(Do something nice for the indigenous people around you. If you are indigenous…try to not be too indignant. It’s your day!–cd)
(I realize that the above picture is outrageous…please read the comment I’ve posted at the bottom of this story…the outrageous thing is that atrocities like that above are being committed every day in our indgenous communities…..cd)
Message from the Director-General on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People.
In 2004 the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995-2004) came to an end. Its main merit was that it had centred the attention of the United Nations on the need for awareness of the problems encountered by indigenous peoples the world over. The time has now come to consider new perspectives and strengthen international cooperation in order to meet these peoples’ expectations.
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, 9 August, marks the day on which the Working Group on Indigenous Populations met for the first time in 1982. It should act as an occasion for thinking about this process and taking part in it.
Faced with the reality of the living conditions of indigenous people, which often remain precarious, the General Assembly of the United Nations, at its 59th session, proclaimed a second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, from 2005 to 2014.
The second Decade will provide UNESCO with an opportunity to pursue and intensify its efforts to promote the cultures of indigenous people and their fundamental rights. It will also offer the occasion to emphasize the need to mainstream culture in every development policy. Such mainstreaming is all the more necessary when indigenous people are involved, since they have a holistic vision of the world and maintain a special link with their environment.
It is therefore essential to strengthen the partnership with indigenous people by improving the mechanisms for the consultation of communities and arranging their participation in projects undertaken in UNESCO’s fields of competence. A central plank of our work will be to give greater thought to an issue of overriding importance for indigenous people – namely their informed, free and prior consent – and its application in the processes of project formulation and execution.
(Okay…never mind…be very indignant…cd)
Wave of violence rocks world’s tribes
As the UN celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day on 9
August, the world’s tribes have been rocked by a
wave of violent attacks and killings.
Papua: The Indonesian army attacked the Lani
village of Pyramid in the Papuan highlands in
July. Soldiers cut the face and body of Lani man
Petto Wenda with a razor and a knife before
pouring petrol on his head and setting him on
fire. He is not expected to survive. Two other
men were shot and have now disappeared in the
jungle, where the rest of the villagers are also
hiding. Earlier this year, the army and police
killed a tribal leader, a child and an elder in
the village of Nggweyage. They also burned down
houses and churches. An estimated six and a half
thousand people fled their villages. Too afraid
to leave their hiding places, at least fifty died
from starvation and disease.
Brazil: A Guarani Indian was shot dead on 26 June
by gunmen hired by ranchers, only hours after he
and his people had moved back on to the land from
which they were evicted thirty years ago. Two
Truká Indians were shot dead on 30 June by a
police ‘death squad’, and an old Guajajara Indian
leader was shot dead on 10 June by assassins
believed to be working for the soya planters
invading his land. Meanwhile the tiny uncontacted
tribe of Rio Pardo are being shot at by loggers
invading their territory.
Botswana: Seven Gana and Gwi Bushmen were
tortured in June by government wildlife officials
– as punishment for hunting. The Gana and Gwi
rely on hunting to feed their families, but the
government has evicted them from their land in
the Kalahari and has banned them from hunting
there. Victim Letshwao Nagayame said, ‘They beat
us up badly. I think they wanted to kill usÅ . The
officials pulled my testicles and penis, beat me
up, and kicked me, while one man smashed my
knuckles on the hard floor.’
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today,
‘These acts of horrific violence are being
perpetrated against the world’s most vulnerable
people, whose existence is already threatened by
theft of their land and destruction of their way
of life. All too often, those responsible for
violence against tribal peoples are not brought
to justice. Survival is calling today for an end
to these crimes.’
Petto Wenda’s brother Benny Wenda from Pyramid in
Papua is in the UK and is available for interview.
Photos and footage available. For more
information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20
7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org