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| News: May 2009 News from the Zlaqatahyi Communities (‘Our Forest’): We continue to be very concerned about the illegal logging and oil drilling taking place on the lands of the ‘Our Forest’ communities and we are persisting in attempting to protect the forest through the law courts. It will come as no surprise that there was a severe landslide in Tartagal at the beginning of February, attributed by many to the deforestation that Chacolinks is fighting to prevent. Yet these links continue to be denied by the authorities. The sad case of Qa'tu drags on. Qa'tu, you will remember, was arrested after undergoing an indigenous marriage, allowed under Argentine law but claimed by the local authorities to be illegal owing to his wife’s age. Two appeals in his defence are now being considered : one is that he be released pending trial. He has now been behind bars for almost four years, a length of time greatly exceeding the two-year limit that Argentine law allows for the imprisonment of a person on remand. We have recently heard that there has been a suspension of his trial. A presentation of his case has also been sent the Argentine Supreme Court in Buenos Aires. Both of these have been achieved with the financial support of Chacolinks. The two indigenous lawyers who are supported by Chacolinks (Sarah Esper and América Alemán) continue to work hard on this case and on the cases involving forest protection as well. |