To promote dialogue between the government and indigenous peoples
APU PIZANGO HAS THE RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS AND TO REGAINING HIS FREEDOM
The Human Rights Association of Peru (APRODEH) requests for the issuance of comparecencia (provisional release pending a future court date) as well as guarantees of due process for President of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Forest (AIDESEP), Alberto Pizango, who after almost a year of exile was detained following his arrival in Peru yesterday.
APRODEH, as part of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), is asking the Peruvian government to cease all judicial harassment against organizations and indigenous leaders involved in the Amazonian protests last year. As they are not actually based on any substantial evidence, the criminal investigations and arrest warrants against the leaders or members of the indigenous peoples’ organizations should be lifted.
Indigenous leader Alberto Pizango received an arrest warrant for allegedly perpetrating the crimes of rebellion, sedition, and mutiny against public order, and for making offensive claims against the state and its constitutional order. The accusation against Pizango was made in May 2009, after the indigenous leader took part in a press conference during which he expressed support for the Amazonian protest.
APRODEH maintains that sufficient evidence does not exist to hold Pizango accountable of these crimes, as the indigenous leader’s statements during the conference were in fact not intended to undermine the constitutional order. Rather, APRODEH argues, Pizango was simply exercising his right to freedom of expression in regard to the indigenous demands. Therefore, we demand that the 37 Criminal Court change the charges to comparecencia as there was no legal basis for detention at the time of arrest.
Moreover, we remind the government to abide by the recommendation made by James Anaya, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations, in reference to the issue of indigenous human rights and fundamental freedoms. In response to the events at Bagua, Anaya stated: “Criminal proceedings should not be the standard means of dealing with social conflict and protest, but should be applied as a last resort and strictly limited to the principle of vital social necessity in a democratic society”.
Changing the legal charge to comparecencia would represent the entitlement of rights to a high-ranking indigenous leader, and could be example of a peaceful solution to the conflict in Amazonia.
APRODEH and the FIDH reiterate that the promotion of dialogue will allow for both sides to address the roots of the conflict, their solutions, and the pursuit of a necessary reconciliation.
[Translated from Spanish by Amazon Watch]
