Venezuelan Indigenous Peoples Protest Coal Mining

Hundreds of representatives of the Bar, Yukpa and Wayu indigenous peoples from the westernmost region of Venezuela marched on the capital to demand a halt to coal mining operations which bring them pollution and disease. They were joined by scores of environmentalists and leftist political activists. Also republished on Common Dreams

CARACAS — Bare-chested, clad in traditional dress and wielding bows and arrows, hundreds of representatives of the Bar, Yukpa and Wayu indigenous peoples from the westernmost region of Venezuela marched on the capital to demand a halt to coal mining near their lands in the Sierra de Perij mountain range.

Coal mining operations bring pollution and disease. They are destroying our farming practices, they are going to destroy our water, and they will end up destroying our lives, Cesreo Panapaera, the leader of 32 Yukpa communities in Tokuko, some 600 kilometers from Caracas, told IPS.

Scores of environmentalists and leftist political activists joined the indigenous protestors in their march through downtown Caracas last Thursday. Their destination was the federal government headquarters, but they were stopped 150 meters from its gates by anti-riot police.

We want to tell compaero President Hugo Chavez that he can’t continue granting land concessions in the Sierra and in Guajira (a neighboring region along the Venezuelan-Colombian border) without consulting us first, as required by the constitution. He speaks very nicely about us, but they haven’t demarcated our lands, said Wayu community leader Angela Gonzalez.

The indigenous protestors are staunch supporters of the left-wing Chavez Most were wearing red headbands with…

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