Saturday, June 20, 2009

MEANWHILE, UP IN THE ANDES















While the world watches Iran, another conflict comes to a head in Peru where Indians have been protesting for two months against a series of laws which open up their communal rainforests to oil and gas companies. In the last few years more than 70% of the Amazon has been parcelled out to oil and gas companies for exploration, and a series of large-scale finds threaten to transform much of the Indians’ virgin forests. Similar schemes in neighbouring Ecuador have had a devastating effect on the rainforest, and led to chronic pollution and ill-health amongst the Indians who live there. Violent clashes on Friday between Amazon Indians blockading roads and rivers, and police and army units intent on breaking up the protests have left dozens of Indians, and at least 23 policemen, dead. Click here for the whole sorry tale.

1 comment:

roldo said...

I passed this link on to few Yippies I know - its on Facebook now. I've seen nothing of it on the tv news but as my associate Oberon D. Uddersied commented "Its rich white guys killing brown people and that ain't newsworthy"