Eighty Lumad leaders issue Declaration for Rights, Autonomy and Peace
By John Ahni Schertow, November 21, 2012. Source: Intercontinental Cry
Photo: Le Montage
More than eighty Lumad leaders from around Mindanao have issued a joint declaration reasserting their rights and urging all other stakeholders in Mindanao’s peace processes to let the Lumad Peoples live in peace.
The Midsayap Declaration follows the “Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on the Peace Processes in Mindanao” held in Midsayap, North Cotabato, on November 3-6, 2012.
The four-day conference brought the Indigenous leaders together with representatives of Mindanao’s peace panels to discuss the terms of the recently signed Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB). The preliminary agreement, which lays the groundwork for ‘enduring peace’ in Mindanao, was signed on Oct 15, 2012, after nine years of peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
For more than three decades, MILF–and at least 3 other armed groups—fought a war independence in Mindanao, where Muslim Filipinos (Bangsamoros, or more simply Moros) have lived since the 15th century. During the course of the war, some 2 million people were displaced and up to 150,000 were killed.
The Lumad did their best to stay stay out of conflict, however, the Moro armed groups MILF and the MNLF along with the Communist-led New People’s Army and the armed forces of the Philippines–constantly turned to the Lumad to fill their ranks. All the while, few seemed to notice that the Lumad also held aspirations of freedom and autonomy; they just weren’t willing to take it by force.
Now, with the signing of FAB, a true end to the decades-long conflict is on the horizon; the Lumad just want to make sure that their hopes and needs aren’t once again pushed to the site and that they can continue to live on their lands in accordance with their own customs and traditions.
A central part of FAB is the proposed creation of an autonomous political entity for the Bangsamoro known as “Bangsamoro Territory”. Governed by Shari’ah law, the proposed territory would cover the region currently known as the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Sadly, FAB does not provide for Lumad autonomy; but it does take Indigenous Peoples Rights into consideration. Article I Section 5 on the Establishment of the Bangsamoro, states that the “freedom of choice of other indigenous peoples shall be respected.” Artcile III Section 6 on Powers, further states that the “customary rights and traditions of indigenous peoples shall be taken into consideration in the formation of the Bangsamoro’s justice system” and that “this may include the recognition of indigenous processes as alternative modes of dispute resolution.” Finally, Article VI Section 3 on Basic Rights, provides that “indigenous peoples’ rights shall be respected.”
Satisfied by these words, the Lumad agree in their declaration to commit to all Mindanao peace processes while reasserting their distinct identity, their ancestral lands and rights, the primacy of their customary laws as well as their traditional governance and justice systems.
The Lumad also outlined a set of 15 requests to the Government of Philippines, the revolutionary groups and other stakeholders in the peace processes. Most notably, they ask the stakeholders to work to fully implement the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act; to fully implement and establish the Autonomous Region of Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao; to spare the ancestral domains of the Indigenous Peoples from becoming battlegrounds in the future and to support its declaration as Zones of Peace; to stop the recruitment of Indigenous Peoples, especially women and children; and to launch open and continuous multi stakeholders dialogue between the communities and the armed groups.
The Lumad represent a total of seventeen distinct Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao, namely: Atta, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray and Ubo. Their combined population is roughly 13 million.
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Article source: GJEP Climate Connections Blog
Eighty Lumad leaders issue Declaration for Rights, Autonomy and Peace
By John Ahni Schertow, November 21, 2012. Source: Intercontinental Cry
Photo: Le Montage
More than eighty Lumad leaders from around Mindanao have issued a joint declaration reasserting their rights and urging all other stakeholders in Mindanao’s peace processes to let the Lumad Peoples live in peace.
The Midsayap Declaration follows the “Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on the Peace Processes in Mindanao” held in Midsayap, North Cotabato, on November 3-6, 2012.
The four-day conference brought the Indigenous leaders together with representatives of Mindanao’s peace panels to discuss the terms of the recently signed Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB). The preliminary agreement, which lays the groundwork for ‘enduring peace’ in Mindanao, was signed on Oct 15, 2012, after nine years of peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
For more than three decades, MILF–and at least 3 other armed groups—fought a war independence in Mindanao, where Muslim Filipinos (Bangsamoros, or more simply Moros) have lived since the 15th century. During the course of the war, some 2 million people were displaced and up to 150,000 were killed.
