June 15th-19th

Rising Tide North America is calling for a week of action starting Monday June 15th to show solidarity with the indigenous tribes resisting Peru’s attempt to open their lands to the oil, gas, and logging industries.

Last week over 85 people were killed by Peruvian police while protesting the governments plans revoke protections for traditional lands and allow for industrial exploitation of the Amazon. The new plans are a part of the new free trade agreement between the US and Peru. Since the Peruvian government announced these plans, tribes around Peru have been blockading roads, oil installations, and other critical infrastructure. But the government has begun to brutally crack down on the unarmed blockades, resulting in last week’s massacre.
There are signs that the protests in Peru, and international pressure, are beginning to work. Peru’s congress just voted to suspend two of the laws in question, in hopes of getting the situation under control. Indigenous communities and labor unions however have made clear that this is not enough, and are continuing the blockades and protests.

International solidarity is desperately needed to prevent further massacres. Starting Monday June 15th there will be a number of protests around the country. Please join in. If there is not a protest organized already in your community organize one at a Peruvian consulate or US federal building.

Remember to send us your action reports, too!

Below is a list of planned demos as well as Peruvian consulates in the US:

Planned Demos

Protest in San Francisco at Peruvian Consulate
Tuesday June 16
Details TBA email earthfirstroadshow@gmail.com

Protest in Boston at Peruvian Consulate
Thursday June 18
Details TBA
For more info: info risingtideboston.org 978.852.6457

Locations/Addresses of US consulates

http://peru.visahq.com/embassy/United-States/

Peru Embassy , United States
1700 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington D.C. 20036
Phone:
+1-202-833-9860
+1-202-833-9869
Fax:
+1-202-659-8124
www.peruvianembassy.us

Peru Consulate General , United States
1001 S Monaco Parkway, Suite 210
Denver, Colorado 80224
Phone:
+1-303-3558555
Fax:
+1-303-3558003
Email:
conper_denver@consuladoperu.net

Peru Consulate General , United States
4360 Chamblee Dunwoody RD. Suite 580
Atlanta, Georgia 30341
Phone:
+1-678-730-4161
+1-678-730-4162
+1-678-730-4163
Fax:
+1-678-730-4165

Peru Consulate General
20 Park Plaza, Suite 511
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
Phone:
+1-617-338-2227
Fax:
+1-617-338-2742
Email:
conper_boston@msn.com

Peru Consulate General
180 North Michigan Avenue Suite 1830
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Phone:
+1-312-7821599
+1-312-8536173
Fax:
+1-312-7046969
Email:
conperchig@aol.com

Peru Consulate General
250 Main Street, Suite \”D\”
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
Phone:
+1-860-5480266
+1-860-5480337
Fax:
+1-860-5480094
Email:
conperhartford@aol.com
Website URL:
www.conperhartford.com

Peru Consulate General
5177 Richmond Avenue, Suite 695
Houston, Texas77056
Phone:
+1-713-355-9517
+1-713-355-9438
Fax:
+1-713-355-9377
Email:
conperu@sbcglobal.net
Website URL:
www.conperuhouston.org

Peru Consulate General
3450 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 800
Los Angeles, California 90010
Phone:
+1-213-2525910
+1-213-2529597
Fax:
+1-213-2528130
Email:
conperla@winstamail.com

Peru Consulate General
444 Brickell Avenue Suite M-135
Miami, Florida 33131
Phone:
+1-305-3741305
+1-305-3748935
Fax:
+1-305-3816027
Email:
informacion@consulado-peru.com
Website URL:
www.consulado-peru.com

Peru Consulate General
241 East 49th Street
New York City 10017
Phone:
+1-646-735-3828
+1-646-735-3847
+1-646-735-3857
+1-646-735-3853
+1-646-735-3859
+1-646-735-3862
Fax:
+1-646-735-3866
Email:
userperu12@aol.com

Peru Consulate General
100 Hamilton Plaza Suite 1221, 12th Floor
Paterson, New Jersey 07505
Phone:
+1-973-278-3324
+1-973-278-2221
Fax:
+1-973-278-0254
Email:
consulperu-paterson@rree.gob.pe

Peru Consulate
6242 E, Arbor Ave Suite 118
Mesa, Arizona 85206
United States
Phone:
+1-480-834-3907
Fax:
+1-480-834-0948

Peru Consulate
2535 Kettner Blvd, Suite 1 A 1
San Diego, California
Phone:
+1-619-2486243
Fax:
+1-619-6601181
Email:
peruhcsandiego@cox.net

