Washington D.C. – Amazon Watch is urging the Peruvian government to avoid violence after hundreds of native Amazonians today occupied Peru’s largest oil facility in protest at the toxic devastation of their ancestral lands.
The desperate move by 700 members of the Achuar ethnic group comes after three decades of oil drilling by Los Angeles based Occidental Petroleum (OXY), and now Pluspetrol from Argentina, on their once-pristine rainforest territories in the Loreto region, near the Ecuador border. Nearly one million barrels of untreated toxic waste from the drilling is dumped directly into the rainforest every day. The Achuar are now suffering a public health crisis according to a recent Peruvian Health Ministry report.
The Peruvian government has sent in the army, reportedly with orders to use force, and the Achuar have demanded assurances that their lives will not be threatened. Amazon Watch Executive Director Atossa Soltani said: “This is a very volatile situation. We urge the Peruvian government to resolve this matter peacefully and meet the Achuar’s demands, which are entirely reasonable. If any blood is spilt, it will be on the hands of the Peruvian government and Pluspetrol, the oil company which runs the refinery.”
The final straw came for the Achuar when representatives from the Peruvian government failed to show for a scheduled meeting to discuss the communities’ grievances, which include the cessation within 12 months of the dumping and the immediate provision of potable water and medical treatment.
In a statement, the Achuar said: “We demand a serious dialogue of equals between the government and our indigenous authorities which legitimately represent us in order to propose immediate measures for the cessation of the contamination and to attend to our population which is sick from poisoning from lead, cadmium and other toxins used in the oil operations.”
The development placed Alan Garcia, the President of Peru, firmly in the spotlight as he visited Washington D.C. to meet with President George Bush earlier today to discuss a bilateral “free trade” pact with the U.S.
Pluspetrol says it can re-inject 20% of the toxic waste deep back into the ground by 2009 rather than dumping it into the rainforest. Pedro Gamio, Peru’s Under-Secretary of Energy and Mines, says the government is pushing Pluspetrol for complete re-injection by 2009. The Achuar want 100% re-injection within one year and no new drilling on their lands, including by US oil major ConocoPhillips, which owns major concessions in the area.
Amazon Watch is also calling on Occidental Petroleum (OXY) to take responsibility for the toxic legacy and respect the rights of the Achuar people. Q’orianka Kilcher, the young star of the film entitled “The New World” who traveled to the Achuar territory with Amazon Watch in July, sent a letter to OXY requesting the implementation of the company’s Human Rights Policy enacted in December 2005. The company has not responded.
For background on the Achuar’s struggle to protect their lands and communities, visit www.amazonwatch.org