The Lumad did their best to stay stay out of conflict, however, the Moro armed groups MILF and the MNLF along with the Communist-led New People’s Army and the armed forces of the Philippines–constantly turned to the Lumad to fill their ranks. All the while, few seemed to notice that the Lumad also held aspirations of freedom and autonomy; they just weren’t willing to take it by force.
Now, with the signing of FAB, a true end to the decades-long conflict is on the horizon; the Lumad just want to make sure that their hopes and needs aren’t once again pushed to the site and that they can continue to live on their lands in accordance with their own customs and traditions.
A central part of FAB is the proposed creation of an autonomous political entity for the Bangsamoro known as “Bangsamoro Territory”. Governed by Shari’ah law, the proposed territory would cover the region currently known as the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Sadly, FAB does not provide for Lumad autonomy; but it does take Indigenous Peoples Rights into consideration. Article I Section 5 on the Establishment of the Bangsamoro, states that the “freedom of choice of other indigenous peoples shall be respected.” Artcile III Section 6 on Powers, further states that the “customary rights and traditions of indigenous peoples shall be taken into consideration in the formation of the Bangsamoro’s justice system” and that “this may include the recognition of indigenous processes as alternative modes of dispute resolution.” Finally, Article VI Section 3 on Basic Rights, provides that “indigenous peoples’ rights shall be respected.”
Satisfied by these words, the Lumad agree in their declaration to commit to all Mindanao peace processes while reasserting their distinct identity, their ancestral lands and rights, the primacy of their customary laws as well as their traditional governance and justice systems.
The Lumad also outlined a set of 15 requests to the Government of Philippines, the revolutionary groups and other stakeholders in the peace processes. Most notably, they ask the stakeholders to work to fully implement the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act; to fully implement and establish the Autonomous Region of Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao; to spare the ancestral domains of the Indigenous Peoples from becoming battlegrounds in the future and to support its declaration as Zones of Peace; to stop the recruitment of Indigenous Peoples, especially women and children; and to launch open and continuous multi stakeholders dialogue between the communities and the armed groups.
The Lumad represent a total of seventeen distinct Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao, namely: Atta, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray and Ubo. Their combined population is roughly 13 million.
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Canadian mining on trial: Guatemalan delegation traveling to Canada to challenge corporate impunity
Note: The human rights abuses caused by Canadian mining companies in Latin America and in Canada are unacceptable. Canada and Canadian-owned companies have a horrific track record for respecting the rights of indigenous peoples. From Hydro Quebec’s continuing land grabs on Innu territory in northeastern Quebec to the Albertan Tar Sands and the Pacific Trails Pipeline on Wet’suwet’en land, Canada is waging a full-on assault on indigenous cultures. And that war is also being waged abroad, as is the case in Guatemala. Hudbay Minerals must be brought to justice for the crimes it has committed against the Q’eqchi’ people.
-The GJEP Team
By Dawn Paley, November 21, 2012. Source: Dominion
Angelica and German on the porch of Angelica’s house. Photo: Ricardo Hubb
EL ESTOR, GUATEMALA—The rain won’t let up. It muddies the ground and pounds the corrugated metal roof of Angelica Choc’s house on the edge of the Guatemalan town of El Estor, enveloping the small gathering on the porch in a curtain of water. If it wasn’t for the violence surrounding a proposed nickel mine near the community, the evening’s gathering would likely have included her husband, Adolfo Ich. Maybe, at the end of the gathering, Ich would have taken out his guitar and begun an impromptu sing-a-long.
But there’s no celebration here. Instead, Choc sits on a plastic chair, sipping sweet coffee, talking through the logistics of an upcoming trip to Toronto with her sister-in-law, Maria Cuc Choc and their friend German Chub. All three are worried about how German, who is paralyzed from the waist down, will manage on the flight. What if he has to go to the bathroom on the plane, they wonder. They discuss what kind of clothes they might need for the cold. There are another two women accompanying them on the trip, and none of them own suitcases. The conversation slips back and forth between Spanish and Q’eqchi’, punctuated by laughter.
