Land conflict

Mexico: Indigenous Mobilization Defends Their Territory

June 9, 2021 Brent Patterson, PBI Canada. Resist! Indigenous Rights, Land conflict, Mexico

On June 8, PBI-Mexico posted: “On Saturday, May 29, PBI accompanied a mobilisation of the indigenous communities of Mogotavo, Bacajípare and Huetosachi, of the Sierra Tarahumara for the defense of life and ancestral territory.” PBI-Mexico further highlights: “These Indigenous communities are at risk for dispossession of their lands.” Among the groups accompanied by PBI-Mexico that day was the Sierra Madre Alliance (ASMAC) which is based in Chihuahua. On May 31, PBI-Mexico had also tweeted: “Team in Chihuahua observes the mobilization of indigenous communities affected by the tourist projects in Barrancas del Cobre, who defend their territory.”

Branding Nicaraguan Meat As ‘Conflict Beef’ Is The Latest Political Attack

October 29, 2020 John Perry, Alliance for Global Justice. Educate! Food and Agriculture, Land conflict, Nicaragua, US Regime Change

Masaya, Nicaragua - Nicaraguan cattle ranchers, spurred by a surge in beef exports to the United States, are alleged to be attacking indigenous communities in eastern Nicaragua, destroying “pristine jungle,” forcing people to flee and killing those who resist, according to Reveal News. In a related report on PBS Newshour, beef imported from Nicaragua during the pandemic is said to “come at a high human cost,” while the Center for Investigative Reporting calls the imports “conflict beef.” These claims are based on allegations by the Oakland Institute in California, whose director Anuradha Mittal says that “the supply chain of beef from Nicaragua is anything but clean.”

Supreme Court Rules Against Oklahoma In Creek Nation Case

July 10, 2020 Chris Casteel, The Oklahoman. Create! Indigenous Rights, Land conflict, Oklahoma, Treaty

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation was not officially terminated at Oklahoma statehood, as justices issued a decision that may upend state jurisdiction in much of eastern Oklahoma. “The federal government promised the Creek a reservation in perpetuity,” the 5-4 decision states. “Over time, Congress has diminished that reservation. It has sometimes restricted and other times expanded the Tribe’s authority. But Congress has never withdrawn the promised reservation.” The decision is expected to have huge implications for criminal, and possibly civil, matters across much of the land that was once Indian Territory. The state attorney general’s office has warned of hundreds of criminal convictions being overturned.

The Criminalization Of Indigenous Land Defenders Is A Global Concern

January 19, 2020 By Brent Patterson, Rabble.ca Resist! Indigenous Resistance, Land conflict

On April 24, 2019, a United Nations media release highlighted: "Indigenous peoples face a worrying escalation in their criminalization and harassment, especially when defending and exercising rights to their territories and natural resources, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues heard today as it continued its third day of discussions." The Inter‑American Commission on Human Rights has defined criminalization as the "manipulation of the punitive power of the State by State and non-State actors in order to control, punish, or prevent the exercise of the right to defend human rights." Land Rights Now adds, "Portraying community leaders and activists as obstacles to development, a risk to national security, undermining traditional values or contributing to disruptive violent events is a common strategy."

Turkey Is On Brink Of Chaotic Battle For Territory, And ISIS Isn’t Main Threat This Time

September 25, 2017 Vijay Prashad, www.alternet.org Educate! Land conflict, Türkiye

By Vijay Prashad for AlterNet - The Turkish army build-up in Reyhanli sends a message to the rebels in Idlib province (Syria), where the Turkish proxies and the al-Qaeda groups have sheltered in anticipation of a large-scale Syrian army operation. Idlib is the last stronghold of the rebellion against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. Rebels elsewhere seem to have lost their determination, as their outside backers have turned away from them and as US air strikes against Damascus seem improbable. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the other Gulf Arab states seem to have lost interest in the Syrian war. Even the Saudi regime has been making noises about a domestic crackdown against the anti-Assad clergy inside the kingdom. Last week, in Astana (Kazakhstan), Iran, Russia, Syria and Turkey agreed to a variety of ‘de-escalation zones’ in Idlib to prevent any hasty military action that would restart a war that seems to be coming to an end. These ‘de-escalation zones’ are intended to produce the confidence for peace talks. Turkey’s troops on the border north of Idlib provide some security guarantees to the various rebels towards talks. The second has to do with the Iraqi Kurdish referendum. The Turkish military exercise near Sirnak, which is towards the Turkish-Iraqi border, sends a strong message to the Iraqi Kurds.

Guatemala’s Indigenous Campesinos Occupy Capital To Protest Land Conflicts

August 30, 2017 Jeff Abbott, www.towardfreedom.com Resist! Guatemala, Indigenous Peoples, Land, Land conflict, Occupation

By Jeff Abbott for Towards Freedom - On August 8, one hundred Q’eqchi Maya families from the Department of Alta Verapaz arrived to the historic center of Guatemala City, the nation’s capital, to establish a permanent presence in an encampment near the Presidential Palace. They have announced that they will remain there until the administration fulfills the agreement between the campesino communities and the government established in April 2015 to end agrarian conflicts within the department. “We are here in front of the National Palace because of the failure of the state to comply with the accords that came after many dialogues with state officials on the land conflicts in Alta Verapaz,” said Carlos Choc, a member of a Q’eqchi community within the Municipality of Coban, Alta Verapaz, and a representative from the Comité Campesino de Altiplano(CCDA), the organization that coordinated the occupation. “To this date, we do not have a response that is the benefit of the Q’eqchi communities,” Choc told Toward Freedom. “Because of this, our Q’eqchi communities have risen up to demand that [President Jimmy Morales] comply and give us a favorable response. We do not want any more dialogues on the conflict over land.” Black plastic tarps hang from ropes tied to the Guatemalan National Palace, creating a series of makeshift tents that have become the home for these families.

Ethiopia Brutally Cracking Down On Months Of Protests

January 24, 2016 Nick Robins-Early, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Ethiopia, Ethnic conflict, killed by police, Land conflict, Police abuse, Police violence

By Nick Robins-Early for Huffington Post. While the protests met their initial goal of stopping the urban expansion, demonstrators have been invigorated by the crackdown and have continued to rally against the government. "The complaints of the protesters have now expanded to include the killing of peaceful protesters and decades of marginalization," Human Rights Watch Horn of Africa researcher Felix Horne told The WorldPost over email. What began as a protest over land rights is now representative of a number of grievances with the government and ruling EPRDF. Ethiopia has seen a period of rapid economic growth in the past 10 years, but its urban and industrial expansion has also resulted in land disputes, corruption and authoritarian crackdowns on opposition groups. As demonstrators increasingly demand solutions for Ethiopia's many social and political problems, rights groups worry that the unrest and violence will continue.

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