For more information on the Panama/Ngobe IACHR Hearing: Resources Link

For more information on the March 21st, 2012 IACHR hearing on this matter, you can visit:

http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/coverage.asp

Hearing for the Ngobe at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in DC

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                 March 21, 2012

Contacts:

Osvaldo Jordan, Alianza para la Conservación y el Desarollo, osvaldojordanpanama@yahoo.com

Christine Halvorson, Rainforest Foundation US, christineh@rffny.org, cel: 646 265 0342

Diane Dunn, Collective Voices for Peace, cel: 951 224 7273

Indigenous leaders travel to Washington DC to defend collective land rights in Panama

Four representatives from the Ngäbe and Wounaan peoples will participate in a hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on March 23, 2012.

Washington, DC:  A delegation of indigenous representatives and human rights specialists from Panama will be in Washington DC to participate in a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) this Friday, March 23, 2012.  The delegation includes Ngobe leaders Adelaida Miranda from the Tabasará River, Pedro Abrego from the Changuinola District and Feliciano Santos from the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, all in Western Panama, and Leonides Quiroz, a Wounaan lawyer from Eastern Panama. 

Although Panama has enjoyed a good international reputation due to its recognition of comarcas, or semi-autonomous indigenous territories, over fifty indigenous communities across the country do not yet have any recognition of their traditional lands.  This situation has led to invasions by settlers, ranchers, and loggers, resulting in environmental degradation and sometimes violent clashes.  It is further compounded because even communities who do have their lands recognized remain vulnerable to invasions by outsiders, with no protection from the State.  Mining projects and hydroelectric dams that will affect indigenous lands are being planned with no consultation with the affected communities.  A number of laws protecting indigenous lands and natural resources have been repealed, including those obligating the state to obtain free, prior and informed consent prior to carrying out infrastructure development projects affecting indigenous peoples.

During the hearing, the four indigenous representatives from different parts of Panama will have the opportunity to express how their lives have been affected by Panama’s lack of recognition of their collective lands.  They will also discuss how this has impacted the rights of Panama’s indigenous peoples – the Bribri, Naso, Ngäbe, Bukle, Kuna, Emberá and Wounaan - to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, to health, family, and traditional culture.  According to Adelaida Miranda, a Ngäbe woman who will be participating in the hearing: "The Government always talks about security – but where is ours?  We're going to run out of water ... they do not want to accept that we are living beings." 

Although indigenous leaders have sought dialogue with the Panamanian government, history has shown a recurring lack of willingness on the part of the authorities.  A clear example of this includes the failure to implement the 1976 Farallon Agreement on the construction of the Bayano Hydroelectric Dam – which itself is the subject of a hearing at the IACHR scheduled on March 23rd (Case 12.354 – Kuna of Mandungandí and Emberá of Bayano Peoples).  Other examples include the lack of implementation of Law 10 that created the Ngobe-Bugle Comarca in 1997, and the very recent failure of the 2011 San Felix Accords.  As a result of these failures and the lack of respect of their rights, indigenous peoples in Panama fear that their demands and mobilizations will be responded to violently.  Indeed, this occurred just this past February, during Ngäbe protests against mining; official sources report two deaths and dozens of injuries, as well as sexual assaults committed by the National Police. 

The hearing at the IACHR will serve to provide the Commission with written materials documenting the situation in Panama.  The participants will request the IACHR to issue recommendations to the state in its annual report, and to publish a special report on the right to collective lands by indigenous peoples in Panama.

