Posts Tagged ‘repression’

Violence Flares in Peru

June 11th, 2009 | by Chris Hufstader

In recent weeks indigenous people in Peru have been protesting against new laws that will allow the government to grant foreign companies access to oil, gas, and mineral resources on their community lands. Indigenous people have the right to be consulted about these sorts of decisions under international law, but the government says the resources belong to the entire country. This past weekend there were violent confrontations between the protesters and the police resulting in 50 deaths. Both sides are accusing the other of human rights violations.

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End the intimidation in Ghana

May 29th, 2009 | by Chris Hufstader
Community meeting in a small village in Ghana, where explosions in a nearby mine pit routinely shake people's homes.  Photo by Chris Hufstader/Oxfam America

Community meeting in a small village in Ghana, where explosions in a nearby mine pit routinely shake people

Going out to visit farmers in villages displaced by mines is usually a sobering experience. I’ve done this in Ghana, Mali, Peru, and Honduras. A few farmers get a job at the mine, but they seem to be lucky. Most of the time the farmers tell me tragic stories:

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