Autonomy for Aboriginals is essential if indigenous groups are to survive, scholars and activists said yesterday.
The academics and activists yesterday used the launch of a new book on autonomy for Aboriginals to press the issue.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
They said that granting autonomy to Aboriginals would ensure the preservation of their cultures and resources -- and guarantee the survival of Aboriginal people.
The new book, Aboriginal Human Rights and Autonomy (原住民族人權與自治), is a collaborative effort by the Presidential Office's Human Rights Advisory Group, Aboriginal intellectuals, academic experts and members of the Council of Aboriginal Affairs.
The book also includes material on Aboriginal issues drawn from public hearings.
"Aboriginal autonomy is not a new issue," said Yohani Isqaqavut, a member of the Burun (
Yohani said that the request for autonomy was not extraordinary, as indigenous groups just want to have the freedoms they enjoyed in the past.
"Aboriginals and society at large need to understand that Aboriginals are not asking the government to `grant' them autonomy, but are merely asking for the return of what was stolen from them long ago," he said.
Yohani also said that while the formation of an Aboriginal autonomous region was an issue best tackled by Aboriginals, support and resources from the government would be essential.
"In the past, our people were taught to be defiant and fight government repression," Yohani said. "Now, with the support of the new administration, we hope to regain an identity, respect and self-governance that Aboriginals lost decades ago."
Aboriginal leaders singled out the policies of the KMT regime over the past five decades.
"During the martial law era, KMT policy erased much of the Aboriginal culture," said Buhsing Dali, president of the Yushan Theological Seminary.
For example, the KMT prohibited Aboriginals from speaking their mother-tongue in public.
In addition, the Aboriginal names of roads, tribes and mountains -- as well as people's names -- were all changed to Chinese.
Buhsing said that through a series of "modernization" reforms put forth by the KMT, many aspects of traditional Aboriginal life had been undermined.
"As a result, Aboriginal cultures have been marginalized," Buhsing said.
Yohani said that no one, "not even Aboriginals, is entitled to deny the existence of Aboriginals in our society."
After decades of work, Buhsing said, pro-autonomy activists are starting to taste the fruit of their labor.
"We are grateful that the new administration today is willing to hear us out and turn words into actions," Buhsing said.
He was referring to a public hearing hosted by the Presidential Office in March on the issue of Aboriginal native rights.
"We regard the choice of location for that public hearing as a sincere gesture from the new administration," Buhsing said. "It is very meaningful that it was held at the Presidential Office."
During last year's campaign, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) pledged to work for the self-determination of the nation's Aboriginals.
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