{"id":2480,"date":"2021-12-01T17:34:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T16:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pkfeyerabend.org\/?p=2480"},"modified":"2022-02-08T19:07:30","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T18:07:30","slug":"des-guardias-indigenas-auto-organisees-protegeront-le-territoire-de-vie-du-peuple-shipibo-konibo-xetebo-en-amazonie-peruvienne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pkfeyerabend.org\/en\/2021\/12\/01\/des-guardias-indigenas-auto-organisees-protegeront-le-territoire-de-vie-du-peuple-shipibo-konibo-xetebo-en-amazonie-peruvienne\/","title":{"rendered":"A self-organized Guardias ind\u00edgenas protects the territory of life of the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people in the Peruvian Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Council of the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people (Coshikox) has just announced the creation of a Guardias ind\u00edgenas<\/em> to protect its territory of life in the midst of harassments and aggressions by people determined to illegally extract timber from the communal forest, fish illegally and open up land to grow coca and develop drugs. The current wave of threats in the community of Flor de Ucayali began on 18 June 2020, when some Coshicox members encountered loggers in their territory and decided to confiscate the wood.\u00a0 The decision was followed by death threats to the head of the community’s vigilance committee.\u00a0 In August 2021 members of the community, together with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, carried out an inspection visit throughout the territory and found that 30 hectares had been deforested for illegal coca cultivation. They even encountered some coca growers, who refused to leave the territory despite the fact that the community has a legal collective title to the land.<\/p>\n

During the summer 2021 a Coshicox delegation went to the Peruvian capital \u2013 Lima \u2013 to inform the authorities about the threats from illegal settlers, loggers and drug traffickers… but not much changed.\u00a0 The local authorities and police are unresponsive and fearful of intervening in the difficult conditions of the Amazon region.\u00a0 They are conspicuous only by their absence. Recently, masked and armed \u2018cocaleros\u2019 openly harassed people in Flor de Uacayali.\u00a0 They even shot bullets and did their best to intimidate the community.\u00a0 Many\u2014including women and children \u2013found refuge in the community building where they stayed hiding in the dark for a long while. \u00a0It was after this incident that Coshikox decided to act and organise its own Guardias ind\u00edgenas<\/em> (indigenous guards) for self-defence.<\/p>\n

The Guardias ind\u00edgenas <\/em>includes individuals from diverse indigenous communities and counts with the support of a number of allies, including the Instituto de Defensa Legal, a Peruvian NGO that helped them to define its legal structure and statutes as an organisation. In fact, the Guardias ind\u00edgenas<\/em> is a fully legal body, and its work is carried out in cooperation with the Peruvian Army. Importantly, it is also a fully legitimate body, organised by the communities themselves and launched in Yarinacocha in a community assembly on 23-24 November 2021. \u00a0At the time of writing, some guards are already in surveillance duty, although they do not yet have access to good means of communication.\u00a0 The community expects them to make a major difference, as it has happened in other communities in the Amazon region and beyond.\u00a0 This video is a moving statement by a neighbouring community that \u2013 like the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo\u2013 has decided to take its destiny in hand: https:\/\/youtu.be\/uAeAgYQfuvo<\/a><\/p>\n

Through crowdfunding and other means, several individuals and organizations are offering support for the logistics of the mobilisation. Upon an emergency request from the COSHICOX organization, which is one of our prior grantees, the PKF Foundation has also decided to offer a small financial support.\u00a0 Our resources will go to provide the indigenous guards with uniforms (e.g., green polo shirts and caps) to identify them and allow the community to visibly show strength and unity.\u00a0 They may also help to organize meetings, buy communication equipment, carry out surveillance inspections, etc. While the guards will carry arms, our donation will not be used to buy weapons. \u00a0We admire the strength and determination of the \u201cGuardias ind\u00edgenas<\/em>\u201d of the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people as they valiantly put themselves at risk to preserve the integrity of their territory of life and the future of their descendants.\u00a0\u00a0 For more information:<\/p>\n