On the wall near the front door of Choc’s small wooden house is a simple altar in memory of her late husband. Two framed photos of Ich hang on the wall, his gaze straight and serious. His guitar hangs on the wall, gathering dust. A longtime Q’eqchi’ activist involved in various land struggles, Ich was murdered in September 2009 by private security guards in the employ of Hudbay Minerals.
“We’re going to travel [to Canada] because we want to demand justice,” Choc told The Dominion. “I have faith and hope that we’ll be successful. That’s what we want.” Choc, Chub, Cuc, and two others will travel to Canada for cross-examination by Hudbay’s legal team during the last week in November.
“This will be the first time, as far as I know, that individuals harmed by Canadian mining projects in other countries will have travelled to Canada to provide evidence for use in Canadian courts,” according to Grahame Russell of Rights Action, a solidarity organization involved in supporting community members resisting nickel mining in the El Estor region. “The questioning, under oath, will take place out of court and may be used in court.”
Toronto’s Klippensteins, Barristers Solicitors, is representing the plaintiffs, whose claims against the Guatemala operations of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals are serious.
“The evidence that both sides are collecting right now (including the November cross-examinations) will be used at a March hearing which will determine whether the lawsuit should be heard in Canada or in Guatemala,” Cory Wanless, a lawyer at Klippensteins, told The Dominion via email from Toronto. “This is obviously a very important question with potentially very significant ramifications for the rest of the Canadian mining industry.”
“The brutal and arbitrary shooting of Adolfo Ich was caused by the negligent management of Hudbay Minerals both in Canada and in Guatemala,” reads theStatement of Claim filed by Angelica Choc in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Ich and Choc had five children. Their son José, who witnessed the killing, says the security guards hacked at Adolfo with a machete before shooting him in the head.
Angelica Choc is confident that her case is solid. “We know very well who those responsible are, they can’t tell us otherwise,” she said. “We lived it, we’re the ones who have suffered, here, in the flesh.”
The same day Ich was brutally murdered, German Chub was shot by mine security, permanently losing the use of his lower body. The man responsible for the killings, Mynor Padilla, has been jailed in Guatemala since September of this year. Despite high levels of conflict in the area, Chub’s Statement of Claim alleges, “Hudbay Minerals continued to engage under-trained, inadequately supervised and unlawful security personnel while failing to implement or enforce standards of conduct that would adequately govern and control their conduct.”
Chub and Choc are both seeking upwards of $10 million in damages.
“I’m going to Canada with high spirits, in hopes that [Hudbay Minerals] recognizes the harm that they have done to me,” Chub told The Dominion. “I want justice.” Not only has Chub been confined to a wheelchair since 2009, but he still feels threatened by company workers who park in front of his house and monitor his movements. When he wheels himself onto the plane to Canada, it will be his first time leaving Guatemala.
Travelling together with Chub and Choc are Rosa Elbira and Margarita Caal Caal, two women from Lote Ocho, a more distant Q’eqchi’ community where residents were forcibly evicted in early 2007. Their community is built on lands claimed by the company. “During these armed evictions, eleven Mayan Q’eqchi’ women were gang-raped by police, military and mine security personnel,” reads their Statement of Claim. Each of the women is seeking $5 million in damages.
For Maria Cuc, who is Angelica’s sister, the cases against Hudbay are one element of her people’s struggle for land. “Here, there are many transnational companies, foreign companies, which are buying land that belongs to our grandparents,” she told The Dominion. Regardless of the risks to their safety, and of the cold winter that awaits them in Toronto, Cuc, Choc, Chub and others are determined to continue their quest for justice.
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Article source: GJEP Climate Connections Blog
Victory! California coastal panel denies permit for offshore earthquake study near nuclear power plant
The proposed survey by Pacific Gas Electric Co. involves firing sonic pulses into the ocean. Sensors on the seafloor would pick up the echoes to create 3-D maps of geologic faults that the utility said are needed to understand the seismic hazards around the Diablo Canyon facility.
