And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Venezuela's New Constitution to Confer Indigenous Rights By Jose Rafael Leal http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov99/1999L-11-11-01.html CARACAS, Venezuela, November 11, 1999 (ENS) - After two weeks of negotiations that brought the constitutional process to a halt, a nearly unanimous vote has approved inclusion of indigenous peoples in Venezuela's new constitution now being written. En~epa, Bari, Jibi, Yanomami, Piaroa, Jodi, Pemon, Southern Arawak, An~u, Karin~a, Guajibo, Yekuana, Wayuu, Pume, Warao, Yukpa, Akawayo, Northern Arawak, Mapoyo, Puinave, Saliva, Sape, Uruak, Yavarana, Yeral. Indigenous man (Photos courtesy Rain-Tree Pharmaceuticals) Representatives of each Venezuelan indigenous ethnic group, chiefs and common Indians, elders and youngsters, women carrying infants congregated for two weeks in late October adn early November in the hallways of the National Congress where the National Constitutional Assembly is writing a new constitution for Venezuela. They were lobbying to be considered as the natural warranters of Venezuelan rainforest protection and preservation by being original inhabitants of the land. But some lawmakers, said granting rights with the words "Indigenous Territories" and "Indigenous Peoples" could pose future threats for the national sovereignity of Venezuela. One member brought out some old armed forces intelligence reports that talked about obscure links between indigenous communities and Colombian narco-guerrillas, and the supposed existence of a subversive Amerindian movement. Goverment lawmakers passing from one chamber of the Congress to another had to zig-zag between Indians with the saddest of the faces standing against a background of placards attached to the walls - pictures of their lands before and after mining, signs reading "We Say NO to the Electric Line in Gran Sabana," and "For the Right to a Proper Education for Indigenous." Yanomami men prepare for a hunt Their lives and cultures have been under assault as underground minerals of all kinds have attracted miners, from illegal garimpeiros to organized multinational projects such as the Las Cristinas complex on Bolivar State. Epidemics of yellow fever have decimated their populations brought by miners and others from the outside world. Cattle and agricultural industries have destroyed their forest homes. But after two weeks of negotiations that brought the constitutional process to a halt, on November 3, a nearly unanimous vote approved inclusion of indigenous peoples in the new constitution. If the voting public of Venezuela approves the new constitution, Venezuelan indigenous people will have constitutional rights as aboriginal peoples who need a clean and pure habitat. The words "indigenous peoples" and "indigenous habitat" will be in the Constitution. Indigenous children of the rainforest The word "territory" was changed for "habitat," said Aristobulo Isturiz, the Constituent member in charge of handling the indigenous controversy, "because we can use the concept "indigenous peoples" without the worry that in the future it could be used to declare an Indigenous Free Determination. The word habitat instead of territory was chosen also because indigenous people need more than just the land, they need this land to be pristine and virgin, clean and pure, the forests, mountains and savannahs, the habitat where those Indians live. Isturiz said, "The rainforest, which does not belong to them, is part of their habitat because they need to hunt; the rivers or lagoons, which do not belong to them, are also part of their habitat because they need to fish; the mountains are important part of their lives and beliefs." While the final vote was being taken on Chapter VIII regarding indigenous rights, drums were heard in the Congress hall. A few seconds after the vote granting them constitutional rights was announced, all the dozens of indigenous people gathered inside the National Congress of Venezuela stopped their drums and started to loudly sing the National Anthem, followed with great emotion by all the National Constitutional Assembly members. © Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<>
