Warning: Peruvian Pipeline Will Harm Indigenous Peoples

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America  

LIMA, Peru – Survival International, an organization supporting tribal peoples worldwide, has warned the United Nations that a massive oil pipeline set to be constructed in Northern Peru will be very harmful to indigenous peoples living in that area. 

In a letter from Survival International to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, James Anaya, the organization claims that “permitting companies to operate in this region of Peru flagrantly violates international law.” 

 The letter exhorts the Special Rapporteur to initiate an immediate investigation and to urge Peru’s government to prohibit the companies from working in the area.  The human rights NGO believes that if work on the pipeline proceeds, “some of the world’s most vulnerable citizens could be wiped out.”

Independent from the environmental concerns, there are significant fears that outsiders who enter the Indians’ land to work on the pipeline may introduce new diseases into the indigenous peoples’ population that their bodies are not prepared to fight.  Perenco, a Peruvian gas company, has recently admitted to transporting 50,000 tons of material into this region, the equivalent of ‘seven Eiffel towers.

While the pipeline has not yet been approved by the Peruvian government, there are signs that the pipeline will be given the go-ahead.  Survival’s appeal to the UN comes as the Peruvian government attempts to expel a British environmentalist, Paul McAuley, for speaking out against environmental and human rights abuses in northern Peru.

Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said, “[t]his is as serious as it gets for indigenous people anywhere in the world. Massive oil operations are planned which will destroy the rainforest and could decimate two tribes.”

The other companies interested in petroleum operations in that region are Spain’s Repsol-YPF and U.S.-based ConocoPhillips, which have applied to cut 282 miles of seismic lines in their bid to find oil.

For more information, please see:

Indymedia.org – UN Warned about Oil Pipeline in Peru – 15 October 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Group Says Peru Pipeline will Harm Indians – 15 October 2010

Domain-b.com – Survival International Warns US about Oil Pipeline in Peru -14 October 2010

Survival International – Letter to to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people – 14 October 2010

Opposition Aimed at 2,600 Ordained Boy Monks

David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Child rights activists in Sri Lanka have criticized a plan by the prime minister ordain 2,600 boys as Buddhist monks by next May. Prime Minister Jayaratne says the move is designed to advance the ideology of Buddhism  and life the youth out of poverty.

 

Many Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka are usually ordained at a very young age. Not for nothing next May marks the 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment.

Activists say are adamant over the number and age of the practice of ordaining monks at such a tender age. Reports have surfaced around child sexual abuse in the temples, thought these same accusations are vigorously denied by authorities.

Sri Lanka’s National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has arrested scores of Buddhist monks for alleged sex abuse of boys in their care in recent years.

Just one monk was convicted on sex abuse charges. There have been numerous allegations of abuse from parents and children.

Mr. Jayaratne  says all the young monks will be looked after by the government

Mr. Jayaratne told BBC News the young monks would be helped financially and funded to go to university. The government also plans to provide financial assistance to their families, he said.

Child rights experts claim this fashion of recruitment steals the youth from young boy, in a country hoping to motivate its population; there are more viable options opponent’s challenges.

“I can’t fully compare it with Tamil Tigers’ child soldier recruitment, but there are some similar aspects”, Professor Harendra de Silva Child rights activist said.

They say children as young as 10 have a universal right to be with parents, siblings and friends until they reach the age of 18.

Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne, an activist who is nominated by Sri Lanka to a United Nation child rights panel, said the leading Buddhist monks should show an example by opposing such schemes.

“I think it is our duty to oppose ordaining boys as it is a clear violation of children’s rights,” she said. She articulates that children from wealthy families are rarely ordained at such a young age.

Leading pediatrician, Harendra de Silva, urged the Sri Lankan authorities disallow the Buddhist temples to repeat “what happened in the Catholic Church”, with clear reference to the child sex abuse scandal that led Pope Benedict to offer a formal apology in recent news.

“I strongly condemn this crime against our children,” he said, adding that the government should improve the country’s economy rather than “allowing the children to be abused”.

No public discussion regarding child abuse, particularly in Buddhist temples, will be publicized as this topic is taboo in Sri Lanka, as it is in many conservative societies in South Asia.

The BBC sought, Children’s Affair Minister Tissa Karalliyadda for the government’s interpretation of the wide spread hesitation and fear the boys could be abused, but she was unavailable for questions.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Sri Lankan activists oppose plan to train boys as monks – 15 October 2010

UPI World News –Group slams enforced monk recruitment – 15 October 2010

Lankajournal –Sri Lankan activists oppose plan to train boys as monks – 15 October 2010

Greek Police Fire Tear Gas, Charge At Workers Protesting Unpaid Wages

By Christina Berger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ATHENS, Greece – On Thursday, police in riot gear fired tear gas and charged culture ministry workers who had barricaded themselves within the gates at the Acropolis in protest over unpaid wages.