For any further information or to schedule an interview with the indigenous representatives traveling to Washington, please contact:

Osvaldo Jordan                                                                                                   Christine Halvorson

Alianza para la Conservación y el Desarollo, Panama                             Rainforest Foundation US

osvaldojordanpanama@yahoo.com                                                         christineh@rffny.org www.acdpanama.org                                                                                    cel: 646 265 0342

                                                                                                                www.rainforestfoundation.org

Press release issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding February protests: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2012/013.asp

Press release issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/notes/special-rapporteur-calls-for-dialogue-in-climate-of-increasing-social-tension-in-panama

Pressure Facing Ngobe on 15th Anniversary of Autonomous Region

On Wednesday, March 7, the MPTers were invited to ascend the mountains of western Panama to the Ngäbe-Buglé capital of Tugri to celebrate with the Ngäbe-Buglé the date marking fifteen years since the establishment of their Comarca, or autonomous region (similar to a reservation). That morning, we crowded into the back of a pick-up truck with about 15 other people and drove into the clouds. As the temperature dropped from 99 to 65, the moisture in the air turned to rain, and the wind threatened to knock us over, our majestic surroundings left us awe-struck. (We were later humbled to discover that many of the Ngäbe-Buglé themselves had walked to the celebration, some families taking as many as twelve hours to get there.)

Each March, the Ngäbe-Buglé gather for several days not only to celebrate, but also to take the opportunity to talk about important issues facing the community. This year, the mood was dampened slightly by the serious pressure put on them by the government to make concessions to companies who want to build several hydroelectric dams and mines around the Comarca, pressure that is unfortunately contributing to divisions within the community. 

Tradional Dancers

The dams, the companies claim, will enable Panama to produce their own energy, making Panamanians wealthier and bringing prosperity to all. Many Panamanians believe this claim, and are therefore in favor of the dams. The Ngäbe-Buglé , on the other hand, after consulting lawyers and environmentalists who have dug more deeply into the situation, have discovered that Panama currently produces more energy than it uses, so the dams are unnecessary for the use alleged by the companies. The indigenous tribe argues that the dams will benefit only the companies, who have many ties to the Panamanian government, and not Panamanians. The companies, who will have the right to do whatever they wish with the rivers they will own for a contracted time - up to 50 years in some cases - likely plan to sell energy to other countries at a profit for themselves. They will also have the right to bottle and sell the water they collect on the comarca. The Ngäbe-Buglé have also been researching the inevitable pollution that will come from the dams, which could leave them without clean water on their own land.

In the negotiations process, the Ngäbe-Buglé have much in their favor. According to international law, the Panamanian government was supposed to abide by a strict consultation process with the Ngäbe-Buglé before selling their land to any company. While the government did speak with a few indigenous people before making a deal with the hydroelectric companies, it did not come close to following the standard process. The Ngäbe-Buglé are hopeful that this will give them much leverage in an international court.

For many Ngäbe-Buglé, the talks with the government have been going too slowly, with not enough concrete results, and they are becoming impatient. Many do not trust that the negotiations will be successful in protecting their land and way of life. Silvia Carerra, the Cacique (figurehead and leader),on the other hand, is pushing ahead with the dialogues. She fears that if the talks break down, violence could break out all over Panama, resulting in many deaths of her people. 

Silvia Carrera

 It was in such an atmosphere of tension that MPT was invited to Panama to do observation as a form of nonviolent intervention. The Ngäbe-Buglé  leadership was aware that talks with the government could disintegrate at any moment, and desired to have international observers at the ready should the situation erupt in violence. Thankfully, due to the skilled leadership of Carerra and the recent involvement of the UN (which took some action after the police violence against Ngäbe-Buglé demonstrators last week), the talks have continued relatively peacefully, and MPT has not been asked to intervene. Instead, we have been building relationships with those involved in the situation and learning more of the complexities. We are currently in dialogue about the possibility of organizing a future training that would combine several days of instruction in human rights law and several days of nonviolent skill-sharing and strategy-building.

Report from Parque Legislativo



**All of the statistics and statements written below were recounted to us via translation from the interviewees to whom we spoke. Errors in the translation and our understanding are possible, and we apologize in advance as such.**

Sunday we visited the some of the Ngobe protesters in Parque Legislativo in front of the Asamblea Nacional. The park is raised above the two busy streets bordered by the Pan-American Highway on one side, and in back by a wrought iron fence enclosing the Assembly complex (a several story office building, parking lot, and an under construction parking garage.)

