It has begun: Belo Monte Dam

[txim_asawl]

The Facebook group Support Chief Raoni has published this, along with a picture of the Chief himself:

The Belo Monte version of Jake Sully's speech from 'AVATAR':

'Dilma Rousseff's People and The Corporate Bastards have sent us a message, through their Judges & Lawyers, that they can take WHATEVER they want and no-one can stop them.

Well, we will send them a message!
You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you!
You tell the Rainbow Warriors to come!
You tell them that Chief Raoni and Shayla Juruna call to them!
You fly now, with me, my Brothers, Sisters, and we will show these Uncaring People that they CANNOT take whatever they want!

And that this, THIS is OUR RIVER!'





Well, Mr. Cameron was right to visit them and join their protest...

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

[CyanRachel]

Really awesome version of Jake's speech!
Irayo for sharing that.

[BotanicalMedley]

Heck yess!!!!!!!!!!

[txim_asawl]

As I received in my electronic mail bag this morning, it's back on the roller coaster for the natives of Xingu:

"This summer I was on the ground with the Amazon Watch team standing with communities on the front lines of the fight to stop the Belo Monte Dam. I dug my toes into the red clay banks of the early stages of construction and watched as 300 indigenous and local people ripped through the earthen barricade in desperate attempt to free the mighty Xingu River, if only for a moment. We need your help today to ensure that this fight continues.

The last few weeks have been marked by glorious moments of victory and new challenges. Our efforts were validated when a Brazilian judge ordered the immediate halt to construction and suspended all activities at the dam site. Hope!

This was a true win, led by indigenous and local communities and won by the collective efforts of citizens from around the world standing with them...and by you.

As we suspected might happen, President Dilma pressured a member of the Brazilian Supreme Court resulting in Chief Justice Carlos Ayres Britto overturning the decision without giving essential consideration to indigenous rights implications. Back on the roller coaster.

The Federal Public Prosecutor's office is expected to appeal this decision and demand a review by the full Supreme Court. They must uphold the historic decision that suspended this highly controversial project just two weeks ago. Help us make this possible.

Now is THE moment to dig our toes deep into that red clay and stand steadfast, collectively, in resistance to the Belo Monte Dam. Already over a million of you from around the globe have rallied behind this effort. With your support the people of the Xingu can win.

For the Amazon,


Atossa Soltani
Executive Director
Amazon Watch"

This, and reading about what's happening in neighboring Venezuela (about the massacre on the Yanomami, where illegal gold miners from Brazil firebombed up to 80 or more natives in an air raid) makes me feel very sad, indeed...

White Wolf: Amazon tribe massacre alleged in Venezuela

Yanomami Indians 'massacred' by goldminers in Venezuela - Survival International




~*Txim Asawl*~

[redpaintednavi]

More worrying news about how the Brazilian government is planning to build at least 23 new hydroelectric dams in the country's Amazon region, of which seven are set to be installed in the heart of the region, in previously untouched areas of one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.

New Dams Planned for Heart of Amazon

http://http://amazonwatch.org/news/2...eart-of-amazon

When will the madness end?

[redpaintednavi]

But still, in the Xingu the struggle goes on to save the river and its surroundings:

Fishermen Paralyze Construction of the Belo Monte Dam

September 20, 2012 |

A group of about 50 fishermen prevented a ferry from transporting machines and workers to a coffer dam being built for the Belo Monte Dam complex and set up a protest camp on one of the main islands of the Xingu River near the construction site.

After assembling, the protesters decided to remain in place indefinitely and called on Norte Energia and IBAMA to immediately negotiate compensation for the loss of ecologically sensitive fish species that the fishermen have suffered as a result of the coffer dam's construction.

"The fishermen have seen a 50% reduction in fish reproduction. The river is drying up. Several species failed to spawn over the last year due to Norte Energia's intervention in the river. A lot of fish are dying, and in some locations the company wants to impede the fishermen from accessing the river," said Ana Barbosa Laide of the Movimento Xingu Vivo, who has accompanied the mobilization.

