Over one hundred Aguaruna and Huambisa Indian communities
in the Santiago and Maranon River Basins in Peru's northern
jungle are continuing their struggle against the US oil company
Edward Callan Interests (ECI) of Houston, Texas. Indian protests
have been met with silence from the company and repression by
Peruvian military authorities. Indian oil company workers are
forced to work 12 hour shifts under threat of dismissal. Some
workers injured on the job have been refused medical care and
subsequently fired for being unable to complete their assignments.
BACKGROUND
A geophysical survey team completed exploratory activity in the
region (called Lot 50) at the end of 1992 over objections by
Aguaruna and Huambisa communities in the area. The
geophysical survey left 175 kilometers of paths cleared through
the forest, the destruction resuting from tons of TNT explosions,
and over 100 helipad clearings averaging only 2100 square
meters apart each in virgin jungle.
The massive deployment of equipment, men, and explosives
has had a severe impact on nearby Indian communities, most of
which are legally titled. Many communities have seen the game
they depend upon in order to survive virtually disappear with the
constant explosions and overflights by helicopters. Others have
had valuable fruit trees and medicinal plants destroyed to make
way for exploration activities.
Indian leaders have made repeated attempts to meet with ECI
representatives. Finally, in mid-1992, company staff agreed to
come to the communities; but arrived accompanied by the army.
Three days of protests proved fruitless, and the company rejected
a comprimise agreement proposed by the Aguaruna and
Huambisa Council (CAH). (Text of this agreement is available.)
An Aguaruna representative travelled to Texas in November, 1992
and participated in a protest at ECI headquarters in Houston
organized with the help of Houston Rainforest Action Group and
local students. ECI refused to receive the Aguaruna representative
and attempted to have police remove protesters.
RECENT EVENTS
An investigative commission with government representation
visited Lot 50 in March of this year and confirmed CAH claims of
massive violations of the environmental impact statement (EIS)
filed by ECI with the Peruvian government. They include:
*explosives use within 50 meters of river banks
*violation of areas with government ecological protection
*over 100 instead of the 20 helipad clearings authorized by the EIS
*evidence indicating use of explosive charges in excess of size
limits imposed by the EIS
*non-implementation of measures to protect archaelogical sites
from exploration activities
The destruction of the geophysical survey phase will likely pale in
comparison to that of crude oil production contractor. To date the
contractor has yet to enter the zone, though Shapiom Norringo
Sesen, a CAH representative, reported in late July that CAH feels
this is imminent. CAH has renewed efforts to negotiate with ECI in
order to protect their homes and environment, sending another
appeal directly to ECI's Houston headquarters; but have yet to
succeed in getting ECI to agree to direct negotiations.
Local Indian leaders protesting ECI's activities are encountering
resistance from military authorities operating in concert with ECI.
The free movement of CAH leaders through the zone is limited
and one community leader has been arrested for his protest
activities. Local leaders are particularly concerned with the
increased access to Lot 50 for non-Indian colonists resulting from
the construction of roads and paths. Social unrest stemming from
colonization has already resulted in the arrest and subsequent
murder of one Aguaruna leader and has had severe ecological
effects through the proliferation of cattle ranching.
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE
Over 50 pages of documents (primarily in Spanish) are available
regarding ECI's activities in Lot 50 and CAH's efforts to protect their
homes and the environment. Non-copyrighted JPEG pictures of EIS
violations and persons involved in the Lot 50 conflict can be obtained
over e-mail.
*IMAGES: To receive a set of greyscale JPEG images mail
"perezoso@igc.apc.org" and they will be forwarded to you. Pictures
have been limited to 500 lines or about 32000 bytes per segment.
This should allow them to flow over the net fairly easily; but no
guarantees are made. Total size of the image set is approximately
700kb.
*DOCUMENTS: To receive a full set of the CAH documents,
Peruvian press clippings, etc. on Lot 50, mail "perezoso@igc.
apc.org" and include your name, mailing address, institutional
affiliation/research interest, and telephone number. I will ask
recipients of the document set to remit $5.00 US/Canada, $10.00
international to cover postage and photocopying.
PLEASE WRITE
Please write a polite letter to the following people encouraging
them to respect the land rights of the Aguaruna and Huambisa and
protect the environment:
Mr. Richard Yarbrough, President
Edward Callan Interests
1415 Louisiana, 43rd Floor
Houston TX 77002 USA
Emphasizing that ECI should receive CAH representatives in Houston
and sign a mutually agreed contract committing ECI to ecological
protection measures before entering into production phase and that,
as always, Indian land rights and the environment must be respected.
Ing. Alberto Fujimori
Presidente de la Republica del Peru
Palacio de Gobierno
Lima 1 PERU
Praising the president for his imposition of restrictions on Amazon oil
concessions and encouraging him to make the new hydrocarbons law
responsive to environmental and human rights concerns. Directing
his attention to the deplorable situation in Lot 50 and asking him to
comply with Peruvian and international law in heeding CAH demands
for an intact environment and respect for Indian rights.