Protesters have been occupying the park for nearly a month, since the latest discussions of developing hydroelectric and mining resources on the comarca have begun. The Ngobe representatives we spoke with there were very clear in their articulation of their struggle as one with national and international consequences.

“The comarca is the land of the country, “ said one man we spoke with. “The environment is calling us to protect it.” At Barro Blanco, one of the more contentious projects under discussion, the water collected in one day at the proposed hydroelectric plant is more than the Ngobe people would use in 10 years at their current level of activity (see here for more information on the temporary suspension of the project until further environmental review).  Protesters cited the statistic that 30% of national water supply is located within the bounds of the comarca - here the water is clean and healthy, they explained. Out of all the water in Panama, 60% is polluted, making a swift resolution to the hydroelectric negotiation between the federal government and the Ngobe leadership a matter of national significance.

On an international scale, Bernardo Bejardo enumerated for us the consequences of development on the comarca. Leveling the forest to make way for the construction of development projects will deplete all of the natural resources used by pharmacists to create medicines the world over. The prevalence of skin cancers will increase with less forest coverage to protect people from exposure to the sun´s UV rays. And with fewer trees to process the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by natural and man-made means, the deforestation needed to complete these development projects will contribute to global warming.

Beyond the harm to the environment and the Ngobe way of life that these development projects would cause, the Ngobe explained their protest as one of human rights. The Ngobe leadership undertakes a careful consultation process when handing down decisions, the protesters explained, filtering decisions through the Cassique and Congresa before coming to the national Panamanian goverment with their demands. Protesters claim that the government has no respect for this process, preferring to draw up international private contracts with corporations rather than consulting their constituents. “The Panamanian people do not support construction,” the protesters claimed. “Clear information never comes to the people.”

As for abuses immediately within their community, protesters cited several cases of violence under a government trying to repress their pleas for observation of Panamanian law and the Ngobe´s human rights. Showing us a dozen pellets that were fired on their encampment in the park, protesters told story after story of brutal injuries inflicted upon them. Two parents spoke with us about their 17-year-old son who had been hospitalized due to buckshot wounds in his leg that had to be operated on. “The government used firearms against the protesters and they deny it,” the protesters told us.

Bernardo concluded out time together telling us “I am not sad I was arrested [during my time protesting], I am happy because I am fighting for our rights. Despite my arrest, I feel that I am doing the right thing”

Read here for more local news from the park in Spanish.

Ngobe Message and Desire

We have tried everything. What we need most right now is more training and ideas on how to move forward in the struggle for the right to keep our land.

While not an exact quote, the Michigan Peace Teamers have heard a version of the above phrase repeated over and over again in our many encounters with the Ngobe. From the main figurehead of the trive to activists who are being beaten during protests to the men and women living in small villages, Ngobe people have expressed to us their desire to develop the skills for how to get their simple message across more clearly to the Panamanian government, who they believe speaks a totally different language. Their need right now, as the Ngobe see it, is both for for nonviolent strategy and capacity-building and for further education and training in international human rights law. 

While the MPTers were expecting this trip to primarily be doing first-hand observation of protests in order to reduce any violence that might occur, we are finding that the way in which we can be most of service at present is twofold: 1) to continue to learn more about the situation from the perspective of the indigenous people by listening to their experience, and to spread that awareness to our communities at home; and 2) to collect as much information as possible about the kind of training the Ngobe desire, so to be able to pass their more accurate requests on to others who are willing and able to design such a training in the near future. In accomplishing these two goals, we are confident that this delegation will have been a fruitful one.

In our five days here, we have met with many representatives of the Ngobe leadership, including the well-respected Silvia Carrera, who, though not officially recognized by the Panamanian government, has been given authority by virtually all of the diverse groups within Ngobe leadership. (The complexity of the Ngobe leadership itself has been one of the main challenges MPT has faced in trying to make a concrete plan of action.)  Referred to as the cacique (pronounced cassica), Carrera is the first woman to be elected to such a positon in Ngobe history.

