[WSF-Discuss] Guatemala Forum to Focus on Indigenous Issues

[CACIM]

*Guatemala Forum to Focus on Indigenous Issues*

 @ http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2008/october/06/reg02.htm

GUATEMALA - Participants at the Social Forum of the Americas will meet in
the Guatemalan capital to debate the indigenous peoples' rights, the defense
of their territories, which are threatened by transnational companies, and
the situation of children and youths.

"The continental meeting is the propitious framework to analyze the most
pressing problems of the indigenous communities and to create a regional
common front, Rodolfo Pocop, one of the organizers of the forum, told Prensa
Latina.

Several activities are being held, including the continental meeting of
children and youths, who are debating exclusion and racism in that sector
and whose conclusions will be presented at the forum.

In addition, the Latin American Meeting on Mining and the Indigenous
Peoples' Rights will open on Monday to discuss autonomy and free
determination in the use of the land and its natural resources, Pocop said.

The leader of the Indigenous Farmers' National Coordinator pointed out that
a document containing the indigenous peoples' stance on the association
agreement between Central America and the European Union will be handed over
to the negotiators of the accord.

They will demand respect for millennia-old cultures and compliance with
international treaties, including Convention 169 of the International Labor
Organization and UN declarations.

"Unfortunately, authorities make decisions that neither meet the needs nor
respect the rights of our communities," said Juana Batzibal, of the Center
for Legal Actions on Human Rights.

That is why we are forced to fight and defend the Mother Land and to prevent
that our lives and the future of our children be destroyed, she added.

The University of San Carlos de Guatemala will host the Third Social Forum
of the Americas from October 7-12. The meeting will conclude with a mass
demonstration on the streets of the Guatemalan capital and a rally at
Constitution Square.



-- 
Sah Bittu,

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics,
BMCC Road, Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune - 411004
Maharashtra
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