Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

June 8, 2013

Underreported Struggles: Tahoe Resources security chief ordered assassination of Indigenous activists

Underreported Struggles #74 May 2013

By • Jun 3, 2013
 
Photo by hobgadlng on flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

In this month’s Underreported Struggles: a shocking report on Genocide in Brazil reappears after being ‘lost’ 40 years ago; Tahoe Resources security chief is ‘caught on tape’ ordering the assassination of Indigenous activists; The Gwich’in Nation speaks out against Alaska Governor’s $50 million dollar drilling proposal in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Guatemala’s Public Ministry revealed wiretapping evidence that identified a Tahoe Resources security chief giving direct orders to assassinate indigenous opponents of the Escobal mining project. For months, Tahoe Resources claimed to have no part whatsoever in the murders and kidnappings of Xinca community members who were working to stop the Escobal silver mine. Days after the revelation, a second Tahoe employee was implicated in the violence.
Citizens of the Secwepemc, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht Nations joined up with members of the Wilderness Committee, Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Clayoquot Action and others to confront Imperial Metals at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Vancouver, British Colombia. Among the many concerns raised at the protest were two controversial mining projects that Imperial wants to build in two different Indigenous territories within the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
After being ‘lost’ for more than 40 years, a shocking report into genocide, torture, rape and enslavement of indigenous peoples during Brazil’s military dictatorship has re-surfaced, raising fresh questions about whether the government has made amends and punished those responsible. The 7,000-page Figueiredo report–believed to have been destroyed by a fire at the agriculture ministry–reveal hundreds of severe crimes and many of its perpetrators. The report is now being examined by the National Truth Commission, which is investigating human rights violations between 1947 and 1988.
Read more:
 http://intercontinentalcry.org/underreported-struggles-74-may-2013/

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