In our meeting with Carrera on Friday night, she and others in leadership positions detailed their opposition to government hydroelectric dams on Ngobe land, saying that such a project would damage their way of life. To the common critique leveled against the Ngobe that they should "give some concessions" to the government, their response is that they "have been giving concessons for 500 years." Carrera expressed her offense at the lack of respect shown to her by the Panamanian government: Panamanian President Martinelli always asks the Ngobe to come "to Panama" for negotiations with his representativs, but never sends anybody, or travels himself, to the Ngobe Comarca, (reservation) to meet with them.

On Sunday, we met with several activists who were part of the "occupation" of a Panama City Park outside the National Assembly, where negotiations with the government had been taking place (talks have since moved to the more nuetral UN building due to the recent violence against Ngobe protesters.) Bernardo, one of the activist-leaders, told us of the Ngobe´s desire to keep their environment clean and pure, and to contribute to the purity of the whole earth.  They believe that the construction of hydroelectric dams and copper mines on their land will pollute their Comarca. "Without air or water we are nothing. We die."

On Monday, we arrived in Changuinola, a small city on the Costa Rican border, after taking an overnight bus. From there, the team traveled to the tiny village of Tibiti to meet with men, women, and children, who shared with us their frustration with their situation. Walking into the village, we heard shouts from several children on a thatched-roof hut on a hill: "This land is not for sale! Down with the hydroelectric! Down with the dam! The people united will never be defeated!"

Samuel, the spokesperson for the village (no doubt thanks to his fluent Spanish) commented, "We have been struggling for years, working the same land of our fathers, our grandfathers, our great-grandfathers, etc. The government does not recognize humble people." The villagers believe that the government should consult their community when making plans for "development" of their land, but they do not feel included in the discussion. Instead, they feel treated like animals. Said Samuel, "The government kills our nonviolent protesters, but then, through the media, makes us (the Ngobe) look responsible for the violence."

Many villagers stood up to introduce themselves to the MPTers and share a few words. Serbio, who described himself as the community "watchman," remarked, "In the struggle, I don´t always want things to be like this. I want peace. Not only for me, but for the future. We want peace and tranquility."

Public Perception and News Coverage

The Conflict in the News and the Streets


The MPT Team has found that the issue of indigenous land rights and the conflict between the government and the Ngobe-Bugle people is in the news daily in Panama.  In fact, while we have been here, we have seen coverage on television more than any other programming, and at all hours of the day.  Concerns regarding media coverage (and bias, or political manipulation of the media) has come up many times during our meetings with the Ngobe who had invited us to witness the situation here.


In every hotel lobby, train station, and cafe that has a television, we seem to see news coverage of the conflict.  While it´s often impossible to hear the actual reporting in public places, and it makes translation a challenge (i.e. if there´s no audio on the TV in a restaurant for example, or if it´s just too loud), we have seen interviews of representatives of the Ngobe-Bugle, as well as political leaders in Panama, and even tweets from ¨common folks¨to weigh in on the matter.  We also see many similar video clips of nonviolent demonstrations, roadblocks, and vigils along the roads by Ngobe.  

Some MPT Teamers were surprised by how effective the roadblocks and vigils have been in gaining national (and international) attention for the Ngobe cause.  Other similar movements around the world have not always met with such success in terms of awareness of the conflict as to be the main daily news story for weeks (if not longer).  Of course, concerns about the content of the coverage remain.  We have been told by one of our team partners from South America that independent radio is considered a less biased source of information than the main news agencies in Panama.  So far, we have not had the opportunity to explore those news outlets further, but we encourage interested parties to look for coverage from independent Panamanian radio on the web or international radio.


Not everyone on the emergency response Peace Team speaks Spanish, but we´re lucky to partner with two South American activists from Collective Voices for Peace, who have been talking to local folks like taxi drivers to find out what the latino Panamians think of this conflict.  So far, we have heard mixed responses (and admittedly, our limited conversations make a very small sample, but still interesting).  Due to requests for discretion from our hosts, and our own security concerns, we have been careful about discussing the conflict in public or with people not on the team.


