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for the Wichí people of Argentina Apoyo al pueblo Wichí de Argentina |
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| News March 2009 Chacolinks has sent a petition protesting about the illegal invasions into Zlaqatahyi lands of loggers and oil prospectors to the president of Argentina and to the Argentine government. Copies have been sent also to the communities themselves. Legislation to bring about the demarcation of indigenous lands has been promised by the government of Argentina. This is good news but we should not forget that these are minority rights and, as such, will be very hard fought by the hard-nosed opposition, at every level of government. We will need to give support all along the way so that the Zlaqatahyi communities can benefit. Recently, Hoktek T’oi has referred its flagship case against the provincial government, for authorizing and tolerating illegal deforestation of community lands, to the highest court in the province (Corte de Justicia de Salta). With Chacolinks’ support, the community presented a formal Complaint about judicial dilatoriness, on the grounds that almost seven years have passed without a single court even so much as accepting to investigate the matter. In December, at the initiative of one of the province’s Catholic bishops, nine indigenous communities in Salta province – including Hoktek T'oi and one other Zlaqatahyi community – submitted a lawsuit to the national Supreme Court in Buenos Aires. The object was to have deforestation and logging prohibited in areas of Salta province where the Wichí live. John Palmer (our Anthropological Advisor) was asked to provide support with relevant documentation. To everyone’s surprise, the Supreme Court ruled – in a record time of 10 days – in favour of the indigenous plaintiffs and has ordered the temporary suspension of all deforestation and logging in those areas. We hope to hear very soon whether or not the prohibition becomes permanent. |