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Survival news
09.01.2009
Bangladesh’s High Court on Wednesday ordered the release on bail of Ranglai Mro, leader of the remote Mru people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, after almost two years in prison.
Ranglai Mro was arrested in February 2007 and sentenced to 17 years in jail for possessing a weapon. It is thought that the charges were invented in retaliation for Ranglai’s protests against the eviction of his people from their land to make way for an army training centre.
Army officers tortured Ranglai while he was in custody. He was hospitalized, and doctors discovered he had suffered a heart attack. He was then sent back to jail without proper medical treatment.
Almost two years after his arrest, Ranglai was finally taken to a specialist coronary hospital in Dhaka on 1 January this year, when his condition became critical. However, he was kept in chains there, causing an outcry in Bangladesh. Doctors said the chains were hampering their ability to treat him.
His shackles were only removed after their use was reported in a national newspaper and Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission got involved.
Many Bangladeshi and international organizations, including Survival, have criticized the arrest and torture of Ranglai Mro.
The Mru are one of the eleven Jumma tribes of the Hill Tracts. Bangladesh’s new government, which won a landslide victory in the country’s December 29 elections, has promised to honour the 1997 peace accord with the Jumma peoples.
Ranglai Mro was arrested in February 2007 and sentenced to 17 years in jail for possessing a weapon. It is thought that the charges were invented in retaliation for Ranglai’s protests against the eviction of his people from their land to make way for an army training centre.
Army officers tortured Ranglai while he was in custody. He was hospitalized, and doctors discovered he had suffered a heart attack. He was then sent back to jail without proper medical treatment.
Almost two years after his arrest, Ranglai was finally taken to a specialist coronary hospital in Dhaka on 1 January this year, when his condition became critical. However, he was kept in chains there, causing an outcry in Bangladesh. Doctors said the chains were hampering their ability to treat him.
His shackles were only removed after their use was reported in a national newspaper and Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission got involved.
Many Bangladeshi and international organizations, including Survival, have criticized the arrest and torture of Ranglai Mro.
The Mru are one of the eleven Jumma tribes of the Hill Tracts. Bangladesh’s new government, which won a landslide victory in the country’s December 29 elections, has promised to honour the 1997 peace accord with the Jumma peoples.
07.01.2009
An Anglo-French oil company is poised to send more than 1000 workers into a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon inhabited by uncontacted Indians.
The company, Perenco, has just been given the go-ahead from the Peruvian government to drill for oil in the region. It is estimated to be the biggest oil discovery in Peru in 30 years.
Perenco denies the existence of uncontacted tribes in the area, despite confirmation of their existence by Peru’s government, Ecuador’s government, the company that used to work in the area (Barrett Resources), and Peru’s indigenous organizations. Ecuador’s government has even allocated US$38,000 to protect the tribes, and Barrett admitted contact with them was ‘probable.’
Peru’s national indigenous organization, AIDESEP, is opposed to Perenco’s plans. It has appealed to Latin America’s top human rights body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, urging it to help prevent Perenco working in the region.
Despite this, Perenco intends to construct 14 oil wells and transport between 1400 and 1680 workers into the area. Contact between them and uncontacted Indians could end in violent conflict or the decimation of the Indians by disease.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘Perenco seems determined both to push ahead with its mega-project, and also to deny that the uncontacted Indians even live there. It ought by now to realise that the seemingly isolated jungle it is operating in is actually the ancestral home of several Indian groups, who will very likely see its workers as invaders. Everyone else has acknowledged this, including Perenco’s predecessor.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.orgWatch Survival's Short film 'Uncontacted Tribes'
The company, Perenco, has just been given the go-ahead from the Peruvian government to drill for oil in the region. It is estimated to be the biggest oil discovery in Peru in 30 years.
Perenco denies the existence of uncontacted tribes in the area, despite confirmation of their existence by Peru’s government, Ecuador’s government, the company that used to work in the area (Barrett Resources), and Peru’s indigenous organizations. Ecuador’s government has even allocated US$38,000 to protect the tribes, and Barrett admitted contact with them was ‘probable.’