We have heard the opinion that the Ngobe are oppressed and being poorly treated by an exploitative government.  We have also heard from Panamaians who think the Ngobe are standing in the way of economic development for Panama, to the detriment of all.   Especially if you speak Spanish, twitter is one place to read what folks have to say on this issue.  For example, TVN invites their audience to ¨tweet in¨about the topic view more at: https://twitter.com/#!/tvnnoticias.  Of course, we encourage everyone to consider the source of any publish information or tweets.

News Coverage
The website for TVN, the mainstream television news organization we see daily on everyone´s televisions, in Panama is http://www.tvn-2.com/noticias/.  A story on the conflict has been on the front page of the TVN website every day that MPT Teamers have checked the site.  Also, stories about the conflict are featured on the special ¨Web Edicion¨of their news, which can be found at: http://www.tvn-2.com/noticias/noticiero/.


In an article ont he front page of their website this morning, TVN News related the following perspective from the opposition party leader Milton Henriquez (a political rival to Martinelli´s government):


Henriquez noted that [during] the first stage of the indigenous movement, despite the closure of the Pan-American Highway, [latinos in Panama] supported the Indians, due to the strong displeasure with the government for a number of offenses committed against the people.  The PP leader suggested that the prestige gained by the General Cacica Silvia Carrera, allows [for the possibility of] a successful negotiation.  


The report goes on to say,


Henríquez felt that the incident in the Assembly (in which four Indians and wounded a parliamentary official) gave a good reason to move the dialogue to a neutral place like the United Nations headquarters in the City of Knowledge and not so pressure of public opinion. (http://www.tvn-2.com/noticias/noticias_detalle.asp?id=70430, full clip of interview at http://www.tvn-2.com/noticias/noticiasam/default.asp?id=4161).


They further report on an incident during a protest in the park outside the national assembly building, where Ngobe-Bugle people are "occupying" the city.  Notice the report describes the incident as ¨four Indians wounded an official" rather than as a site of police violence.  As MPT Teamers were not present at the park that day (we were there shortly following), we do not have our own eyewitness account.  However, Ngobe leaders have told us many times that a main concern is being misrepresented in the media as violent. 




Most Recent News Updates from Other News Sources Panama:


[The parties have ] agreed to suspend temporarily the Barro Blanco hydroelectric Project, in Chiriquí, while performing an independent evaluation.

Similarly, in the third day of dialogue in the City of Knowledge is passed between the parties that all applications for hydroelectric development projects located partially or totally within and adjoining areas of the Ngobe Bugle Region must be approved by thefull Congress General, Regional or Local Shire.

David Bishop Jose Luis Lacunza, read a joint statement this afternoon explaining thatprior approval depends on the category of space required for installation of the work.

In addition, the work must be submitted to a referendum after the respective localdistrict.

The next session of the dialogue will be on Monday March 12 at 10:00 am, then went torecess. (http://laestrella.com.pa/online/noticias/2012/03/05/acuerdan-suspender-proyecto-barro-blanco-dialogo-regresa-el-12-de-marzo.asp, follow the link for more news from smaller news organization Estrella.)






Venezuala
"The 250 000 Bugle Indians who live in Panama, are among the poorest and most forgotten of that country, and suffer the consequences of intense internal colonialism, [which seeks] to expel them from their ancestral territory."  (http://www.rnv.gov.ve/noticias/?act=ST&f=36&t=176611)




Check back soon for perspective on how this conflict is percieved in Brazil and Costa Rica.

Team Update, March 4

The MPT Team has been in Panama City for several days, making connections and arranging for meetings with local leaders who are working tirelessly and round-the-clock on the issue of Ngabe land rights.  Our main local contact and cooperating organizations are very capable and respected in the area.  We have been lucky enough to meet with several Ngabe leaders and activists, mostly within the first 48 hours of our arrival in Panama City. These Ngabe leaders are currently staying in Panama City (or just "in Panama," as they call it, as opposed to their own Comarca) in order to participate in daily talks with the Panamanian government, and to continue a 25-day-long vigil outside the government building where the talks take place.  Such meetings have been crucial for us in gaining trust and understanding from the Ngabe people, and opening the lines of communication before we take the next step of first-hand observation of demonstrations (which the Ngabe leaders have, in fact, further invited us to do.)

