Guatemala Forum to Focus
on Indigenous Issues
GUATEMALA - Participants
at the Social Forum of
the Americas will meet
in the Guatemalan
capital to debate the
indigenous peoples'
rights, the defense of
their territories, which
are threatened by
transnational companies,
and the situation of
children and youths.
"The continental meeting
is the propitious
framework to analyze the
most pressing problems
of the indigenous
communities and to
create a regional common
front, Rodolfo Pocop,
one of the organizers of
the forum, told Prensa
Latina.
Several activities are
being held, including
the continental meeting
of children and youths,
who are debating
exclusion and racism in
that sector and whose
conclusions will be
presented at the forum.
In addition, the Latin
American Meeting on
Mining and the
Indigenous Peoples'
Rights will open on
Monday to discuss
autonomy and free
determination in the use
of the land and its
natural resources, Pocop
said.
The leader of the
Indigenous Farmers'
National Coordinator
pointed out that a
document containing the
indigenous peoples'
stance on the
association agreement
between Central America
and the European Union
will be handed over to
the negotiators of the
accord.
They will demand respect
for millennia-old
cultures and compliance
with international
treaties, including
Convention 169 of the
International Labor
Organization and UN
declarations.
"Unfortunately,
authorities make
decisions that neither
meet the needs nor
respect the rights of
our communities," said
Juana Batzibal, of the
Center for Legal Actions
on Human Rights.
That is why we are
forced to fight and
defend the Mother Land
and to prevent that our
lives and the future of
our children be
destroyed, she added.
The University of San
Carlos de Guatemala will
host the Third Social
Forum of the Americas
from October 7-12. The
meeting will conclude
with a mass
demonstration on the
streets of the
Guatemalan capital and a
rally at Constitution
Square. |