Peru’s national indigenous organization, AIDESEP, is opposed to Perenco’s plans. It has appealed to Latin America’s top human rights body, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, urging it to help prevent Perenco working in the region.
Despite this, Perenco intends to construct 14 oil wells and transport between 1400 and 1680 workers into the area. Contact between them and uncontacted Indians could end in violent conflict or the decimation of the Indians by disease.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘Perenco seems determined both to push ahead with its mega-project, and also to deny that the uncontacted Indians even live there. It ought by now to realise that the seemingly isolated jungle it is operating in is actually the ancestral home of several Indian groups, who will very likely see its workers as invaders. Everyone else has acknowledged this, including Perenco’s predecessor.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.orgWatch Survival's Short film 'Uncontacted Tribes'
07.01.2009
A blockade mounted by more than 50 protestors stopped British mining company Vedanta entering the land of the Dongria Kondh and other Kondh tribes under cover of darkness last night.
The FTSE 100 company plans to mine bauxite on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain in the state of Orissa, laying waste to the forests they depend on for their survival.
Last night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine. After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.
India’s Supreme Court has approved Vedanta’s plans, but the mine is yet to receive the environmental clearance required for it to go ahead.
The stand-off between local villagers and Vedanta’s bulldozers at the blockade site continues. Protestor Ajun Chandi, who has received a series of threatening phone calls from Vedanta, says, ‘You must let the whole world know what Vedanta is doing.’
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Vedanta won't be able to hide its work by invading the Kondhs’ land at night. It doesn't even have official approval. Whether or not it gets it, the Dongria aren’t likely to agree to their homeland and most sacred site being destroyed. Vedanta is trying to intimidate the tribespeople. This is an appalling way for a major British company to behave, it isn't going to work and Vedanta must now expect international opposition to grow.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
The FTSE 100 company plans to mine bauxite on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain in the state of Orissa, laying waste to the forests they depend on for their survival.
Last night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine. After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.
India’s Supreme Court has approved Vedanta’s plans, but the mine is yet to receive the environmental clearance required for it to go ahead.
The stand-off between local villagers and Vedanta’s bulldozers at the blockade site continues. Protestor Ajun Chandi, who has received a series of threatening phone calls from Vedanta, says, ‘You must let the whole world know what Vedanta is doing.’
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Vedanta won't be able to hide its work by invading the Kondhs’ land at night. It doesn't even have official approval. Whether or not it gets it, the Dongria aren’t likely to agree to their homeland and most sacred site being destroyed. Vedanta is trying to intimidate the tribespeople. This is an appalling way for a major British company to behave, it isn't going to work and Vedanta must now expect international opposition to grow.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
07.01.2009
The new government of Bangladesh, which swept to power in a landslide election victory on 29 December, has committed itself to honouring the 1997 peace accord with the Jumma tribal people.The accord was designed to end years of violent repression of the eleven Jumma tribes at the hands of the Bangladesh military.The Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina who was sworn in as Prime Minister yesterday, is the party that signed the accord in 1997. Its election manifesto commits it to fully implementing the accord. The party won 230 seats out of 299, giving it the power to rewrite the Constitution and bring about the promised reforms. Last Monday’s elections follow two years of emergency rule by a caretaker government in Bangladesh. During this time, violence and intimidation against the Jumma tribal people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts intensified. More than 50 indigenous leaders and activists were arrested, many on false arms charges.
23.12.2008
Contact with the outside world is bringing death to the tribes of the Andaman Islands, who famously survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Eight members of the Onge tribe died this month after drinking an unknown liquid from a container that washed ashore on their island reserve.
In 2004 the Onge were reported to have saved themselves by running to higher ground when they saw the sea recede prior to the tsunami. The eight people who died from poisoning this month made up eight percent of the tribe’s population, which stood at only one hundred before the tragedy.
