DW-World | Defending sacred sites and the environment can land you in jail for being a terrorist, according to indigenous activists in Ecuador. "There are about 200 cases against indigenous activists, campesinos, mextizos and other leaders," according to Pepe Acacho, Vice President of CONAIE, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in Ecuador.
Mining Out of the Amazon
Mining in the Amazon has terrible effects on the livelihoods and health of Indigenous peoples and frontline communities as well as the overall balance of the Amazon’s biological diversity. Yet, mining giants with well-known track records of devastation and rights violations are eyeing Indigenous and traditional communities’ lands and other protected areas in the Amazon.
Despite committing to withdraw from all mining interests in Indigenous lands, multinational companies continue to bulldoze through communities and their territories to complete their mining projects. Banks and asset managers are once again behind this extractive surge by financing these company’s projects.
Humala Victorious as Fujimori Concedes
The Independent | Lima, Peru – The left-wing former army officer Ollanta Humala has won Peru's bitterly contested presidential elections after his hard-right rival Keiko Fujimori conceded defeat.
Protesters Demand the Release of Pepe Acacho and Other Leaders
Protesters in front of the court house where Shuar Indigenous leader Pepe Acacho and others are being processed demand that the charges against them be dropped.
Indigenous Leaders Imprisoned at What Cost?
Latin America Herald Tribune | Quito, Ecuador – One week after a Human Rights Watch report raised concerns about political and media freedoms in Ecuador, Shuar Indigenous leader Pepe Acacho, along with three others, were charged with terrorism and sabotage and arrested in a joint police-military action.
Entrevista con Pepe Luis Acacho desde el Penal
CONAIE | Quito, Ecuador – Pepe Luis Acacho hablo con el equipo de Comunicación Social de la CONAIE, desde el Penal García Moreno de Quito el 5 de febrero del 2011. Sin cámaras, filmadoras ni grabadoras por que no permitieron.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Ecuadorian Indigenous Leaders Arrested
Servindi | Río Blanco, Ecuador – Around 11 am today, several indigenous leaders were arrested in a joint operation of the Army and the National Police. Among those detained is Pepe Acacho, one of the candidates for president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).
Escuela Senen Soi
As a response to increasing threats from logging, oil and gas drilling, industrial agriculture, and mining, the Escuela Senen Soi was launched in 2007 as a training program by and for indigenous leaders of the Peruvian Amazon.