“If you live near a nuclear plant, wouldn’t you want more certainty in the assumptions that are being made?” asked Mark Krausse, a PGE director.
But commissioners said the impact to sensitive marine mammals along the Central Coast would be too great, and they felt PGE did not make the case that such testing was necessary.
In a statement, PGE said it was disappointed with the decision and will evaluate its next move. It could reapply for a permit, but several commissioners indicated they would be hard-pressed to change their minds if the issue came up again.
The commission’s staff had urged the panel to reject the plan. In a report this month, the staff said sonic blasts would cause “significant and unavoidable impacts to marine resources.” More than 7,000 sea mammals would be disturbed by the ear-piercing noise, including fin whales, blue whales, humpback whales, and harbor porpoises.
PGE acknowledged that the noise could cause short-term disruption to animals, but said similar research has been done around the world without long-term harm.
The damage that strong shaking can cause to nuclear reactors came under scrutiny after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s coast triggered tsunami waves, which swamped the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant last year.
Even before the Fukushima disaster, state law mandated that utilities conduct extensive seismic studies of nuclear facilities, but did not specify the type of research.
Perched on an 85-foot bluff above the Pacific, Diablo Canyon sits within three miles of two underwater earthquake faults, including one that was discovered in 2008.
PGE came up with a four-pronged approach that includes the use of high-energy seismic imaging technology. Under the ratepayer-funded study, a research boat would tow 18 air guns that would emit sonic blasts into the ocean every 10 to 20 seconds for several days. The utility had hoped to conduct the study between November and December to avoid peak breeding and migration seasons.
In August, a State Lands Commission environmental impact study determined there would be unavoidable consequences to marine life during the testing. But the panel ultimately decided the project’s benefits outweighed the environmental risks.
Scores of conservation groups and other parties sent letters to the coastal commission opposing the project and turned out in force at Wednesday’s meeting in Santa Monica. Some wore “Stop Ocean Blasting” T-shirts, and others held signs.
Michael Jasny with the Natural Resources Defense Council testified that the air guns would inflict “severe and profound insult” on sea life.
Representatives from the Northern Chumash Tribal Council said their ancestors have inhabited the coastline for thousands of years. They urged the panel to protect the ecosystem.
“We cannot let this happen,” tribal administrator Fred Collins said. “Please do not let this project go forward.”
Mandy Davis, spokeswoman for a newly formed group called the Citizens Opposing Acoustic Seismic Testing, said the Pacific would become an “acoustic prison” if the project went forward.
Many claimed the utility had done too little to explore other, less damaging options and said it should analyze data it collected from previous studies before embarking on a new one. Krausse of PGE countered that different studies provide different information.
To minimize impact to sea life, PGE proposed starting off with one air cannon at a low decibel before ramping up to full power. It also planned to have spotters on the vessel and in an aircraft to alert operators of marine mammals in the region. Air guns would be silenced and work would cease if an animal strays too close.
The twin-reactor Diablo Canyon generates enough electricity to power more than 3 million homes in Central and Northern California. After the Japanese nuclear crisis, the utility asked federal nuclear regulators to delay issuing extended operating permits until thorough seismic studies are completed. The permits expire in 2024 and 2025.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require 3-D fault mapping for license renewal.
Article source: GJEP Climate Connections Blog
Victory! California coastal panel denies permit for offshore earthquake study near nuclear power plant
The proposed survey by Pacific Gas Electric Co. involves firing sonic pulses into the ocean. Sensors on the seafloor would pick up the echoes to create 3-D maps of geologic faults that the utility said are needed to understand the seismic hazards around the Diablo Canyon facility.
“If you live near a nuclear plant, wouldn’t you want more certainty in the assumptions that are being made?” asked Mark Krausse, a PGE director.
But commissioners said the impact to sensitive marine mammals along the Central Coast would be too great, and they felt PGE did not make the case that such testing was necessary.
In a statement, PGE said it was disappointed with the decision and will evaluate its next move. It could reapply for a permit, but several commissioners indicated they would be hard-pressed to change their minds if the issue came up again.
