Indigenous Activist Interrupts PerúPetro meeting : Houston Indymedia

On Friday, at the Petroleum Club of Houston, PerúPetro showcased new lots available for exploration in Peru. A Shapibo indigenous leader and a couple of people involved in these issues.

Here is a press release:

Dear Friends,

The Achuar, Quichua and Urarinas peoples in the Corrientes river basin
in the Peruvian Amazon urgently need your solidarity and support. For
over a week now, the Achuar have been peacefully blockading oil
production facilities on their ancestral territory, which are operated
by the Argentine company Pluspetrol and built by Los Angeles-based
Occidental Petroleum. The situation has become tense and just today,
an additional 150 counterinsurgency police have been reportedly
dispatched to the region.

The indigenous leaders and their apus (traditional authorities) are
calling for international support to press the Peruvian government to
fully address their longstanding grievances over the dumping of over
one million barrels PER DAY of toxic wastewater into rivers and streams
that the Achuar depend on for their daily survival. We are asking you
to send a letter TODAY urging the government to engage in good faith
negotiation to resolve this conflict. We are also calling on the
government to refrain from using any force against the Achuar, Quichua
and Urarinas protesters or their supporters and to fully respect their
human rights.

There are two ways you can act today:

(1) Send a letter to the President of Peru.

Use the model letter below and mail it to the address included, or
emailmcunza@presidencia.gob.pe fax: 011.51.1.311.3940

*Please also copy your letter to both the Peruvian and Argentine
embassies in Washington, D.C.

Ambassador Felipe Ortiz de Zevallos
Peruvian Embassy fortiz@embassyofperu.us fax (202) 659-8124

Argentine Ambassador José Octavio Bordón, Argentinian Embassy: fax
(202) 659-8124

(2) Send a direct contribution to the Achuar people.

You can make a contribution to the Achuar people in support of their
action via Amazon Watch -- 100% of your contributions will be
transferred directly to the Achuar federation, FECONACO. For online
donations, go to http://www.amazonwatch.org and write “Earmark for Achuar
Mobilization” in the Comments section. You can also send a check to
Amazon Watch: One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 402San Francisco, CA 94102.
Write “Achuar Mobilization” in the memo line.

Thank you for your solidarity and support,

The Amazon Watch Team

For more information, contact: Maria Lya Ramos, 202.785.3962,
maria@amazonwatch.org

Achuar Federation FECONACO and Forest Peoples Programme also
contributed to this action alert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His Excellency
President Alan García
Calle Palacio de Gobierno
Plaza Mayor
Cercado de Lima
Lima, Peru
mcunza@presidencia.gob.pe
Via Fax: 011.51.1.311.3940

RE: A call for just treatment and addressing the concerns and rights of
indigenous Achuar, Quichua and Urarinas peoples in the Corrientes river
basin in Peru.

18 October 2006

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing to you to express my profound concern over the grave
situation facing the Achuar, Quichua and Urarinas peoples, who are
undertaking a peaceful protest against destructive oil exploitation on
their ancestral lands in the Río Corrientes region of Peru. We urge the
Peruvian government to peacefully resolve the grievances of the
affected communities and, to this end, to enter into good faith
negotiation with their traditional and representative leaders.

Background and key issues:

For 35 years indigenous peoples in the Rio Corrientes region have
suffered oil extraction by Occidental Petroleum, Petroperu, and the
Argentine company Pluspetrol (Lot 1AB and Lot 8), which has caused the
pollution of their ecosystem and ill-health among affected communities.
These negative impacts have been well documented and confirmed in
recent government reports that demonstrate that the indigenous
population is affected by high levels of cadmium and lead poisoning
stemming from oil contamination of local water supplies and fisheries.

The Achuar have made repeated attempts to obtain governmental
commitments and government action to provide health care for their
communities and to resolve their legitimate grievances. Despite these
efforts, little concrete action has been taken. The traditional
authorities of the Achuar and their people have now taken peaceful
steps to blockade further oil production inside their traditional lands
in an attempt to secure redress and justice for ongoing violations of
the right to their lands, lives, and health as protected under
international law.

We understand that the Achuar are protesting within their ancestral
territory and are acting peacefully. Despite this, there are worrying
reports of use of tear gas against protesters in some communities. The
current situation is now tense and the Achuar and their supporters are
concerned that the authorities may return to the use of force to break
up their demonstration.

Recommendations:
We call on the Peruvian police and other Peruvian authorities to show
restraint and to respect the human and customary rights of the Achuar,
Quichua and Urarinas peoples, who have acted peacefully to defend their
ancestral lands, territories and resources.

We urge you as the President of Peru to ensure that urgent measures are
taken to:

* Safeguard the right to life of the Achuar people, their apus
"traditional leaders", and their supporters through peaceful resolution
of the current crisis
* Enter into constructive dialogue with the aggrieved communities to
resolve their grievances in full respect of their human rights
* Honor fully the commitments and agreements made by the government
during the meetings with indigenous federations held between September
4-9, 2006
* Immediately halt the oil-related contamination of rivers and streams
in the Corrientes region
* Provide urgent supplies of food and potable water to indigenous
communities affected by oil pollution and food shortages caused by oil
exploitation on their lands
* Finance and implement the (agreed) Integral Health Plan for treating
people affected by heavy metal poisoning caused by oil pollution
* Finance and implement the Land titling, Education and Production
Activity Plan approved by the regional government in Loreto
* Halt any plans for oil exploration or oil extraction in oil blocks
104 and 106
* Ensure that no other hydrocarbon or other resource concessions are
imposed on the ancestral territories of the indigenous peoples in the
Corrientes region and other areas of Peru

We look forward to learning how your government plans to address this
urgent matter and how it will secure redress for the damages caused to
the Achuar's environment and their communities by the oil industry that
has operated with the Peruvian government's consent and assistance for
over three decades.

Sincerely,

CC: Ambassador Felipe Ortiz de Zevallos, Peruvian Embassy, Washington,
D.C.
Argentine Ambassador José Octavio Bordón, Argentinian Embassy,
Washington, D.C.
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