Article 10 - Nul ne doit être accusé, arrêté ni détenu, que dans les cas déterminés par la loi et selon les formes qu'elle a prescrites. Tout citoyen, appelé ou saisi par l'autorité de la loi, doit obéir à l'instant; il se rend coupable par la résistance.
Droits de l'Homme de 1793
{"168737":{"id":"168737","parent":"0","time":"1581179398","url":"http:\/\/newsnet.fr\/168737","source":"http:\/\/www.strategic-culture.org\/news\/2020\/02\/08\/increasing-peril-for-latin-americas-activists-and-indigenous-leaders\/","category":"Latina","title":"Increasing Peril for Latin America's Activists and Indigenous Leaders","catalog-images":"\/","image":"http:\/\/newsnet.fr\/img\/","hub":"newsnet","url-explicit":"http:\/\/newsnet.fr\/art\/increasing-peril-for-latin-america-s-activists-and-indigenous-leaders","admin":"newsnet","views":"509","priority":"3","length":"5536","lang":"en","content":"\u003Cp\u003ERamona Wadi\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIndigenous people, environmental and human rights activists remain at risk of assassination in Latin America. In Nicaragua, 6 indigenous people were \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-51319198\"\u003Ekilled\u003C\/a\u003E by settlers as the struggle over land continues. The indigenous communities have complained of government inaction over the settlers' seizing of land and violence, expressing fear of extermination.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile within a week in Mexico, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/02\/03\/802359415\/sadness-and-worry-after-2-men-connected-to-butterfly-sanctuary-are-found-dead\"\u003Etwo environment activists\u003C\/a\u003E working in a butterfly reserve were found dead. Homero Gomez Gonzalez was discovered drowned and, according to the autopsy, having suffered head trauma. His activism clashed with the interests of illegal logging ventures and clandestine agriculture notably avocado farming, and often advocated for environmental tourism as a stable economic venture. Amado Gomez, Homero's brother, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/citizentruth.org\/missing-mexican-butterfly-activist-found-dead\"\u003Estated\u003C\/a\u003E, \"Something strange is happening, because they're finishing off all the activists, the people who are doing something for society.\"\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERaul Hernandez Romero, a tour guide working in the reserve which was \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/whc.unesco.org\/en\/list\/1290\"\u003Eclassified\u003C\/a\u003E as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008, was found dead, with injuries to the head caused by a sharp object.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Mexico, artist, activist and mother Isabel Cabanillas de la Torre was \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/01\/26\/799695694\/activists-decry-femicides-after-another-woman-is-killed-in-ju-rez-mexico\"\u003Ekilled\u003C\/a\u003E with a bullet to the head. Her activism defended women, the environment and immigrants\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.frontlinedefenders.org\/sites\/default\/files\/global_analysis_2019_web.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ereport\u003C\/a\u003E by Front Line Defenders released in January 2020 reveals that 304 activists were murdered worldwide in 2019. In Colombia, 106 activists were murdered, making Latin America the most dangerous region for human rights, indigenous and environmental protest. Of the murdered activists, 40 were \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2020\/01\/for-colombia-2019-was-a-year-of-environmental-discontent\"\u003Erecognised\u003C\/a\u003E as indigenous leaders, while at least 53 indigenous activists were threatened. In 2018, the region also topped the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2019\/08\/latin-america-saw-most-murdered-environmental-defenders-in-2018\"\u003Estatistics\u003C\/a\u003E for the killings of environment activists.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIndigenous territory remains the target of governments as agriculture and mining endeavours turn towards unexploited land for business. Last Wednesday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stepped up on his earlier rhetoric in 2019 to make indigenous lands \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/brazils-bolsonaro-proposes-bill-allowing-mining-on-indigenous-land\/a-52273665\"\u003Eavailable\u003C\/a\u003E for mining, agriculture and energy companies, purportedly indicating equal opportunity by allowing indigenous communities to participate in the so-called development of their land. Indigenous communities, however, described the bill as \"genocide\".\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn September 2019, a protector of Brazil's indigenous communities was \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-49633136\"\u003Eshot dead\u003C\/a\u003E while riding his motorcycle close to the Brazilian border with Colombia and Peru. A former staff member of FUNAI and chief of environment services, Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was in direct confrontation with the Brazilian government's capitalist policies. His activism, which included refusing entry to hunters, farmers and loggers, also provided \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-49633136\"\u003Eprotection\u003C\/a\u003E for Brazil's uncontacted indigenous communities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFew of these cases will make it to mainstream media headlines with the prominence given to Berta Caceres, Macarena Valdes and Marielle Franco. However, remembrance of each victim is necessary even as Latin American governments largely turn a blind eye to the violence linked to multinational ambitions and government policies. Recently, the Brazilian Ambassador to France, Luis Fernando Serra, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www1.folha.uol.com.br\/internacional\/en\/world\/2020\/02\/brazilian-ambassador-is-outraged-by-frances-attention-to-marielles-death.shtml\"\u003Ecomplained\u003C\/a\u003E of Franco receiving more attention than the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-48645339\"\u003Estabbing\u003C\/a\u003E of Brazil's Bolsonaro when he was a presidential candidate. What Serra leaves out is the difference in intent between the actions of a person deemed mentally ill, in the case of Bolsonaro's stabbing, and the actions of a government intent on annihilating indigenous communities to facilitate access, through oppressive policies, of multinational interests in indigenous lands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe collaboration between the state and its institutions, and multinational companies was also evident in Mexico. As part of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-latin-america-51205114\"\u003Einvestigations\u003C\/a\u003E into Gomez's death, 53 police officers were questioned in relation to the murder. While no information has been forthcoming regarding involvement, Ocampo, where Gomez was murdered is notorious for the operation of violent criminal gangs which secure their power through the bribing of authorities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith organised crime on the rise, operating under the veneer of business and thus serving government interests, activists will be facing increasing peril without any semblance of protection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.strategic-culture.org\/news\/2020\/02\/08\/increasing-peril-for-latin-americas-activists-and-indigenous-leaders\/\"\u003Estrategic-culture.org\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","_links":[]}}