The teamers from MPT have been living and working very closely as a team with two observers from Collective Voices for Peace.  The CVP teamers are from Costa Rica and Brazil.  Their contribution in terms of expertise and experience, as well as in language and Latino culture, has been invaluable.  The six of us have spent many hours in intensive team meetings and skill-sharing among themselves to develop a strong foundation for the observation work we are primarily invited to undertake.

While still working to establish ourselves and build trust with our contacts, the team is now moving into more firsthand observation, gathering of stories, and documentation.  Today, the team interviewed several members of the Ngabe group that are occupying a park in Panama City, just outside the National Assembly building.  The site has been a focus of police violence, and team members worked to collect stories of some of the demonstrators gathered there. We hope to share more on those stories as soon as we can upload photos/video and have a connection to write reports.

Having spent many hours meeting with tribal leaders and human rights workers, it is clear that the movement to protect land rights on the Ngabe comarca is well organized around nonviolent means.  We have been continually impressed by the commitment of the leaders to effective nonviolent resistance.  There are striking paralells with other groups working against opression by nonviolent means, and similar challenges (inaccurate protrayal of the conflict and demonstrators by a controlled media, government manipulation of factions within the movement, issues with land seizure and lack of ¨deed,¨ and many more).  We hope to further explore these similarities in a future report.

Soon the team will travel to other regions of the country to witness silent vigils along the roadsides; demonstrators come down from their mountain homes by the hundreds at the call of the Cacique (tribal leader Silvia Carreras).  At her word, they will close the roads (and have done so on several occaisions), bringing the country to a standstill-- and gaining national and international attention for their cause, and putting pressure on the government.  Still, misperceptions of the Ngobe movement to protect land rights, many stemming from  purposeful manueverings of the government to make the movement appear violent, are cited by the leadership as one of the major problems they face.

We look forward to sharing first hand reports with our readers soon, and more in-depth information and links.  If we can get permission to share them, we would also like to post some very detailed and professional human rights reports and video testimonies, prepared by local organizations.  We are working to compile more information.  Please check back soon!

Peace Team Meets with many Representatives in Panama

Last night, March 1st, members of the Michigan Peace Team met with two members of the Ngobe negotiations delegation.  They were informed that just a few hours earlier, police had fired buckshots into a peaceful gathering of members of the indigenous Ngobe tribe, who had been occupying a Panama City park for the last twenty-two days. Six people, including two journalists, were wounded. “The police say that we were drunk, using drugs, machetes, guns, etc. We have none of those things. We don´t even have any food to eat! We have only our voices,” said a hoarse Idi Morerra Bangamá, a young leader in his tribe’s demonstrations. The Ngobe are protesting against hydroelectric dam projects which they claim are not only flooding homes and farms for which proper compensation is not being paid but also are depriving communities of their historic water supplies. Though the struggle has been going on for nearly twelve years, a recent decision by the Panamanian government to overturn a law that would provide environmental protection to Ngobe lands has sparked more unrest. Demonstrations by the Ngobe have been met by the police with tear gas, rubber coated bullets, and other weapons. Negotiations between the Ngobe and the Panamanian government have been underway since Monday, but talks began to deteriorate last night, and the Ngobe are currently discerning whether or not to continue with the process. Presently, hundreds of Ngobe are standing vigil at twelve different locations around their reservation (or Comarca), completely blocking several roads and bridges. Thousands more are ready to come down from the mountains should the negotiations fail. If this should happen, Panama could erupt in chaos. Says Idi, “We don´t want the government´s money, we want our land. Even with the lack of food, water, and sleep, we have our spirits.”

UPDATE - All 4 MPT Members arrived safely in Panama City

Michigan Peace Team member, Brenna arrived safely in Panama City last night where she joined Nicole, Callie and Pat.  They will spend the day in Panama City taking care of logistical things (purchasing phones, exhanging money etc.) and meeting with some of the people they will be working with.