The president of the Confederation of Ethnic Peoples (COMPAH) of Honduras reported that Elipidio Martinez Chavarria, leader of the Pech of eastern Honduras, was fatally shot on Saturday in Dulce Nombre de Culmi, Olancho province. Martinez was the head of the Federation of Pech Tribes of Honduras and was a leading force against landowners and loggers taking over indigenous lands in the region. The motive for the killing is unknown, but COMPAH believes that Chavarria’s death was linked to the defense of land.

Good News! Below is a press release from our campaign partner, the Rainforest Foundation in the UK.  Since January this year, we’ve been sending letters to World Bank president James Wolfensohn on behalf of DRC forest communities. The good news is that Wolfensohn agreed to listen directly to indigenous peoples of DRC, and promises continued dialogue with them concerning the Bank’s plans for forest exploitation.  THANKS for every letter you wrote on this issue!  More letters will certainly help.
 
 
RAINFOREST FOUNDATION
PRESS RELEASE

 The Twa were the first inhabitants of the equatorial forests of the Great Lakes region. Originally a high-altitude forest people, inhabiting the mountains of the Albertine Rift Area in Central Africa, they specialized in hunting and gathering. At present, the Twa of the Great Lakes region of Central Africa live in Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and southwest Uganda.

Global Response is very happy to report on the inspiring March for Life in Honduras, which ended with a peaceful and powerful rally in Tegucigalpa on June 30.  Thanks to all who sent letters in support of the march to Honduran government officials.

During a protest at the Coca airport last week, 50 indigenous people from the Siona, Huaorani, Cofan, and Shuar groups demanded that Texaco pay $6 billion to clean up half a million hectares of land polluted by former oil productions. Representatives for Texaco said they had spent $40 million already and did not intend to spend more.

The European Roma Rights Center sent a letter to the United Nations and Kosovo officials protesting the recent violence against the Roma by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The letter, which presents evidence documenting the destruction of approximately 70 Roma homes, urges authorities to investigate the violence and punish those responsible.

In 2002, at the request of environmentalists in Siberia, we urged the Russian government to reject a proposal to build an oil pipeline through Tunkinskii National Park to China. We issued an action alert on behalf of Russian environmental organizations and Pacific Environment who were trying to stop construction of an oil pipeline through "Russia's Yellowstone".

On January 25, the Sarayacu community in the Ecuadorian Amazon declared a state of emergency to defend their territories and stop exploration and exploitation of their lands by the Argentina General Fuel Company (CGS). As part of the declaration, the Sarayacu have created 25 Peace and Life Camps, each comprised of 150 members. The action comes in the wake of President Lucio Gutiérrez’s statement last week that CGS oil projects would continue in the area.

The Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe are awaiting the outcomes of negotiations with Peabody Coal Company over use of the Navajo-aquifer in Black Mesa, Arizona. To many of the region’s 30,000 residents who rely on the N-aquifer as their primary water source, Peabody’s operations are environmentally and culturally unacceptable.

Sarayaku President Marlon Santi met with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington to discuss a recent battle between the Sarayaku and the Argentine oil company CGC. CGC has announced plans to drill on traditional land against indigenous wishes but with the complete support of the Ecuadorian Government.