Image of the Forum @ SIPAZ
On 25 October, the Indigenous Center for Comprehensive Training (CIDECI-Unitierra) in San Cristóbal de Las Casas held the Forum “Europe/Mexico: THEY SHALL NOT PASS! ‘Experiences of struggle against megaprojects in defense of territory.'” This Forum began with the particiaption of adherents to the Other Campaign from the San Sebastián Bachajón ejido, who shared their experiences defending territory around the Agua Azul waterfall. The event continued with the intevention of the International Franchute, which explained the resistance of the people against the construction of the Notre Dame airport in Landes, close to Nantes in northwestern France. A representative from the Assembly of the Indigenous Peoples of the Tehuantepec Isthmus in Defense of Land and Territory shared the struggles of this organization against the wind-energy parks in the Isthmus, in the eastern part of the state of Oaxaca. The Tila ejidatarios, who are also adherents to the Other Campaign, spoke of their history of struggle to obtain the lands that now comprise the ejido, and the subsequent struggle against the expropriation of 130 hectares of this ejido on the part of the Chiapas state-government, a process that still continues. The Network of Climate-Movements (Klimabewegungsnetzwerk) from Germany, while absent due to transportation problems, sent a letter and a series of photographs regarding its struggle against Castor trains that each year transport nuclear waste from France into northern Germany; these transfers of material have been delayed due to these protests. The part of speeches ended with the participation of Nodo Solidale on the struggle against the construction of railways for the High-Speed Train (TAV) in the Suza Valley of northern Italy. A common conclusion from these interventions was that the struggles have arisen from among the peoples affected by the implementation of such projects, and that all have at some point suffered repression on the part of State authorities. Upon opening the space to the public, a person from Puerto Rico spoke of the struggle against a gas-pipeline, an effort that ended successfully just a few days ago. Furthermore, two youth from the Benito Juárez community, Los Chimalapas region, between Oaxaca and Chiapas, who explained the conflict that exists in this region due to the invasion of lands by residents of the Chiapas side.
For more information (in Spanish):
Europa/México: ¡NO PASARAN!, Koman ilel, 28 de octubre de 2012
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Chiapas: Supreme Court postpones decision on case of the Tila ejidatarios (16 August 2012)
Chiapas: ejidatarios march in Tila in defense of their lands (27 April 2010)
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