URGENT ACTION

INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES FACE REPRISALS

Five Indigenous communities in Itakyry district, eastern Paraguay, are no longer facing imminent forced eviction from their ancestral lands. However, the Brazilian farmers who claim they own the land used an aeroplane to spray a toxic substance over the communities, resulting in more than 200 people needing medical treatment. The communities are at risk of further reprisals.

The Ava Guarani communities of Loma Tajy, Ka'aguy Poty, Ka'aty Min, Ka'agauy Roky and Formosa, had been facing eviction from the land they have inhabited for many years. Ownership of the land is being challenged by farmers from over the nearby border with Brazil, who use the land to grow soya. On 6 November, after a challenge made by the communities’ lawyer, the eviction order was overturned. However, on the same day, around 50 men, allegedly representing the Brazilian farmers, tried to remove the Indigenous Peoples from their land. Members of the communities fired arrows at the men. It is understood that only a small number of local police were present. The communities prevented the men from gaining access to their land. However, later that day, a small aeroplane flew over the communities and sprayed what appeared to be pesticides normally used on soya crops over their homes.

Since this incident, the Minister of Public Health has reported that some 220 people have become ill, with symptoms including vomiting, fainting and breathing difficulties. At least seven people were taken to hospital. It has been reported that there were delays in sending ambulances to fetch those in need of medical care. The day after the spraying, representatives from several government ministries and the president of the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute(Instituto Paraguayo del Indigena(INDI) arrived to assess the damage to the area. According to press reports, clean drinking water has been supplied to the communities as their water supply was contaminated by the spraying. Serious concerns remain for the safety and the health of the Indigenous communities.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling on the authorities to ensure the safety of the Ava Guarani Indigenous communities in Itakyry;

• Urging the authorities to ensure that effective medical assistance is supplied to the five Ava Guarani Indigenous communities in Itakyry affected by the fumigation of their ancestral land on 6 November;

• Calling for an investigation into the events leading up to and on 6 November;

• Reminding the authorities that the right to traditional lands is crucial to Indigenous Peoples as it is a vital element of their sense of identity, livelihood and way of life and urging them to fulfil their obligations under the International Labour Organisation's Convention 169, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and relevant articles of the Paraguayan constitution on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 DECEMBER 2009 TO: