Israeli OXEC Continues Guatemala Maya  Genocide For Profit And Hydro Electric Monopoly


https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/fl-op-guatemala-indigenous-activists-killings-20180523-story.html

In my visit I spoke with many people who are victims of criminalization and impunity. I went to Alta Verapaz, where thousands of people gathered to express their complaints against the construction of the OXEC I and II hydroelectric dams in the Cahabón River without consulting them.

I had the opportunity to visit the jail in Coban, Alta Verapaz, where I met Bernardo Caal, the leader of the struggle against the OXEC dams who faces multiple trumped-up charges of aggravated robbery and incitement to commit a crime, among many others. He was with five members of the community of Chotún Basilá who claimed they were just defending their rights to their lands. They were the targets of criminal charges filed by the Chilte Cooperative, the alleged perpetrator of the killing of Can Xol. While those who target human rights defenders typically escape justice, indigenous people are often treated as criminals simply for defending their lands

Chamán Paau's community of Tres Ríos has also struggled. In 2016, another member of the community was killed - allegedly by the head of security for a private farm challenging Tres Ríos's land claims.

These are not isolated cases. Last year, an NGO, Udefegua, documented 493 attacks against human rights defenders in Guatemala, including 11 murders. Human rights defenders, especially those protecting their communities' lands and resources, suffer threats and attacks on a consistent basis. Last year, Global Witness documented at least 197 murders of land and environmental defenders all over the world. Historically around 40 percent of these murders have been indigenous people. And these numbers do not capture the full scope of the problem: the criminalization of indigenous peoples and killings in remote parts of the world that do not make news or reach reporters.

At the root of this violence is institutionalized racism and discrimination against Guatemala's indigenous population. Their inherent rights to their traditional lands, territories and resources are not recognized. Although half the country's population is indigenous, most still lack collective titles to the lands they have relied on for generations. Both the Chotún Basilá and Chamán Paau communities have been trying to resolve over 50 land conflicts with the government, but there has been little progress in securing their rights.

This has led to many indigenous people in Guatemala being forced from the only homes they've known without any compensation, relocation or assistance. It is, therefore, no wonder that around 40 percent of the country's indigenous people live in extreme poverty, and more than half of indigenous children are malnourished.