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dam-l URGENT ACTION: Colombian Indigenous People Threatened by Rising Waters
ACTION ALERT - December 9, 1999
SUPPORT COLOMBIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S 700-KM MARCH, DAM OCCUPATION TO
PROTEST FLOODING OF THEIR LANDS
"They will not drown the life nor the dignity of the Embera-Katio people."
Dear Friends,
We urge you to support the Embera-Katio people of Colombia who are fighting
against the destruction of their livelihoods by the Urrá Dam. The
government and Urrá S.A. company initiated filling of the reservoir and
flooding of Embera-Katio lands last month despite the fact that
Embera-Katio have not been consulted or given their consent.
In response, 170 Embera-Katio have initiated a 700-km march to Bogotá, the
capital of Colombia, to demand that the government immediately stop filling
the reservoir and initiate negotiations. Over 100 Embera-Katio have also
launched an indefinite occupation of a portion of their territory which
will be flooded for the reservoir. They are not planning to move until
their demands are met.
The Embera-Katio are asking for your support. Please write to the Colombian
authorities and demand that they stop filling the reservoir immediately.
Please also send a copy of your letter to the Embera-Katios to show your
solidarity with their struggle.
More information on their struggle and a sample letter is provided below.
Please contact swong@irn.org for more info.
Thank you,
Susanne Wong
International Rivers Network
email: swong@irn.org
tel: 510-848-1155
fax: 510-848-1008
web: www.irn.org
************************************
PRESS RELEASE - December 9, 1999
International Rivers Network
COLOMBIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE LAUNCH 700-KM MARCH AND DAM OCCUPATION
People Vow to Drown if their Demands are not Met
Last week, 167 members of the Embera-Katio indigenous group launched a
700-kilometer-long march from Tierralta to Bogotá to protest the flooding
of their lands for the $780 million Urrá Dam in Colombia. The Embera-Katio
are demanding that the government immediately stop filling the reservoir
and initiate negotiations.
At the same time, about 120 Embera-Katio people launched an indefinite
occupation of a portion of their lands which will be inundated by the
reservoir. Villagers have constructed huts and are preparing land for
cultivation. The Embera-Katio are planning to remain on their lands and
face the waters until their demands are met.
On November 18, Urrá S.A., the owner of the dam, began filling the
reservoir despite the lack of adequate consultation or agreements with the
Embera-Katio. This action violated the Constitutional Court's suspension of
the project until the Embera-Katio gave their consent. The Embera-Katio
began their march from the Upper Sinú River to focus national and
international attention on their struggle to protect their rights to
livelihood, self-determination, and sustainable management of their
resources. They are set to arrive in Bogotá on December 14.
"We are not going to leave our land, because the government has not come to
an agreement with us. Urrá officials do not have the authority to use our
lands or flood them. These are lands you cannot sell or lease," said the
Embera-Katio in a written statement.
The Urrá Dam was built with financing from government-owned Nordic
Investment Bank, the Canadian Export Development Corporation, Nordbanken
and the Colombian government. Urrá S.A. contracted Swedish company Skanska
and Russian firm Energomachiexport to build the dam.
"The international agencies involved in financing and building this dam
must take action now to ensure that the rights of the Embera-Katio to their
land and their resoures are respected. It is simply inexcusable for these
institutions, which include Canadian and Norwegian government agencies, to
fund such a project and then walk away from their responsibilities to the
affected people," said Monti Aguirre, Latin America Campaigner for
International Rivers Network.
Construction of the Urrá Dam has caused serious impacts throughout the Sinú
River basin and would flood 470 hectares of the Embera-Katio territory. The
dam has impacted fish populations, flooded plaintain fields and disrupted
navigation. Fishing and peasant communities downstream from the dam site
have reported that river flow has diminished considerably, the Lorica
wetlands is drying out and fish are abandoning their breeding grounds.
These communities have insisted on a mitigation plan with Urrá S.A. but
have not reached any agreements.
The Embera-Katio's efforts to negotiate with the government have been
ignored and instead met with violence. Since August 1998, four Embera-Katio
leaders have been killed. The most recent murder occurred in April when
Lucindo Domico Cabrera, one of the leading spokesmen for communities
affected by Urrá, was shot eight times by armed and masked men.
The Embera-Katio are calling on "all of our friends to accompany and
support us in this fight for our lands and our lives. We are defending this
land for all of humanity... to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples
and the environment are respected."
***************************
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear President Pastrana,
I am writing to urge you to immediately stop the filling of the reservoir
for the Urrá Dam. I am concerned that the filling of the reservoir was
initiated without the consultation or agreement of the Embera-Katio people,
and in violation of the Constitutional Court's ruling that the project be
suspended until the Embera-Katio give their full consent. I understand that
the Embera-Katio are in the middle of a 700-km march to focus attention on
the struggle for their livelihoods, and I urge you to begin negotiations
with them when they arrive in Bogotá.
I also hope that you will take necessary steps to ensure that the internal
conflict in Colombia does not affect the Embera-Katio communities and that
measures are taken to mitigate the impact of the project on the peasants
and fishermen living along the Sinú River.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
*****************************
Please Send Letters to the Following Addresses
Dirigir las comunicaciones a:
His Excellency Sr. ANDRES PASTRANA ARANGO
Presidente de la República de Colombia
Palacio de Narino
Santafe de Bogotá
Carrera 8 No. 7-60
Colombia
email: pastrana@presidencia.gov.co
fax: 57 1 284 2186 or 57 1 289 3377 or 57 1 286 7434
Dr. JUAN MAYR MALDONADO
Ministro del Medio Ambiente
Calle 37 No. 8-40
Bogotá
Colombia
fax: 57 1 288 9788
email: juan-mayr-m@hotmail.com
*********************************
Please Send Copies of Your Letter to
***CABILDOS MAYORES DEL RIO VERDE Y DEL RIO SINU***
Apartado Aéreo 770 de Monteria
Colombia
email: camaemka@col3.telecom.com.co
ORGANIZACION NACIONAL INDIGENA DE COLOMBIA
Calle 13 No. 4-38.
Bogotá
Colombia
email: onic@colnodo.apc.org
ORGANIZACIÓN INDIGENA DE ANTIOQUIA
Cra. 49 No. 63-57.
Medellin
Colombia
email: indigena@medellin.impsat.net.co
EL TIEMPO (newspaper)
email: frajar@eltiempo.com.co
EL COLOMBIANO (newspaper)
email: elcolombiano@elcolombiano.com.co
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susanne Wong
Campaigns Assistant
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94703
Tel: 1.510.848.1155 ext 316
Fax: 1.510.848.1008
web: www.irn.org
email: swong@irn.org