Hundreds of Bari Indians, most clad in loincloths and carrying bows and arrows, came down from the hills on Thursday in the hunter-gatherer group's first march ever to demand that the state-owned oil company stop drilling on sacred land abutting their reservation.
The 700 protesters held a rally in this town in one of Colombia's most war-ravaged regions on Columbus Day -- commemorated as Dia de la Raza or "Indigenous People's Day" in much of Latin America -- to remind the world that they have been decimated and forced into isolation by oil-drilling.
"Don't forget that this is our territory," a one-named Bari chieftain, 55-year-old Atrigbuanina, intoned as the Indians laid a plaque in front of Tibu's heavily fortified police station. "Why is the Colombian state not respecting our rights?"
PHOTO: AP
Ecopetrol is racing against the clock to find new oil deposits so Colombia can avoid losing self-sufficiency in petroleum by 2011. It recently said it wants to sell a 20 percent share to a foreign investor to help spur exploration.
But the Indians demand exploratory drilling be halted. They had hoped for a meeting in Tibu with a government delegation, but authorities canceled abruptly, concerned the march had been infiltrated by leftist rebels.
State government and local military and police leaders attended the assembly nonetheless.
The Bari chose Oct. 12, the date that commemorates Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas, because it's the date Indian rights groups consider the start of a genocide against their peoples.
Activists marked the day in Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic with events promoting a variety of causes.
The plaque laid by the Bari in Tibu commemorates the 1932 destruction of a Bari settlement there. The town is surrounded by some of Colombia's richest oil and coal reserves -- and extensive illegal coca cultivation -- and borders Venezuela.
"Fuera Ecopetrol" (Ecopetrol out) the Indians chanted as they marched down Tibu's main street carrying banners and thrusting their bows and arrows into the air. Naked children marched with their elders, and some of the women wore only skirts.
Deputy Interior Minister Maria Isabel Nieto said on Thursday that military intelligence indicated members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were accompanying the Bari, and that government and Ecopetrol officials had to leave the area.
But state and local officials, as well as human rights groups and UN representatives, were present for the peaceful march, and there was no evidence of outlawed armed groups.
Javier Marin, an activist with the Minga human rights group, said the claim of guerrilla involvement was an excuse to avoid talks.
"They're capable of negotiating with criminals but not with Indian communities," he said, referring to a 2004 peace agreement with right-wing militias, made up mostly of landowners.
Some 30,000 have officially demobilized, but many have re-armed and now work closely with the police and military.
The Bari want Ecopetrol to halt drilling and planned seismic probes in an area where -- although outside their reserve -- they pay tribute to the environment, holding noncompetitive marathons of 30km to 40km.
The Bari's religion involves "paying tributes to nature for providing air, water, fish and other elements that allow people to live," said Ashcayra Arabadora, 27, a member of the Bari's ruling council.
He said oil companies began to extract crude from the region in 1932 after decimating the Bari, whose numbers in Colombia have plunged from 16,000 then to 3,000 today. Another 9,000 Bari live in Venezuela, he said.
The Interior Ministry said it authorized drilling on the disputed three-hectare site after a helicopter overflight found no Bari settlements nearby.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS