Eternity RPC Board
Wave of protests strike western regions of La Republica as talks break down between tribal leaders and government negotiators
The federal government had reached a power-sharing deal with the Unified Tribes Congress to end the decade old ethnic crisis that has seen thousands of protesters take to the streets of the region in recent weeks. The protests were organized by the Congress in the mountainous region with the aim of pressuring the region's regional government to finally resolve the longstanding crisis in which all but one of the regions 32 tribes say they do not receive revenues from their natural resources or economic development projects and that they are sidelines from workers from the eastern part of the country. The affected areas are mostly in La Republica's Central Mountain Region, where hundreds of indigenous communities live in impoverished settlements. The region's governor, Manuel Estrada, has largely continued to work closely with western mining companies which filed for arbitration to get approval for new gold deposits in the region. Other major complaints have involved system bias in police, distribution of utilities, health and education services, as well as environmental concerns. Accusations have been levied against the mining countries for hiring private security firms to shoot at the protestors protesting mining activities. One of the indigenous communities, La Esperanza, reported last month that its water was being contaminated by leaks from a mining company’s pipes.
On Saturday, protesters organized a “hundred-days of rage” to demand that the regional governor resign following police crackdowns on the demonstrations. The measures agreed in a meeting in the capital, La Punta were withdrawn by the UTC dealing a blow to the optimistic discussion around what many believed would finally solve the crisis. UTC leaders still believe they can reach an agreement with the federal government on the condition that the governor resigns.
The federal government had reached a power-sharing deal with the Unified Tribes Congress to end the decade old ethnic crisis that has seen thousands of protesters take to the streets of the region in recent weeks. The protests were organized by the Congress in the mountainous region with the aim of pressuring the region's regional government to finally resolve the longstanding crisis in which all but one of the regions 32 tribes say they do not receive revenues from their natural resources or economic development projects and that they are sidelines from workers from the eastern part of the country. The affected areas are mostly in La Republica's Central Mountain Region, where hundreds of indigenous communities live in impoverished settlements. The region's governor, Manuel Estrada, has largely continued to work closely with western mining companies which filed for arbitration to get approval for new gold deposits in the region. Other major complaints have involved system bias in police, distribution of utilities, health and education services, as well as environmental concerns. Accusations have been levied against the mining countries for hiring private security firms to shoot at the protestors protesting mining activities. One of the indigenous communities, La Esperanza, reported last month that its water was being contaminated by leaks from a mining company’s pipes.
On Saturday, protesters organized a “hundred-days of rage” to demand that the regional governor resign following police crackdowns on the demonstrations. The measures agreed in a meeting in the capital, La Punta were withdrawn by the UTC dealing a blow to the optimistic discussion around what many believed would finally solve the crisis. UTC leaders still believe they can reach an agreement with the federal government on the condition that the governor resigns.