By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
DEPARTMENT OF ALTO PARANÁ, Paraguay-217 indigenous Guarani were sprayed with pesticide last week after refusing to vacate their ancestral land. The government confirmed that there were no crops present where the pesticide spraying took place.
A formal eviction of the indigenous people was set for the same day, but a district prosecutor canceled the mandate right before execution. The local government’s refusal to evict the Guarani apparently led the soy growers to take matters into their own hands.
Over fifty men claiming ownership of the land arrived on November 6th and tried to remove the Guarani by force. The people resisted, using their bows and arrows. Later that day, an airplane sprayed pesticide directly above their homes. The pesticide is thought to be the same as that which is regularly used on soy crops. Over 200 people reported sickness and fainting. At least seven people were taken to the hospital. One person remains in critical condition.
Amnesty International has condemned the “use of apparently toxic pesticides to intimidate an indigenous community after they resisted being forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands.” Amnesty International noted the “worrying precedent” set by the Human Rights Commission of the Paraguayan State, who rejected a draft bill returning ancestral lands to another indigenous group, leaving ninety families homeless.
Amnesty International finds that even the most isolated indigenous groups are at risk due to deforestation. Satellite imagery shows that deforestation in the north of Paraguay occurs uninterrupted despite government regulation.
Paraguayan indigenous groups complain that they are not sufficiently protected against private commercial interests. An expert from the University of Maryland stated that the “economics and politics of Paraguay make sustained improvement unlikely.” Paraguayan researchers for Amnesty International say that “indigenous peoples’ lives are being put in jeopardy by those who should protect them,” calling the acts against the Guarani, “predictable.”
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered Paraguay to return ancestral lands to two indigenous communities. It is not clear whether that order has been carried out. Amnesty International has urged Paraguay to recognize international human rights standards, which recognize the right to traditional lands as crucial to indigenous peoples because they are a vital element of their sense of identity, livelihood, and way of life.
For more information, please see:
Global Voices-Paraguay:Indigenous Group Sprayed Aerially with Pesticides-12 November 2009
CNN-More than 200 Paraguayan Villagers Thought Sprayed with Pesticide-11 November 2009
Amnesty International-Paraguay Indigenous Community Threatened by Illegal Eviction and Pesticide Attack-10 November 2009
