22 more reasons to go to the HRW Film Festival
Today 22 indigenous Peruvians were killed along with 9 police officers in the northern Bagua region in the Amazon. The killings occurred after a group of indigenous protesters allegedly kidnapped police while they were refueling their trucks. Furious at a two month blockade of government roads, President Alan Garcia Perez ordered army and police into the region to dispel the protests. Details are unfolding, but there have been confirmed reports of police shooting live ammunition at the protesters from helicopters.
Why does this matter?
The indigenous Peruvians were protesting over a decision by the government to develop oil resources in the Amazon. They were concerned that the government would despoil their region — and they have very good reason to be worried.
A few hundred miles north, Chevron-Texaco and the Ecuadorian government polluted the rivers and streams of the indigenous peoples there. This is the subject of the film Crude, which will screen next week at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.
The killing of the police officers is also tragic. But sadly, the desire of the Peruvian government to exploit the resources of the indigenous is part of a tradition in Peru. Just over 100 years ago, the Peruvian Rubber company committed a genocide against the Huitoto Indians on the Putumayo river near the city of Iquitos. This slaughter is the subject of my short story, Indian Hunting on the Putumayo, which is itself a chapter of my novel. I try not to plug my own work on this site, but this is tragic.
If you don’t feel like reading, go see Crude.
If you want to give money to an organization that supports indigenous rights throughout Latin America, consider The Rainforest Foundation.
–Deji Olukotun