A court order was issued saying protesters were obstructing access to the iconic site, and the police arrived to remove the protesters.  The police sawed through the fence and sprayed journalists, who were there to cover the event, with pepper spray to clear them out of the way.  Images then show police chasing the workers around the monument, with some workers grabbing onto the fence to prevent their expulsion from the site.  The Acropolis did not open after the removal of the protesters because long-term workers went on strike in solidarity.

The protesting workers claim they are owed five million euros from unpaid salaries over the course of the last two years.  They were also protesting the imminent layoff of 320 culture ministry workers at the end of October, when their contracts expire.

According to the AFP, Telemachos Hytiris, Deputy Culture Minister, offered to speak with the protesters, but the prospect of permanent contracts are not guaranteed.  “Thousands of short-term workers have been laid off until now, the law applies to all,” he said.

The protest at the Acropolis is one of many other staged protests over the recent months due to the austerity measures the Greek government has enacted in order to reduce severe debt.  Greece barely managed to avoid national bankruptcy last spring, and the EU and IMF provided a rescue loan. As a result, they are monitoring the measures Greece is taking to reduce spending.

According to the AP, “authorities are particularly sensitive to protests at the Acropolis, which is seen as an emblem of ancient democracy, particularly as the country largely relies on tourism for revenue.”

George Petalotis, a government spokesman, said, “This is not just an issue of damage to Greek tourism, particularly under the current, difficult circumstances.  It is also an issue of respect for this outstanding monument.”

The protesters have said they felt they had no other choice than to protest at the historic site since the government has ignored a series of court rulings in their favor.  Ioanna Maraveli, a union representative, asked.  “If we are breaking the law by keeping the site closed, is it not also against the law for (the government) to leave us unpaid?”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Greek riot police break up Acropolis protest – 14 October 2010

AP – Riot police, protesters clash at Acropolis – 14 October 2010

BBC – Greek police storm Acropolis protesters – 14 October 2010

Rwandan Opposition Leader Arrested

By Daniel M. Austin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire (Photo Courtsey of Africanews.com
Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire. (Photo Courtesy of Africanews.com).

Kigali, Rwanda- One of Rwanda’s most prominent opposition leaders, Victoire Ingabire, was arrested on Thursday, October 14 after being accused of ties to a terrorist organization. Ms. Ingabire was arrested at her home and brought to a police station in Kigali. She was implicated by Major Vital Uwumuremyi after he was questioned by Rwandan authorities.

Major Uwumuremyi is a former rebel commander of  Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). He was arrested while trying to cross the border from Rwanda into Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) with false identification papers. Major Uwumuremyi is facing charges of buying and distributing firearms and ammunition to a terrorist organization as well as threatening national security and order.

In January 2010, Ms. Ingabire returned to Rwanda after 16 years in exile. She had intended to run for president, challenging current president Paul Kagame, an ethnic Tutsi. However, she was barred from running in the August  election. Along with her presidential aspirations, Ms. Ingabire is the leader of the FDU(United Democratic Forces)-Inkingi party, an opposition group made up of ethnic Hutu’s. During the Rwandan genocide, a conflict between Hutus and Tutsis, an estimated 800,000 people were killed, mostly ethnic Tutsis.

Ms. Ingabire was also arrested in April 2010 after she was accused of associating with a terrorist organization.  Additionally, she was accused of  making comments denying that the Rwandan genocide occurred. She was arrested under the country’s “genocide ideology” statutes which make it a crime to disagree with the official history of the Rwandan genocide. She was also charged with promoting genocide ideology and division.

After Ms. Ingabire was release in April, she was ordered not to travel outside the capital in anticipation of a trial, and Rwandan police continued to investigate her activities.

According to human rights groups. allegations of collaborating with terrorist organizations has been a threat used by the Rwandan government to silence opposition. This notion is further substantiated by a press release from Human Rights Watch on Friday, October 15 urging the Rwandan government to respect the rights of opposition parties and ensure that opposition leaders, like Ms. Ingabire, are treated fairly.

For more information, please see:
AFP — Rwandan police probe after opposition arrest – 15 October 2010.

BBC Africa — Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire arrested – 14 October 2010.

Human Rights Watch — Rwanda: Protect Rights and Safety of Opposition Leaders –15 October 2010.

Reuters Africa — Rwanda arrests opposition leader, rebel fugitive – 14 October 2010.

San Francisco Bay View — Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire arrested – 14 October 2010.