The commission’s staff had urged the panel to reject the plan. In a report this month, the staff said sonic blasts would cause “significant and unavoidable impacts to marine resources.” More than 7,000 sea mammals would be disturbed by the ear-piercing noise, including fin whales, blue whales, humpback whales, and harbor porpoises.
PGE acknowledged that the noise could cause short-term disruption to animals, but said similar research has been done around the world without long-term harm.
The damage that strong shaking can cause to nuclear reactors came under scrutiny after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s coast triggered tsunami waves, which swamped the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant last year.
Even before the Fukushima disaster, state law mandated that utilities conduct extensive seismic studies of nuclear facilities, but did not specify the type of research.
Perched on an 85-foot bluff above the Pacific, Diablo Canyon sits within three miles of two underwater earthquake faults, including one that was discovered in 2008.
PGE came up with a four-pronged approach that includes the use of high-energy seismic imaging technology. Under the ratepayer-funded study, a research boat would tow 18 air guns that would emit sonic blasts into the ocean every 10 to 20 seconds for several days. The utility had hoped to conduct the study between November and December to avoid peak breeding and migration seasons.
In August, a State Lands Commission environmental impact study determined there would be unavoidable consequences to marine life during the testing. But the panel ultimately decided the project’s benefits outweighed the environmental risks.
Scores of conservation groups and other parties sent letters to the coastal commission opposing the project and turned out in force at Wednesday’s meeting in Santa Monica. Some wore “Stop Ocean Blasting” T-shirts, and others held signs.
Michael Jasny with the Natural Resources Defense Council testified that the air guns would inflict “severe and profound insult” on sea life.
Representatives from the Northern Chumash Tribal Council said their ancestors have inhabited the coastline for thousands of years. They urged the panel to protect the ecosystem.
“We cannot let this happen,” tribal administrator Fred Collins said. “Please do not let this project go forward.”
Mandy Davis, spokeswoman for a newly formed group called the Citizens Opposing Acoustic Seismic Testing, said the Pacific would become an “acoustic prison” if the project went forward.
Many claimed the utility had done too little to explore other, less damaging options and said it should analyze data it collected from previous studies before embarking on a new one. Krausse of PGE countered that different studies provide different information.
To minimize impact to sea life, PGE proposed starting off with one air cannon at a low decibel before ramping up to full power. It also planned to have spotters on the vessel and in an aircraft to alert operators of marine mammals in the region. Air guns would be silenced and work would cease if an animal strays too close.
The twin-reactor Diablo Canyon generates enough electricity to power more than 3 million homes in Central and Northern California. After the Japanese nuclear crisis, the utility asked federal nuclear regulators to delay issuing extended operating permits until thorough seismic studies are completed. The permits expire in 2024 and 2025.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require 3-D fault mapping for license renewal.
Victory! California coastal panel denies permit for offshore earthquake study near nuclear power plant
The proposed survey by Pacific Gas Electric Co. involves firing sonic pulses into the ocean. Sensors on the seafloor would pick up the echoes to create 3-D maps of geologic faults that the utility said are needed to understand the seismic hazards around the Diablo Canyon facility.
“If you live near a nuclear plant, wouldn’t you want more certainty in the assumptions that are being made?” asked Mark Krausse, a PGE director.
But commissioners said the impact to sensitive marine mammals along the Central Coast would be too great, and they felt PGE did not make the case that such testing was necessary.
In a statement, PGE said it was disappointed with the decision and will evaluate its next move. It could reapply for a permit, but several commissioners indicated they would be hard-pressed to change their minds if the issue came up again.
The commission’s staff had urged the panel to reject the plan. In a report this month, the staff said sonic blasts would cause “significant and unavoidable impacts to marine resources.” More than 7,000 sea mammals would be disturbed by the ear-piercing noise, including fin whales, blue whales, humpback whales, and harbor porpoises.
PGE acknowledged that the noise could cause short-term disruption to animals, but said similar research has been done around the world without long-term harm.
