SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
March 2, 2011
Three Amazon Indians protested in London today against dams which threaten to destroy the lands and lives of thousands of tribal people.
Ruth Buendia Mestoquiari, an Ashaninka Indian from Peru, Sheyla Juruna, a Juruna Indian from the Xingu region and Almir Surui of the Surui tribe in Brazil, are calling for three controversial dam projects in the Amazon to be halted.
The Indians protested, with Survival International supporters, outside the office of the Brazilian state development bank BNDES, which is providing much of the funding for the dams.
Meanwhile a Brazilian judge has blocked progress on one of the dams – the huge Belo Monte project – over environmental concerns. The ruling will certainly be challenged by the government.
The Belo Monte mega-dam planned for the Xingu river would be the world’s third largest dam. If constructed it will devastate a huge area of forest. There are reports of uncontacted Indians near the dam site.
Belo Monte and the other schemes – the Madeira dams in Brazil and Pakitzapango in Peru, are themselves just a part of Brazil’s ambitious plans to harness hydro-power in Brazil and Peru to fuel the next stage in the country’s rapid economic growth.
Sheyla Juruna has said, 'The dams will bring irreversible cultural, social and environmental damage. BNDES, by investing in the dams, is investing in the destruction of the Amazon. We are being treated like animals – all our rights are being violated.
Download biographies of the delegates and information about the dams (in English, 60KB, PDF)
Source posting: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/7053
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LATEST: High court green-lights the dam
The long-running saga over the mammoth 11GW Belo Monte dam project in Brazil has taken another turn, with a higher court overturning a previous ruling that blocked the beginning of construction on the grounds that the project did not meet environmental standards.
The project, should it proceed, would be the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world and its construction would require the resettlement of thousands of indigenous people.
Here’s a ready-to-go protest letter you only have to sign.