Indigenous representatives of Amazon denounced their exclusion from the Summit of the Americas, which took place this week in Los Angeles, with the climate change debate on its agenda.
“Indigenous voices are not heard at the Summit of the Americas,” said Atossa Soltani, founder and president of the NGO Amazon Watch. “A few domestic delegates were denied entry,” he added.
Soltani said several local representatives had signed up to attend the Summit activities and traveled long distances to reach the event in the US, but they did not have access because “there is no place for everyone”.
“At these important events where governments are in power, all indigenous people from different countries must be present to arrive with our voice and our proposal,” Domingo Peas, from the Achuar community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, asked.
Peas, a member of the Ecuadorian Amazon Confederation of Native Nations, traveled more than two days by boat, car, bus, and plane to Los Angeles from his remote community of 100 families, but was told he could not join. activity to address the environmental issue.
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“Indigenous peoples not only have the solutions to our climate and biodiversity crisis, they are also the original inhabitants,” said Soltani.
“The reason we have these incredibly pristine forests in Latin America is because indigenous people have cared for and defended them with their lives for centuries.”
Indigenous representatives staged demonstrations and protests, asking regional leaders to “take action”.
“The fate of Amazon is in the hands of the leaders gathered here. This is the future of life on the planet,” he says.
The Summit of the Americas returned to the United States after its first meeting in Miami in 1994. The meeting was marred by notable absences, such as those of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The Amazon covers eight Latin American countries and the region of French Guiana, with Brazil making up the largest part of the forest.
President Jair Bolsonaro was harshly criticized by Sotani for his statements in favor of the commercial exploitation of this region.
“Starting from the beginning, if President Bolsonaro makes racist comments and promotes the destruction of the Amazon, it will of course fuel criminal activity,” he criticized.
An Amazon Watch spokesperson also expressed concern over the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and local writer Bruno Araújo Pereira in the Brazilian Amazon.
“An urgent investigation is needed. Basically, we need to put an end to criminal gangs that threaten communities and people trying to protect the forest,” he said.
source: Noticias
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