Last Updated on November 14, 2011
Venezuela: we denounce the forced delocation of indigenous
by wayùu of the Perija Mountains
March 21, 2007
We, the indigenous Wayúu inhabitants of the Socuy, Mache and Cachirí river baisns in the Sierra de Perijá, in the western state of Zulia, in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, inform all women and men of the world that our humble community, just as the Yukpa and Barí communities, will be forcefully relocated by the national government so that it may hand over our territories to multi-national coal companies, because the innards of the imperial monster needs more cheap coal to continue plaguing the peoples of the world with death, misery, and hunger.
There cannot be a XXI Century Socialism in our country without us, the indigenous – and if there are no rights to autonomous territories, free of mines and large hereditary landholders, only some expressed in legal papers – but
as a nuisance to miners, oil people, gas people and large hereditary land holders, today they wish to eliminate us with their racist tale of sovereignty and national unity, as if we the indigenous are not also sons the god Maleiwua, Guaicaipuro, and Bolivar.
In these moments, the National Government, thru its Corporation of Development of the Zulia Region (Corpozulia), heads a final attack along with multi-national company operators against our humble indigenous families, to obligate us to sell them our lands, just as they imposed on us years ago during the opening of the Paso Diablo
Mine* and the North Mine in the Guasare river basin, and more recently in the Las Carmelitas Mine near the Los Tres Rios dam.
We denounce the genocide and ecocide that is deepening in the foothills of the Sierra de Perijá along the border region with Colombia on the western arm of the great Andean Mountain range by the hands of Corpozulia, Carbozuliam Anglo American Coal, Inter-American Coal, Peabody, Carbonífera Caño Seco represented by the former president of Telecom Eiram, Brendan Hynes from Ireland, Corporación Carbones del Perijá of Chile represented by María Victoria Quiroga M. and Álvaro Guell V., Energy Resources, among others.
Wayúu Indigenous Organization of the Socuy and Maché Maikiratasalii
Autonomous Indigenous Territories
Free of Mines and Large Landholders.
* Paso Diablo Mine is owned impart by Peabody Coal/Peabody Energy Corporation.
http://www.peabodyenergy.com/Operations/CoalOperations-Venezuela.asp
http://tierraylibertad.contrapoder.org.ve
(source)
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
