occupied Border Patrol headquarters at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base today in an act of peaceful resistance. The group includes members of Indigenous Nations of Arizona, migrants, people of color and white allies. Six people used chains and other devices to lock themselves in the building. These Arizona residents disrupted the Border Patrol operations to demand that Border Patrol (BP), Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), their parent entity, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Obama administration end militarization of the border, end the criminalization of immigrant communities, and end their campaign of terror which tear families apart through increasing numbers of raids and deportations.

The protesters also call on the State of Arizona to repeal the racist Senate Bill 1070 that criminalizes immigrant communities on the state level, makes it illegal to transport or harbor an undocumented person regardless of family relationship, requires police agencies to engage in racial profiling, and ultimately is an attempt to ethnically cleanse Arizona of those with brown skin. This act of civil disobedience was only the latest in an increasing wave of direct action targeting the federal government’s terrorist immigration policies.

Border militarization destroys Indigenous communities.

The development of the border wall has lead to desecration of our ancestors’ graves, it has divided our communities and prevents us from accessing sacred places.

Troops and paramilitary law enforcement, detention camps, check points, and citizenship verification are not a solution to migration. We have existed here long before these imposed borders, my elders inform us that we always honored freedom of movement. Why our communities and the daily deaths at the border ignored? The impacts of border militarization are constantly made invisible in the media, the popular culture of this country and even the mainstream immigrants rights movement which has often pushed for “reform” that means further militarization of the border, which means increased suffering for our communities.

Indigenous communities such as the O’odham, the Pascua Yaqui, Laipan Apache, Kickapoo, and Cocopah along the US/Mexico border have been terrorized with laws and practices like SB1070 for decades. Indigenous people along the border have been forced by border patrol to carry and provide proof of tribal membership when moving across their traditional lands that have been bisected by this imposed border; a border that has been extremely damaging to the cultural and spiritual practices of these communities. Many people are not able to journey to sacred sites because the communities where people live are on the opposite side of the border from these sites. Since the creation of the current U.S./Mexico border, 45 O’odham villages on or near the border have been completely depopulated.

On this day people who are indigenous to Arizona join with migrants who are indigenous to other parts of the Western Hemisphere in demanding a return to traditional indigenous value of freedom of movement for all people. Prior to the colonization by European nations (Spaniards, English, French) and the establishment of the European settler state known as the United States and the artificial borders it and other European-inspired nation states have imposed; indigenous people migrated, traveled and traded with each other without regard to artificial black lines drawn on maps. U.S. immigration policies dehumanize and criminalize people simply because which side of these artificial lines they were born on. White settlers whose ancestors have only been here at most for a few hundred years have imposed these policies of terror and death on “immigrants” whose ancestors have lived in this hemisphere for tens of thousands of years, for time immemorial.

In addition, the migration that the U.S. government is attempting to stop is driven more than anything else by the economic policies of the U.S. Free trade agreements such as NAFTA have severely reduced the ability of Mexicans and others from the global south to sustain themselves by permitting corporations to extract huge amounts of wealth and resources from these countries into the U.S. This has led to millions of people risking the terror and death that so many face to cross into the U.S. looking for ways to better support their families. Thousand of women, men, children and elders have died crossing just in the last decade. If the U.S. really wants to reduce migration it should end its policies of exploitation and wealth extraction targeted at the global south and instead pursue policies of economic, environmental and social justice for all human beings on the planet, thus reducing the drive to immigrate.

The protesters are demanding:

·An end to border militarization
·The immediate repeal of SB1070 and 287g
·An end to all racial profiling and the criminalization of our communities
·No ethnic cleansing or cultural genocide
·No border patrol encroachment/sweeps on sovereign native land
·No Deportations
·No Raids
·No ID verification
·No Checkpoints
·Yes to immediate and unconditional regularization (“legalization”) of all people
·Yes to human rights
·Yes to dignity
·Yes to respect
·Yes to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ inherent right of migration

It’s been a dramatic several weeks in the fight to stop the proposed Belo Monte dam along the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon, and support for indigenous resisters is needed now.

Fuck Dams!

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.

