We would like to inform our friends, allies, press, and the general public about the grave situation that is occurring among the Indigenous Peoples of Imataca and the following corporations: ABB, ELECVEN and EDELCA. These companies, realizing that with lies they have not been able to crush the resistance of indigenous peoples of the villages of Sinfontes and Gran Sabana, have tried to \”buy the conscience\” of the indigenous peoples of the community of San Jose-Km14. They have given them millions of Bolivares, in a supposed mitigation for the damage caused by the powerline, as well as food and sporting goods. In other communities of the Imataca Sector, such as San Miguel de Betania, Santa Lucia de Inaway, etc., ABB, ELECVEN, and EDELCA along with the National Guard, have been handing out food with the ABB logo. With these actions, the corporations are attempting to buy the conscience of the indigenous people’s of Imataca so that they will accept the power line in exchange for more \”basic necessities\”. However, many communities are not accepting these bribes because we are very clear on following fact: That our territories and fundamental rights are far more important than these handouts that the state and corporations are offering us.
Since the beginning of the conflict, our demands have been clear: We do not want Band-Aids (palliatives), nor mirrors; what we want is the title to our territories and the administration and management of the resources that we posses. In addition, before any business or development action on our territory is taken, we want to be consulted and participate in planning in addition to granting approval to a proposed project. Enough is enough. We are tired of the government and businesses’ lack of respect for us, who try to diminish our struggle and continue with their \”business as usual\”: buying the conscience of indigenous peoples. We would like to state that we are not dying of hunger. Please take the food to the poor people in the mountains and the shantytowns that are suffering from hunger.
Our territories are not for sale, they are not to be bought; they are to be respected.
