From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS: Amnesty calls for end
Date: 9 Oct 92 17:32:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700603:000:5175
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Oct  9 10:32:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS: Amnesty calls for end

/* Written 12:15 am  Oct  9, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: HUMAN RIGHTS: Amnesty calls for end to abuse of American Indians


washington, oct 6 (ips) -- in a major report released to coincide
with next week's 500th anniversary of the arrival of europeans in
the americas, the human rights body amnesty international is
calling on all governments of the continent to end its abuse of
indigenous peoples.

''for centuries, governments have often treated the rights of
indigenous people with contempt -- torturing, 'disappearing', and
killing them in the tens of thousands and doing virtually nothing
when others murder them,'' the london-based group said.

these abuses have continued down to the present day, according
to the report, titled, 'the indigenous people of america continue
to suffer', which noted that most abuses against indians have been
committed with impunity.

for the 1993 international year for the world's indigenous
people, amnesty called for all governments to establish
commissions to reivew their country's record in implementing
international human rights standards for their indigenous peoples.

''disputes over land and resources are often at the root of
many of the human rights abuses against indigenous people,''
according to the report. ''thousands have also died, 'disappeared'
or been tortured when they've been caught in the middle of the
'war on drugs' or civil conflicts,'' it said.

some of the most horrific abuses inflicted on indigenous
peoples have taken place during recent armed conflicts that have
racked countries such as colombia, el salvador, guatemala, and
peru, according to the report.

it added that entire villages were destroyed and thousands of
indigenous peasants massacred during the height of a brutal
government counter-insurgency campaign in the early 1980s.

in peru, thousands more have been tortured and killed by both
sides in the conflict between the government and sendero luminoso.

attacks on indians in many countries have also resulted from
disputes over land -- frequentlky coveted by the state, private
companies, or settlers for mining, logging, energy, or tourism
projects, according to the report.

in brazil alone, scores of indians have been murdered -- with
the apparent backing of the state authorities -- in land disputes,
amnesty said, while in honduras, 10 members of the xicaque tribe
have been killed in recent years. (more/ips)

human rights: amnesty calls for end to abuse of american indians(2-e)

human rights : amnesty calls (2)

in canada, inquiries into charges that several mohawk indians
were ill-treated by police in 1990 during a lengthy confrontation
over plans to build a golf course near a sacred mohawk burial site
have still not been concluded.

the 'war on drugs' has also taken a toll on indian lives.  a
quechua leader in bolivia, for example, was detained and tortured
by security police in 1989 for his alleged involvement in drug
trafficking.

''prosecutions for such human rights abuses virtually never
happen -- whether those responsible are state agents, death squads
or hired guns,'' amnesty said.

in chile, agents who arrested, tortured and 'disappeared'
mapuche indian leaders after the 1973 military coup d'etat were
never brought to justice, while in brazil most killings of
indigenous peoples have rarely been investigated and prosecuted.

alleged crimes by indians, on the other hand, have resulted
often in arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and unfair trials,
according to the report.

in mexico last year, when members of the ch'ol and tzeltal
indigenous communities peacefully protested against police abuse
and discrimination in the courts, 100 of them were arrested,
beaten, and threatened with death before being released.

in the united states, amnesty has also expressed concern about
the fairness of trials of american indian movement (aim) leaders,
including the possible use of fabricated evidence in the notorious
case of leonard peltier, convicted in the 1970s of the murder of
two federal agents.

''the leaders of indigenous movements have often been singled
out for attack when they speak out on environmental issues, land
claims or discrimination and are seen as a threat to government
policies,'' the report said.

in ecuador, for example, indigenous leaders involved in land
disputes have been singled out as targets of abuse, including
harassment, torture and killing.

despite this repression, indigenous peoples are organising in
increasing numbers in recent years, the report concluded.  a
number of major protest marches have been held in bolivia and
ecuador, while victims of abuses in guatemala and elsewhere have
formed new groups to press their rights.

''from the local to the international level, the message is
that the centuries of violating the rights of the region's
original inhabitants must end once and for all,'' the report said.
(end/ips/jl/yjc/92)