Peru Consulate General
870 Market Street, Suite 1067
San Francisco, California, 94102
Phone:
+1-415-362-5185
+1-415-362-7136
Fax:
+1-415-362-2836
Email:
conpersfco@aol.com
conpersfol@aol.com

Peru Consulate
3717 NE, 157th Street – Suite 100
Seattle, Washington 98155
Phone:
+1-206-7149037
Fax:
+1-206-3655378
Email:
consulateperu@msn.com

Peru Consulate
N?? 3 The Prado
St. Louis, Missouri 63124
Phone:
+1-314-9911750
Fax:
+1-314-9911750

Peru Consulate
2106 W. Busch Boulevard
Tampa, Florida 33162
Phone:
+1-941-6856221
Fax:
+1-941-9268044
Email:
vmvdoc@aol.com

Peru Consulate
2430 East 41 Street
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Phone:
+1-918-7439002
Fax:
+1-918-7421004

Political prisoner Daniel McGowan has published an article on Huffington Post about the conditions inside the “Communication Management Unit” (CMU) where he is held. CMUs  are a mostly secret prison-within-a-prison for primarily Muslim prisoners and others (like Daniel) that the Bureau of Prisons wishes to punish, without due process or opportunity for appeal. Please read his article about these little-known facilities that the government is using in its ongoing “War on Terrorism.”

Also, please check out this web site about the Good Time Bill, a bill in Congress that would make it easier for federal prisoners to get reduced sentences for good behavior. Daniel McGowan has been working on supporting this bill, which would benefit all federal prisoners.

Following is a list of some upcoming (North American) protests in solidarity with the indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon, who are facing murderous repression in a two-month mobilization against laws that would open their territories to increased exploitation.

For a list of protests outside the American continent, see here. Remember that June 11 is the national strike in Peru. June 16 may be called as a day of action by solidarity activists outside of Peru.

Background on the issue: Peru Update: Take Action! (June 7, 2009)

Thursday, June 11

Miami, FL

MIAMI EMERGENCY PROTEST: END THE KILLING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN PERU!
Not Just a Protest…A Call for South American Solidarity in Miami!

Thursday, June 11
11:00am – 2:00pm
Peruvian Consulate
444 Brickell Ave

Visit their Facebook group.

MIAMI EMERGENCY PROTEST: 3 STEPS

1) PROTEST at the Peruvian Consulate in Miami

2) LETTER endorsed by local activists & organizations will be given to the Consulate General, addressed to Mr. Felipe Ortiz de Zevallos (Peruvian ambassador to the US), criticizing not only the military’s treatment of
indigenous people but also addressing economic root causes and demands related to address those.

3) ORGANIZE & BUILD A POPULAR SOUTH AMERICAN DIASPORA SOLIDARITY by talking to people living in areas heavily populated with South Americans; aim: build new bonds and encourage South Americans who are not typically found in existing activists circles to join a struggle for liberation and justice not only in solidarity on issues in South America but also in solidarity with local housing rights, immigrants rights, and workers rights group here in Miami. After the protest a group will discuss & organize.

The killing of indigenous people in Peru is just one example of the thousands of injustices that have happened in South America. It is time for progressive South Americans to have a more organized voice in Miami to challenge governments funded with U.S. tax dollars that further neoliberalism, state crackdowns, & attacks on marginalized communities. We are not in our countries but we can support our people from here! Let’s do what we can! This may be the beginning of the unity of all progressive & radical South American people. We all share similar injustices, we all suffer from corrupt politicians that continue to feed us bullshit dreams about a better future, and our land has be stolen by transnational corporations and the forces of capitalism with the help of our own governments (and often times with U.S. support!). Let’s stand in solidarity
with the people being killed in Peru but at the same time work together to build a form of progressive solidarity that combats neoliberalism, state crackdowns, & targeting of the indigenous!

Ottawa, ON

OTTAWA SOLIDARITY WITH INDIGENOUS IN PERU!
Demonstration and information picket in front of the Peruvian Embassy

Thursday, June 11
11:30am -1:30pm
Peruvian Embassy
130 Albert, between O’Connor and Metcalfe

Indigenous Peoples’ Solidarity Movement –Ottawa
ipsmoriseup (dot) net

RSVP to this event on Facebook, and invite your friends.

Washington, DC

Protest in Solidarity with Peru’s Indigenous Peoples

Thursday June 11, 2009
3:30 PM EST
In front of the Peruvian Embassy
1700 Massachusetts Ave., N.W

Join us to show your support for human rights and help us demand an end to U.S. free trade policies that are destroying the livelihood of millions in Peru. Learn more about the event on Facebook.