In February, after months of controversy, the Brazilian environment agency (IBAMA) finally issued its approval for the dam, but only after two employees resigned after complaining that they were being pressured to give the project the green light. Dam opponents immediately filed a lawsuit in opposition.

In the wake of the success of the blockbuster eco-science fiction thriller Avatar, director James Cameron and star Sigourney Weaver visited Brazil to join in a public protest against the dam, garnering international attention, including front-page coverage in the New York Times.

Cameron called the Belo Monte dam “a situation where a real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress. What’s happening in Avatar is happening in Brazil and places like India and China, where traditional villages are displaced by big infrastructure projects.”

We think that definitely qualifies as the celebrity infrastructure slam of the year; should we send James Cameron a “Fuck Dams” t-shirt?

Belo Monte was initially proposed in the 1970s, but plans for the dam were abandoned in the 1990s after a high-profile international pressure campaign supported by celebrities such as Sting. Sting has also visited Brazil in recent months to reiterate his support for indigenous dam resisters.

In early April, two major construction giants announced they would not participate in bidding for the dam. The next week, a federal court suspended Belo Monte’s license on the grounds that it violated constitutional protections for water resources on indigenous lands. Unfortunately, the President of the Appeals Court unilaterally overturned this decision the very next day, with no review of the evidence.

With the injunction lifted, bidding on the project was able to go forward. Greenpeace activists dumped several thousand pounds of manure outside the offices of National Electric Energy Agency in protest.

Kayapo Dancers at Xingu Encounter 2008

Back in November, 212 tribal leaders of 14 different indigenous groups sent Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva a letter warning that if construction starts on the dam, their people will resist with armed struggle, and that the government would be responsible for any casualties among workers or Indians. They punctuated this message by blockading a ferry attempting to transport freight trucks along the Xingu.

With the dam now fully approved for construction, indigenous leaders reissued their warning.

“I think that today the war is about to start once more and the Indians will be forced to kill the white men again so they leave our lands alone,” said Kayapo leader Raoni Metuktire. “I think the white man wants too much, our water, our land. There will be a war so the white man cannot interfere in our lands again.”

There is every reason to believe that these warnings are genuine. In May, a representative of the Brazilian electric company Electrobras was rushed by a club- and machete-wielding indigenous women and men angry at his disregard for their concerns.

A group of 150 Kapayos has launched an occupation of the proposed construction site, and is planning to increase their numbers to 500 by the end of April and 1,000 after that. At least 10 other protests immediately broke out around the country, as well.

The struggle to stop Belo Monte remains vibrant both on the ground and in the halls of power. Another lawsuit to stop the dam on environmental grounds is pending, and members of the Brazilian congress have expressed increasing skepticism about the project.

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.

International Rivers is calling for supporters to call the Brazilian Embassy today and register your concern about the government’s support for Belo Monte Dam. Don’t put off making a 10-minute call. Do it now.

Temecapulin, Mexico

On April 3, three self-identified federal employees entered the town of Temacapulin, in central Mexico, and issued death threats against residents and outsiders who have been organizing in opposition to the planned El Zapotillo dam. For two years, residents of Temacapulin and neighboring towns have been fighting construction of the dam, which would flood their villages and wreak devastation on the local environment. This October, Temacapulin will host the Third International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and Their Allies.

Please contact the President of Mexico and other government officials to demand the cancellation of the dam, an end to violations of human rights and an investigation of the death threats and other harassment of dam opponents.

Open Pit Mine in Panama

The Costa Rican Supreme Court has overturned a ruling that blocked construction of the country’s first major gold mine, declaring open-pit mining consistent with environmental law.

Costa Rican law previously banned open-pit mining, but outgoing president and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Oscar Arias overturned the ban upon taking office. He has declared the mine in question, Crucitas, in the country’s “national interest.” The incoming president, Laura Chinchilla, is expected to continue Arias’ policies.

Environmentalists and members of the opposition responded with a protest march on April 22, Earth Day.

The mine is owned and will be operated by the Canadian company Infinito Gold Ltd. A source reports to us that Infinito’s major shareholder is billionaire Ron Mannix, a member of Canada’s 14th richest family.