The damage that strong shaking can cause to nuclear reactors came under scrutiny after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s coast triggered tsunami waves, which swamped the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant last year.
Even before the Fukushima disaster, state law mandated that utilities conduct extensive seismic studies of nuclear facilities, but did not specify the type of research.
Perched on an 85-foot bluff above the Pacific, Diablo Canyon sits within three miles of two underwater earthquake faults, including one that was discovered in 2008.
PGE came up with a four-pronged approach that includes the use of high-energy seismic imaging technology. Under the ratepayer-funded study, a research boat would tow 18 air guns that would emit sonic blasts into the ocean every 10 to 20 seconds for several days. The utility had hoped to conduct the study between November and December to avoid peak breeding and migration seasons.
In August, a State Lands Commission environmental impact study determined there would be unavoidable consequences to marine life during the testing. But the panel ultimately decided the project’s benefits outweighed the environmental risks.
Scores of conservation groups and other parties sent letters to the coastal commission opposing the project and turned out in force at Wednesday’s meeting in Santa Monica. Some wore “Stop Ocean Blasting” T-shirts, and others held signs.
Michael Jasny with the Natural Resources Defense Council testified that the air guns would inflict “severe and profound insult” on sea life.
Representatives from the Northern Chumash Tribal Council said their ancestors have inhabited the coastline for thousands of years. They urged the panel to protect the ecosystem.
“We cannot let this happen,” tribal administrator Fred Collins said. “Please do not let this project go forward.”
Mandy Davis, spokeswoman for a newly formed group called the Citizens Opposing Acoustic Seismic Testing, said the Pacific would become an “acoustic prison” if the project went forward.
Many claimed the utility had done too little to explore other, less damaging options and said it should analyze data it collected from previous studies before embarking on a new one. Krausse of PGE countered that different studies provide different information.
To minimize impact to sea life, PGE proposed starting off with one air cannon at a low decibel before ramping up to full power. It also planned to have spotters on the vessel and in an aircraft to alert operators of marine mammals in the region. Air guns would be silenced and work would cease if an animal strays too close.
The twin-reactor Diablo Canyon generates enough electricity to power more than 3 million homes in Central and Northern California. After the Japanese nuclear crisis, the utility asked federal nuclear regulators to delay issuing extended operating permits until thorough seismic studies are completed. The permits expire in 2024 and 2025.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require 3-D fault mapping for license renewal.
Surveyors evicted by B.C. First Nation
Note: You can read more about the Wet’suwet’en struggle to stop the Pacific Trails Pipeline here.
-The GJEP Team
November 21, 2012. Source: CBC
Photo: http://unistotencamp.wordpress.com/
Members of a First Nation in northern B.C. have evicted surveyors working on a natural gas pipeline project from their territory and set up a roadblock against all pipeline activity.
A group identifying itself as the Unis’tot’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation said surveyors for Apache Canada’s Pacific Trails Pipeline were trespassing.
“The Unis’tot’en clan has been dead-set against all pipelines slated to cross through their territories, which include PTP [Pacific Trails Pipeline], Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and many others,” Freda Huson, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement.
“As a result of the unsanctioned PTP work in the Unis’tot’en yintah, the road leading into the territory has been closed to all industry activities until further notice.”
Huson was not available for comment.
It’s unclear what road is blocked, or where. The group said its territory is along the Clore River, located west of the Williams Creek Ecological Reserve about 30 kilometres southeast of Terrace.
Company spokesman Paul Wyke confirmed Wednesday that surveyors were asked to leave the area.
“We had some surveyors in the area last evening and they were asked to leave traditional territory by a small group of members from the Unis’tot’en, and they complied,” Wyke said.
“We understand that there are some members of the Unis’tot’en that have expressed some concerns with the proposed PTP project, and we continue to consult with First Nations along the entire proposed pipeline right-of-way.”
Wyke said the company will continue ongoing consultations with aboriginal groups. The project has the support of 15 of 16 aboriginal groups along the route, he said.
The blockading group said the province does not have the right to approve development on their traditional lands, which lie northwest of Kitimat, the future home of an Apache Canada liquefied natural gas plant and the tanker port for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
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Surveyors evicted by B.C. First Nation
Note: You can read more about the Wet’suwet’en struggle to stop the Pacific Trails Pipeline here.
