Red Ambiental Loretana

One of the first fruits of starting the Movement “Forests for ever” has been the decision to coordinate with other groups and individual san people’s Forum on the future of the forest. It will be held on Tuesday 26^th January in the  Maloca of Caritas in  Punchana, in Iquitos. We hope to have the presence of natives, river dwellers, industrial timber dealers, academics. The government is about to publish a new forestry law and we fear for the worse. In the invitation sent out we warn: “We have no doubt that the new law will once again favor export of raw material; that brings quick and fleeting benefit to a small group; and that it will produce more poverty for natives and river dwellers as well as leaving us with less resources than ever.”

The future will prove us right or wrong.

Geovanni Acate Coronel,Director  of the  Radio Television Centre of the Oriente, institution founded by the Catholic Apostolic  Vicariate de Yurimaguas, here in the Peruvian jungle, told us today (19 f January), “Today we received the most aggressive reply to date for the present Government concerning our institution. Not only is it attacking our freedom to inform the public but is also denying the public the right to have a space where they can express their views. 

At this moment I feel really furious and don’t know where to turn, because as we all know even though we live in a “democracy” in Peru the reality proves we are in a dictatorship. With a government that threatens and is corrupt. 

The only thing I can say is that they won’t succeed in silencing us nor will they turn our cameras off. And if we have to assume the consequences we’ll do it.

Next week we’ll bin on the web page with the radio ( www.radiooriente.org).”

From the RAL we shall do all we can to support Radio TV Oriente in Yurimaguas. They do excellent  work in Yurimaguas and Alto Amazonas. This measure will have t be overturned.

The national native organization in Peru (AIDESEP) announced the end of the so-called “dialogue between themselves and the Government of Alan Garcia. The “apus”, leaders, of the 8 regional organizations will now travel from Lima to their local bases to inform them of the situation. It seems that the Government hasn’t learnt the lesson that the basic issue here is of human rights: and the truth is that many of the human rights universally recognized, are not given to the indigenous groups in Peru.

The Coorporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), one of the sponsors of the IIRSA projects, announced that it granted a loan of $ 65 million for Maple Ethanol to fund a project of agrofuels in Piura. The company plans to produce 35 million gallons of ethanol a year, working in an area of 10,700 hectares.