From IntercontinentalCry.org:

Protester with Wiphala

“With the Global People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of the Mother Earth set to begin in Cochabamba, Bolivia, a group of Indigenous people have occupied the offices of a mining firm in the southeastern province of Potosi near the Chilean border.

“The occupation began several days ago, on April 12, with roughly 700 Qulla People blocking access to a key railway line that leads away from the San Cristobal silver-zinc-lead mine, owned by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

“The Qulla say that Sumitomo is dumping mine waste directly into the Madera River, contaminating the land and threatening their water supplies; and constructing roads that are trampling on the rights of Mother Earth. They are demanding compensation for the environmental damage and calling on the Potosi government to honour their agreements, which includes providing help with some local infrastructure.

“‘Our demands are fair and must be met. The mine is ransacking our natural resources. We want compensation for the damage and … we want help with our development,’ says protest leader Mario Mamani. Since the protest began, some 80 containers loaded with ore have also been seized and they have occupied the company’s offices. According to latest reports, the Qulla set fire to the offices and they have started to overturn the containers.”

The Qulla have also expressed frustration that their request for a forum to discuss domestic environmental concerns at the Climate Conference was rejected by the Bolivian government, which said the conference is meant for international issues.

In an act of solidarity with Qulla protesters, activists from the U.K.’s Camp for Climate Action unfurled a banner reading “The World is Watching” in front of Sumitomo’s London office’s on April 22. They noted that although the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales has not taken any action against the Qulla yet, the hammer may come down after international attention leaves that country after the end of the Climate Conference.

“For this reason internationals plan to join protests on the ground and others have acted in solidarity not only to show the company that they risk direct action against their interests around the world, but also ensure that the Bolivian government is aware that there is a great interest in how they respond to the issue,” a report of the action read.

Flier available here. FMI, www.StopLatMining.info.

Let’s bury the 2010 Lat-Am Mining Congress in Miami!

PROTEST: April 29, 3pm in Coral Gables at the Westin Colonnade, 180 Aragon Ave.

Open Pit Mine in Panama

Representatives of a variety of ore-mining multinational companies, international development banks, other investors and ministers of mining who week to promote and expand this devastating industry will be meeting in Miami APRIL 28-30. Let’s show them how we feel about thsi industry’s role in ecocide and displacement of communities!

Mining is one of the most widely, popularly contested issues in Latin America, pitting the region´s land based communities and social movements against the state governments that encompass them. Many of the people forcibly displaced from these projects have settled in South Florida, because of the proximity and likeness to home, and now the giants of mining come to taunt them.

Come spend April 28-30 in Miami’s luxurious Coral Gables neighborhood. Join folks from all over, bring a shovel, and let’s cut off industrial mining in Latin America from its lifeline here in South Florida, and bury it once and for all!!

Some of the more prominent earth destroyers to show their faces include:

• Mr. Rodolfo Sabonge, Vice President, Office of the Market Research and Analysis, Panama Canal Authority
• Mr. Hernan Martinez Torres, Colombia Minister of Mining & Energy, Ministry of Energy & Mining
• Dr. Claudio Scliar, Brazil Secretary of Geology, Mining, and Mineral Processing, Ministry of Mines & Energy
• Mr. Jose de Jesus Martin del Campo Esparza, General Director of Mining Promotion, Ministry of Economy – Mexico
• Mr. Salvador Garcia, VP Mexico, Goldcorp Inc.
• Mr. Abraham Morris Fox, Structured and Corporate Finance, Inter-American Development Bank
• Mr. John Price, Managing Director, Kroll

For details and updates check out: www.StopLatMining.info. You can read about the conference from its own promoters here.

A few more actions from the Minga:

Another anti-mines banner, this one reading  “No New Mines on Apache Land! Ya Basta!” was hung in Tucson, AZ on October 16 (this time from the  “Snake Bridge” over Broadway Boulevard). It was in opposition to the proposed mine in Superior, Arizona on sacred Apache land.

Also in Tucson, activists held a Fair Trade fair. In Tucson and New York City, activists distributed information on the connection between the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and swine flu.

Prior Action Roundups:

More from the Week of Action (Oct 15)

Week of Action Continues (Oct 12)