On Wednesday night, a group of fishermen who depend on ornamental fish from the river joined the group, demanding that environmental agency IBAMA guarantee the survival of species that are endemic to the area where the dam is being built, saying that otherwise, the species will go extinct. "They argue that if these species die off, IBAMA should release its population of collected ornamental fish in order to save the economic livelihoods of the fishermen," explained Laide.

According to the movement leaders, the occupation protests the decision of IBAMA to allow Norte Energia to permanently close the river. During this process, the fishermen were not consulted nor informed about how they could continue their economic activities, or how they could continue to transport their boats on the river past the dam. "The river is ours and we came to fish. You can't just prohibit fishing, we have to work, "says Lucio Vale, President of the Fishermen's Colony of Altamira.

On the evening of the 19th, civil police officers, accompanied by members of Norte Energia, were at the demonstration site. According to agents, they were assured that the protest was to be non-violent.

AMAZON WATCH » Fishermen Paralyze Construction of the Belo Monte Dam

[txim_asawl]

While the indigenous people at Rio Xingu are still standing bravely against the Belo Monte Dam project, my own country's federal government is putting money before human rights (not for the first time, but in this case, also affecting the indigenous people at Rio Xingu and all over the world):

Der alltägliche Wahnsinn - eine Chronik: Shame on you, Frau Merkel!

(My own blog post about this)

greenpeace magazin: Kein zusätzlicher Schutz für indigene Völker

The German Greenpeace magazine reporting the German government's denial of ratification of ILO convention No. 169, which was installed in 1991 to protect the rights of indigenous people world-wide... so far, a mere 22 countries (most of them in South America) have ratified this...

Living in this country, I am once again put to shame by "my" government... (consisting of parties, I didn't vote for!)

~*Txim Asawl*~

[redpaintednavi]

Disturbances among the workers have halted the building of the dam:

Labour violence halts work on Brazil's Belo Monte dam
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Work on the world's third largest hydroelectric dam was halted this week deep in the Amazon jungle after workers set fire to vehicles and smashed computers during Labour talks, the consortium building the Belo Monte dam said.

Labour violence halts work on Brazil's Belo Monte dam - World Updates | The Star Online

[Moco Loco]

Ha, I guess that'll do it. All we need is that on a larger scale.

[redpaintednavi]

Now the exploiters even try to infiltrate and spy on the organisations that want to save the Xingu:

We've been infiltrated.

We just learned that the movement we've been stewarding in Brazil – the Xingu Alive Forever Movement, which has worked relentlessly to stop the destructive Belo Monte Dam – was infiltrated by a spy.

The Belo Monte Construction Consortium (CCBM) actually hired a spy to gain our trust and report back on our strategies and plans. He was assigned to "gather information on the group and its leaders in order to inform the Brazilian government's national intelligence agency, ABIN." Corporate espionage is alive and well in Brazil.

What does this really mean? It means we're having a profound impact! This shows us the lengths CCBM will go in order to dam the rivers, flood Altamira and displace over 20,000 people.

Amazonwatch

Belo Monte dam worker infiltrated organization to inform Brazilian intelligence
Altamira, Brazil – Members of the Brazilian Xingu Alive Forever Movement (MXVPS) have discovered an informant claiming to be an activist who was caught spying on their annual strategic planning meeting last Sunday with a pen-shaped video camera. Upon being exposed, the suspect immediately confessed in a video statement that the Belo Monte Construction Consortium (CCBM) had hired him to infiltrate the MXVPS meeting in order to gather information on its leaders and activities and to inform the Brazilian government's national intelligence agency ABIN.

AMAZON WATCH » Worker Admits to Spying on Social Movement in Belo Monte Dam Case

[auroraglacialis]

Cant say I am surprised and neither should they be. Most or all major nongovernmental/non-corporate organization fighting to stop governmental/corporational plans in history have had the questionable honor of being spied upon. Plus they try to buy people out as snitches

[Human No More]

Unsurprised. Everyone infiltrates everyone. I'm sure there are sympathisers with the people affected within the pro-dam organisations too. The truth is, this is just why not to do things that could damage a cause if exposed because it will never stop or change simply because humans are humans, on either side. Of course, someone who does it and gets exposed arguably does more damage to their own side.

[auroraglacialis]

I am not sure if this was mentioned before. There is a crowdsourced documentary on Belo Monte:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoRhavupkfw