Support the Passionist’s work with the Indigenous peoples

This article below was written last year by Fr. Kevin Dance of Passionists International when we first heard of the legal issues surrounding the human rights work of Fr. Marion Bartolini, CP in Peru. This article is readapted because of two current situations that we would like to highlight.

• Fr. Mario’s situation is becoming tense with the prosecution by the Peruvian Government with regards to his work to protect the land rights of indigenous and poor peasants in the area of Peru that he ministers in. Please visit this link to sign on to the petition of solidarity.
• The United States is at this point reconsidering its position of not having signed on to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Please visit the Indian Law Resource Center for sample letters requesting that the United States sign on to this important document.

The Financial Crisis and Indigenous People, By Fr. Kevin Dance, CP

Passionists have lived among and served the indigenous people in the Peruvian Selva for many years. Thousands of people have experienced the compassion and love of countless Passionists. Now we have the joy of seeing young men from the area seek to share the Passionist dream as religious. But our presence is also marked by suffering. Father Mario Bartolini is being vilified for his work for justice.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, in the pre-dawn hours of June 5, 2009 Peruvian military police violently attacked thousands of indigenous people camped out on a peaceful blockade of a road outside of Bagua, in a remote area of the northern Peruvian Amazon. They were protesting new laws passed to implement the US –Peru Free Trade Agreement. These decrees gave oil, gas and mining Corporations access to their Amazonian homelands. They were dispersed by tear gas and live ammunition. Many were killed.

Global financial and trade agreements harm the lives of the poorest and the simplest people who live far from the halls of power and whose lives depend on a close and ongoing relationship with the earth.

Free Trade Agreements are held up as the way to instant progress for a country. All trade restrictions must be removed. Under the free trade agreement, corporations will be allowed to sue the Peruvian government when enforcing of environmental laws leads to lost corporate profits. This may help to shed some light on recent actions in Yurimaguas. Peru and the U.S. have recently signed a free trade agreement.

Within the World Bank there is a tribunal called the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). In this tribunal, multinational corporations can sue countries that limit their profits. Corporations prefer to use this tribunal for international arbitration. ICSID enforces “investor protection” in US free trade agreements and other bilateral Investment Treaties. Companies, through the ICSID, have sued governments in disputes over water management (Bolivia), indigenous land rights (Guatemala) or protecting the economy during a crisis (Argentina). The World Bank is both judge and jury in these cases. 

The Peruvian Amazon rainforest and its people are under attack by oil, gas, timber, mining, and corporate agribusiness. Indigenous people will suffer even more if the FTA allows pharmaceuticals and agribusiness to patent traditional knowledge, seeds and life forms. This opens the door to biopiracy of the Andean-Amazon region and threatens the ecological, medicinal and cultural heritage of indigenous peoples. Oil companies have a terrible history of polluting the indigenous lands and will be able to use the new investor rights provisions of the agreement to continue with impunity. The negative effect of FTA on indigenous peoples is not limited to Peru. It happens all over the world.

Traditional landowners were not consulted about the fact that their traditional lands could be sold to Multinational corporations. A number of decrees and laws to support the FTA rules were passed with no consultation of the people. This happened even though Peru is a signatory to ILO Convention 169 that deals with the rights of indigenous people. This happened even though Peru voted in favour of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration, in pars 10,19 and 26 states the “free, prior and informed consent” of indigenous people must be given before any action by the state or non-state actors can take place to alienate their lands, resources or territories.

Fr. Mario Bartolini, CP continued to struggle to protect the rights of the indigenous people and the poor peasants of the area. He is currently being prosecuted by the Peruvian Government for his work on their behalf. The International Passionist community is asking for all of us who are part of the lay and vowed Passionist family to sign on to this petition we have created so that we can inform the Peruvian government of international support for Fr. Mario.

Currently the United States is reviewing its decision to not sign on to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Passionist JPIC and Passionist International are urging the American Government to sign on to this important document so that our global economic policies can be sensitive to the rights of these often marginalized peoples.

One Response to “Support the Passionist’s work with the Indigenous peoples”

1. Fr. Gregory Paul.CP says:

   October 28, 2010 at 7:20 pm

   Ipray that our U.S.Government will reject the free trade agreement with Peruian goverment that the basic human rights of the indigenous people of Peru.will not be vilolated.