-The GJEP Team
November 21, 2012. Source: CBC
Photo: http://unistotencamp.wordpress.com/
Members of a First Nation in northern B.C. have evicted surveyors working on a natural gas pipeline project from their territory and set up a roadblock against all pipeline activity.
A group identifying itself as the Unis’tot’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation said surveyors for Apache Canada’s Pacific Trails Pipeline were trespassing.
“The Unis’tot’en clan has been dead-set against all pipelines slated to cross through their territories, which include PTP [Pacific Trails Pipeline], Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and many others,” Freda Huson, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement.
“As a result of the unsanctioned PTP work in the Unis’tot’en yintah, the road leading into the territory has been closed to all industry activities until further notice.”
Huson was not available for comment.
It’s unclear what road is blocked, or where. The group said its territory is along the Clore River, located west of the Williams Creek Ecological Reserve about 30 kilometres southeast of Terrace.
Company spokesman Paul Wyke confirmed Wednesday that surveyors were asked to leave the area.
“We had some surveyors in the area last evening and they were asked to leave traditional territory by a small group of members from the Unis’tot’en, and they complied,” Wyke said.
“We understand that there are some members of the Unis’tot’en that have expressed some concerns with the proposed PTP project, and we continue to consult with First Nations along the entire proposed pipeline right-of-way.”
Wyke said the company will continue ongoing consultations with aboriginal groups. The project has the support of 15 of 16 aboriginal groups along the route, he said.
The blockading group said the province does not have the right to approve development on their traditional lands, which lie northwest of Kitimat, the future home of an Apache Canada liquefied natural gas plant and the tanker port for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
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Podcast: BBC Hardtalk speaks with Vandana Shiva
4 things You Can Do to Honor Indigenous Peoples Today
22 November, 2012. From Cultural Survival
1. Challenge stereotypes and misappropriation of Native people’s cultures.
Recently Urban Outfitters, the Gap, Paul Frank, Victoria’s Secret, and No Doubt were educated about the dangers of misappropriations of Native people’s cultures. Read “A Much-Needed Primer on Cultural Appropriation” and start a discussion among your contacts in person and via social networks.
2. Learn about violence against Native women. Click here.
Learn what you can do to stop it by supporting Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011.
3. Support Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
President Obama signed an Executive Order to expand educational opportunities for Native American students. It aims to preserve Native languages, cultures, and histories while offering a competitive education that prepares young people to succeed in college and careers. Learn about Native language revitalization efforts around the country, visit www.languagegathering.org.
Learn about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and share it widely.
Article source: GJEP Climate Connections Blog
Walmart rattled by growing unrest ahead of Black Friday’s strike
Note: As early as Thursday evening, millions of Americans will begin shopping in the most flagrant, obscene display of American consumerism. This year especially, it is important to recognize the social implications of ‘Black Friday.’ Patterns of over consumption in the US and other major industrialized countries are one of the major drivers of climate change, ecological destruction and displacement of land-based peoples. While ‘Black Friday’ is advertised as a supposed boon to the American economy, who does it really benefit? Millions of Americans flock to megastores where under-paid workers are expected to work long hours during the holidays to enrich the one-percent. This year, it is important to stand with Walmart workers in demanding fair working conditions and an end to the kind of consumerism that leads to fatal frenzies over the hottest new piece of cheap consumer crap.
-The GJEP Team
By Sarah Jaffe, November 20, 2012. Source: The Guardian
Photo: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters
On Friday, Americans by the millions will crowd into big-box retail shops to take advantage of bargains on wide-screen TVs and other electronics – necessities, as well as luxuries – all marked down in order to draw them in and have them line up outside in advance of the doors opening. And now, as we’ve learned, several chains plan to open at 8pm on Thanksgiving day itself.
The greatest irony of “Black Friday”, as it’s known, is that it’s seen as a celebration of consumerism, instead of a sign of desperation: when a Walmart worker was crushed to death by a Black Friday crowd in 2008, the news was accompanied with moralizing about American greed, rather than any discussion about low wages in the US.
