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7 December 2014 | | | | | | |

Desperate voices: testimonies of the wives and daughter of indigenous activists murdered in Alto Tamaya – Saweto community, Peru

Several social organisations present at the Climate Change COP taking place in Lima, Peru, held this Friday an action in solidarity with the Alto Tamaya – Saweto indigenous community of that country, and especially with the widows and a daughter of the four leaders murdered three months ago in the context of their struggle for land ownership titles (photo gallery below).

Representatives of several organisations and social movements took a picture holding a sign weading “We are all Saweto” and then listened to the testimonies of Ergilia Rengifo, Julia Péres and Diana Ríos, two of the wives and a daughter of the murdered activists. After the massive event, the women, carrying their babies, took questions from the communication media. Real World Radio covered the demonstration and was present at the press conference.

In September, leaders Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Francisco Pinedo and Leoncio Quinticima were murdered in the context of the struggle faced by the community that has been demanding land ownership titles for over ten years and are defending 80,000 hectares of tropical forests. Rios´ body hasn´t even been found.

The Alto Tamaya – Saweto community inhabits, together with the apiwtxa community of Brazil, the border area between the Ucayali department in Peru and Acre state in Brazil.

A statement issued by the two communities present at the COP points out: “our territory is being abandoned by the Peruvian government. This has caused the pillage of forests by illegal loggers with serious environmental impacts and human rights violations against the indigenous people”. “Three months after the tragedy, the population of Saweto has not managed to recover. Their claims have not been heard and progress is limited. The investigations to find the remaining bodies and bring to justice the people responsible for the crime are at a standstill and no ownership titles for our territories have been granted yet”.

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