In November, a man from the Jarawa tribe was killed in a conflict with poachers who were fishing illegally in the Jarawa reserve. The tribe also killed one of the fishermen.
The invasion of their land by poachers is threatening the Jarawa’s existence, depleting their food sources and risking bringing further conflict and diseases to which the tribe have no immunity. The Jarawa number 320 and have only had friendly contact with outsiders for ten years.
For the first time, a Jarawa has spoken out about poaching on camera. Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘It’s a bitter irony that these tribes, who made headlines when they survived the tsunami, are dying due to contact with outsiders. They have lived on the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years – if they are not to be wiped out, their land must be protected.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
Eight members of the Onge tribe died this month after drinking an unknown liquid from a container that washed ashore on their island reserve.
In 2004 the Onge were reported to have saved themselves by running to higher ground when they saw the sea recede prior to the tsunami. The eight people who died from poisoning this month made up eight percent of the tribe’s population, which stood at only one hundred before the tragedy.
In November, a man from the Jarawa tribe was killed in a conflict with poachers who were fishing illegally in the Jarawa reserve. The tribe also killed one of the fishermen.
The invasion of their land by poachers is threatening the Jarawa’s existence, depleting their food sources and risking bringing further conflict and diseases to which the tribe have no immunity. The Jarawa number 320 and have only had friendly contact with outsiders for ten years.
For the first time, a Jarawa has spoken out about poaching on camera. Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘It’s a bitter irony that these tribes, who made headlines when they survived the tsunami, are dying due to contact with outsiders. They have lived on the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years – if they are not to be wiped out, their land must be protected.’
For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org
Blog
05.09.2008, Johanna Havemann, 0 Comments
Survival ist die einzige internationale Organisation, die indigene Völker weltweit unterstützt. Sie wurde im Jahr 1969 gegründet, nachdem ein in der britischen Sunday Times erschienener Artikel von Norman Lewis die Massaker, Landenteignungen und Völkermorde im brasilianischen Amazonien beleuchtete. Wie viele andere Grausamkeiten unserer Zeit geschah die rassistische Unterdrückung der brasilianischen Indianer im Namen des „Wirtschaftswachstums”.
Heute hat Survival Anhänger in 82 Ländern. Wir arbeiten auf drei sich gegenseitig ergänzende Arten für die Rechte indigener Völker: Aufklärung, Lobbyarbeit und Kampagnen. Außerdem bieten wir den indigenen Völkern eine Plattform, auf der sie die Außenwelt direkt ansprechen können. Wir arbeiten eng mit lokalen, indigenen Organisationen und konzentrieren uns auf die Völker und Gruppen, die am meisten zu verlieren haben, in der Regel die, die gerade erst mit der Außenwelt in Kontakt gekommen sind.
Wir glauben, dass die öffentliche Meinung die wirksamste Kraft für Veränderungen darstellt. Ihre Stärke wird es Regierungen und Firmen immer schwieriger und letztendlich unmöglich machen, indigene Völker zu unterdrücken.
>> http://www.survival-international.de/ueberuns
Heute hat Survival Anhänger in 82 Ländern. Wir arbeiten auf drei sich gegenseitig ergänzende Arten für die Rechte indigener Völker: Aufklärung, Lobbyarbeit und Kampagnen. Außerdem bieten wir den indigenen Völkern eine Plattform, auf der sie die Außenwelt direkt ansprechen können. Wir arbeiten eng mit lokalen, indigenen Organisationen und konzentrieren uns auf die Völker und Gruppen, die am meisten zu verlieren haben, in der Regel die, die gerade erst mit der Außenwelt in Kontakt gekommen sind.
Wir glauben, dass die öffentliche Meinung die wirksamste Kraft für Veränderungen darstellt. Ihre Stärke wird es Regierungen und Firmen immer schwieriger und letztendlich unmöglich machen, indigene Völker zu unterdrücken.
>> http://www.survival-international.de/ueberuns
Goal: Wir sammeln Spendengelder für den Druck unserer Infobücher "Fortschritt kann töten". Als PDF bereits vorhanden.
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