Friday, June 12

Montréal, QC

Demonstration for Life in Bagua

Friday, June 12
12:00 Noon / à midi
Peruvian Consulate
550 Sherbrooke West,
Metro McGill

Manifestation pour la vie à Bagua

Le vendredi 12 juin 2009 à midi
En face du Consulat du Pérou à Montréal
550 Sherbrooke Ouest, métro McGill

Calling all men and women who believe in life, human rights and the rights of nature. We send a strong message to the world from Montreal to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples in Peru are respected and guaranteed, so that crimes do not remain unpunished. The presence of all is essential. Indigenous peoples have the right to defend life and Mother Earth. The forest is not for sale!

Organized by: Action Créative, Société Bolivarienne du Québec, Hands Off Venezuela et Mohawk Traditional Council of Kahnawake

Appel à tous les hommes et toutes les femmes qui croient en la vie, les droits de l’homme et les droits de la nature. Nous envoyons un message foro au monde de Montréal pour que les droits des peuples autochtones au Pérou soient respectés et garantis, afin que les crimes ne restent pas impunis. La présence de tous est essentielle. Les peuples autochtones ont le droit de défendre la vie et la Mére Terre. La forêt ne se vend pas!

Organisée par: Action Créative, Société Bolivarienne du Québec, Hands Off Venezuela et Le Conseil Traditionnel Mohawk de Kahnawake.

The results are starting to be felt from Ecuador’s controversial new mining law, which opened the country to large-scale metal mining. Codelco — Chile’s state copper company and the world’s largest copper miner — has been given permission to explore south-central Ecuador for copper deposits.

Background:

South American Mine Resistance (Jan 29, 2009)
“Responsible Mining is a Miserable Lie” (Jan 12, 2009)

Recent reports indicate as many as 84 people killed and 150 arrested in clashes stemming from an early morning violent raid by police on unarmed protesters on June 5. Police are reported to be burning the bodies of the dead and dumping them into the river.

Astonishingly — but not surprisingly — the government is accusing the protesters of using tactics reminiscent of the 1980s internal conflict. Deploying racist imagery painting indigenous protesters as spear-wielding savages, President Alan Garcia has vowed a tough “response.”

Following the early-morning massacre, protesters took 38 police hostage at a pumping station for the national oil company, PetroPeru. A police raid to free the officers resulted in the deaths of nine of them. An Argentinian oil company, Pluspetrol, has halted oil pumping in one unit and will soon halt pumping in another due to the unrest.

The government has since issued an arrest warrant for indigenous leader Alberto Pizango (who was elected to represent the indigenous coalition by the leaders of 1,200 communities), charging him with “sedition.” Pizango has gone into hiding.

Please take action and urge the Peruvian government to halt the violence and repeal the controversial free trade laws that would open up indigenous land in the Amazon to increased development. Contact the US government and international agencies as well, and encourage them to place pressure on Peru. The Peruvian government is in a serious position of weakness right now and trying to cover it up with violence, and this is one of those rare cases where international pressure could deal a major setback to infrastructure expansion plans.

Read the full Root Force action alert on this issue here.

UPDATE (June 8 2009): Some of the stories linked above are in Spanish. Here’s an English link with the same info.

***Please Disseminate This Alert Widely***

Background

Early this morning (June 5th), Peruvian police launched a violent attack on a nonviolent road blockade held by Amazonian indigenous protesters opposing 10 laws that would open up their territory to increased mineral, oil, gas and timber exploitation. Police opened fire with live ammunition, killing at least 28 people (see below).

Why Take Action?

The first reason to take action, of course, is simply out of solidarity with our fellow warriors in the struggle for a just and sustainable world. But why are we sending out this action alert as Root Force?

For nearly two months, thousands indigenous protesters have nearly paralyzed Peru’s Amazon region with blockades of critical transportation and mining infrastructure. They have sparked a national discourse over the limits to development and who owns nature, and have made it clear that they will not surrender any of their ancestral homelands.

At the heart of the issue are 10 laws passed by presidential decree that would greatly facilitate industrial exploitation of the Amazon. This is critical infrastructure, intended to supply new raw materials for the global market. This is one of those weak points of the system that we are always talking about.

The indigenous warriors fighting for their lives have pushed this issue into the global eye, and the Peruvian government has placed itself in a position of weakness by murdering unarmed protesters. Even before the recent killings, a congressional panel had already declared 2 of the laws unconstitutional, and only through procedural tricks has the president’s party been able to stall debate on repealing one of those laws.

This is one of those rare cases where sustained international pressure could tip the scales. If these laws are repealed, it will be a major setback for infrastructure expansion plans in a truly critical region of the hemisphere.