Would people be so desperate for bargain shopping at already dirt-cheap places like Walmart if they themselves were making a decent living?
This year, Black Friday at Walmarts around the country will be marked by something other than just ultra-low prices. Workers, members of a labor union-backed organization called Organization United for Respect at Walmart (Our Walmart) will be striking and, along with their allies, holding rallies and actions to support the effort. Walmart has managed to go 50 years without a strike; many unions have tried and failed to organize workers. But in just a month and a half, the strikes have spread to stores across 12 cities, and Walmart is worried: the company has filed an unfair labor practices charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
“There is power in Our, and we,” Vanzell Johnson, an Our Walmart member from Lancaster, Texas, told me last month. He’s frustrated with how the company treats its employees, not to mention the dismal wages. Workers around the country allege that despite the company’s supposed “open door policy”, they risk retaliation for speaking up about their conditions by having their hours cut or getting unfavorable shifts.
Walmart, as historian Bethany Moreton pointed out in her excellent book To Serve God and Walmart, was founded and grew in the heartland US where suspicion of chain stores and outsider money was skilfully turned by favorite son Sam Walton into support for his homegrown mega-chain.
Even today, Walmart’s low prices are used for a particular kind of populist appeal: by lowering the cost of living, the argument goes, Walmart helps people “live better”. In fact, they’ve adopted that as their tagline: “Save Money. Live Better.”
The Walmart workers who are now daring to challenge their bosses, meanwhile, have turned that mantra around: “Stand up. Live better” (pdf). Because they know that no matter how low prices at Walmart go, their low wages ensure that they are not, in fact, able to “live better”.
As internal documents have confirmed, Walmart maintains a cap on the wages an associate can make, limiting raises to 60 cents a year for “flawless” performance. Janet Sparks, a Walmart worker from Baker, Louisiana who’s been with the company since 2005, told me that she had colleagues who hadn’t gotten a raise since 2006 because of the cap.
Walmart is by far the nation’s largest retailer, with 2.2 million employees (the next largest is Target with 365,000), and its low wages have set the tone for a nation where the majority of jobs created in the so-called economic recovery pay less than $13.83 per hour.
Catherine Ruetschlin, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan thinkthank Demos and author of its new report, Retail’s Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Economy Overall, has said:
“Walmart has been shown to come into a community, pay lower wages than the traditional wage standard, and actually depress the wage standard in the area.”
Manuela Rosales makes $10.70 an hour at the Pico Rivera, California Walmart. I heard her break down in tears on a conference call, as she explained that the $750 or so she takes home after taxes every couple of weeks barely lets her care for her two-year-old son.
“They have it set up to take it or leave it and most people will not leave it,” Johnson said. With average unemployment still hovering around 8% (and much higher for minorities), workers are forced to take what they can get, even if “what they can get” leaves them working long hours over the holidays. If Walmart were to adopt the higher standard she suggests in her report, Ruetschlin asserts:
“Being the largest employer in the United States … they would have significant impact. Based on prior research, it’s absolutely reasonable to think they would raise standards for everyone.”
The Walmart strikers taking the risk of challenging the company on its most profitable day, then, are truly striking for all of us. And it’s a large risk, because if they’re fired, they go out into a job market where there are few opportunities and many others in the same line also waiting for an opening.
Beyond the wage issue, the strikers are fighting for respect and fair treatment: the ultimatum given the company in order to prevent the Black Friday actions was not a raise, but a call to end the retaliation against workers who speak out. As Moreton has noted, the company managed for many years to have happy employees who felt they were part of the Walmart family; it’s the treatment on the job that drove long-time employees like Sparks to speak out.
“Most working people spend most of their time at work, so when I’m at work, I want to be recognized as being taken care of,” Johnson said. Colby Harris, one of the Walmart strikers, told the Nation’s Josh Eidelsonthat he’s determined to stay at Walmart and keep fighting:
If you change Walmart, and you change corporate America, it can really better a lot of people’s lives.
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Article source: GJEP Climate Connections Blog