<\/p>\n
BRAZIL: SUPREME COURT AUTHORIZES CONSTRUCTION OF BELO MONTE
\nA controversial $13 billion energy project located in the Amazon, which on Aug. 14 had been suspended by the lower court of Brazil. Construction on Belo Monte, the world\u2019s third-largest dam, began March 14, 2011 in Altamira, a northern state of Para. The project is proceeding despite resistance from the community\u2019s indigenous population as well as from environmental advocates, who argue that the dam, in addition to displacing the indigenous people, will have an irreversible ecological impact on that area of the Amazon rainforest. \u201cWe condemn this construction of dams in Brazil because they follow a national pattern of human rights violations,\u201d said a representative of the Movement of People Affected by Dams, which insists that the concerns of the peoples of the affected areas have not been addressed. Detonations undertaken during the course of the dam\u2019s construction have already caused serious environmental damage, in some cases irreparable damage<\/p>\n
VENEZUELA: INDIGENOUS GROUP RESPONDS TO KILLINGS OF TENS OF YANOMANI
\nThree witnesses have reported that on July 5, a helicopter fired shots and deployed explosives on a grouping of shabono huts in the Venezuelan community of Irotatheri, home to 80 indigenous Yanomami villagers. The attack was allegedly committed by Brazilian garimpeiros, illegal prospectors who have been exploiting the area\u2019s goldmines for at least three years. \u201cThe same day [of the massacre], three visitors found burnt bodies of children, women, and men,\u201d said Luis Shatiwe, a representative of the indigenous organization Horonami. The witnesses each said that they had found three survivors from an Irotatheri hunting party who, upon returning to their village, heard the sound of helicopters, gunfire and explosions, and subsequently fled the area. Neither the Venezuelan authorities nor the indigenous organizations have successfully verified the incident. On Sept. 2, the Venezuelan government stated that, \u201c[we] have found no evidence\u201d of the slaughter. Shatiwe remains determined to locate corroborating witnesses for conclusive proof of the massacre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRAZIL: SUPREME COURT AUTHORIZES CONSTRUCTION OF BELO MONTE A controversial $13 billion energy project located in the Amazon, which on Aug. 14 had been suspended by the lower court of Brazil. Construction on Belo Monte, the world\u2019s third-largest dam, began March 14, 2011 in Altamira, a northern state of Para. The project is proceeding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1845,690,1846,1514,617,1847],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-16737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latin_america","tag-belo-monte","tag-brazil","tag-garimpeiros","tag-latin-american-briefs","tag-venezuela","tag-yanomani","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n