How to Take Action

You can email critical people in the Peruvian government through this page, provided by Amazon Watch.

You can also organize protests at Peruvian embassies or consulates, or take other actions that you think stand a good chance of making it back to the decision makers in Lima.

Make sure to express your outrage at the government’s strong arm tactics — even before the murders, the government had suspended civil liberties in 5 provinces and was calling indigenous people “terrorists” — and demand the repeal of the Free Trade laws and any law further opening the Amazon to mineral, oil, gas, timber, hydroelectric or agricultural exploitation.

In Solidarity,
Root Force

UPDATE (June 7 2009): Check here for more contact info for Peruvian decision makers and embassies/consulates and relevant US/UN contacts.

Peruvian police attack an indigenous protester 5-9-2009

Following Peruvian President Alan Garcia’s order to begin clearing, by force, the protests and blockades that have paralyzed the country’s Amazon region for nearly two months, police launched a violent raid early this morning on unarmed protesters at a roadblock outside of Bagua.

The raid began at 2am while protesters were still sleeping, and began in earnest at 5 am with the firing of live ammunition and the dropping of teargas from helicopters. Protesters launched a counterattack, seizing guns from the police officers and returning fire. As of this posting, 28 indigenous civilians and 10 police officers are reported dead.

Police and government officials are falsely claiming that police acted in self defense and that the protesters were armed, violent and terrorists.

Indigenous people have been mobilized throughout the Amazon since April 9, demanding the repeal of 10 laws that would open up their territories to increasing mineral, oil, gas and timber exploitation. Two of the laws have been declared unconstitutional by a congressional panel, but Garcia’s APRA party continues to block the Congress from repealing them.

The Interethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESP), the coordinator of the mobilization that represents 1,200 indigenous communities, has called for a national strike beginning June 11.

International solidarity is also requested, from letters of protest to the Peruvian government to urgent calls for the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations for Indigenous Peoples, Amnesty International, Survival International, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the International Labor Organization [ILO Convention 169]) to immediately dispatch international observers to the region.

As many as 30 protesters were arrested by Panamanian police acting in conjunction with the Petaquilla Gold company in late May. The protesters, indigenous campesinos, were taking part in a roadblock against the expropriation and destruction of their lands for the Petaquilla Gold Mine. Police used tear gas, batons and other weapons to beat and subdue the protesters.

No surprise here: Brazil has approved the environmental permit for the Jirau Dam on the Madeira River, the Amazon’s largest tributary. Along with the planned San Antonio Dam, the Jirau forms the 6,450 MW Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex. This complex is intended to supply power for mining, metal processing and agriculture, and to ease river navigation for the goal of regional integration (IIRSA).

Also, plans are proceeding for three other hydropower dams on the Tapajós river — São Luiz do Tapajós (6133 MW), Jatobá (2338 MW) and Chocorão (3336 MW) — and four on its tributary, the Jamanxim: Cachoeira do Caí (802 MW), Jamanxim (881 MW), Cachoeira dos Patos (528 MW), and Jardim do Ouro (227 MW). Like any such dams, they would destroy critical habitat and displace people from their homes. At least two of the dams are planned to be built in or affect indigenous communities.

A massive indigenous mobilization in the Peruvian Amazon is nearing its second month, with no sign that the native protesters will allow themselves to be intimidated into giving up on their demands.

Thousands of indigenous protesters have blockaded critical infrastructure in Peru’s Amazon region since April 9, when they declared a national strike in protest of new laws that would facilitate increased industrial exploitation of their territories for timber, oil and gas. The laws were passed by decree under powers granted to President Alan Garcia to bring to country into compliance with a US-Peru free trade agreement. The 10 laws that protesters are demanding repealed were not part of the trade agreement, however, and were declared unconstitutional by a congressional commission in December.

So far, indigenous protesters have blockaded roads and waterways, forced a shutdown to the only crude oil pipeline in Peru, forced two oil companies to cease operation, blocked tourist access to the ruins of Machu Picchu (twice), and held protests that paralyzed the region’s biggest city, Iquitos. On May 31, several hundred protesters took over two valve stations on the only pipeline that transports natural gas from the controversial Camisea gas fields.

The protests are organized under the auspices of the Interethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESP), which represents 1,200 different native communities. AIDESP’s elected leader, Alberto Pizango, insists that the mobilization will not end until Congress repeals the 10 objectionable laws, declares the state of emergency (martial law) declared in 5 Amazonian provinces since May 9, and enters a good-faith discussion with native communities over a different model for developing the Amazon.

One of the 10 laws has been tentatively repealed, but this action must be approved by the full Congress. The other 9 laws remain on the books.