



Some 300 indigenous Brazilians have taken over a hydroelectric plant to protest its construction near an ancient burial ground on the Aripuana river, approximately 400 km north of Mato Grosso in the Amazon.

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The plant is only in its first phase, with operations not expected to begin until January 2011.

Armed with bows and arrows, the protestors held hostage 100 workers who were at the plant Sunday (July 25), refusing to let them leave until Monday (July 26), when they were exchanged for company officials. Other demands include access to government officials and monetary compensation. There have been no reports of any workers being harmed.

"This site is 30 km from our reserve and has caused great cultural and social impact in our community, not to mention environmental damage," Aledeci Arara, a tribal leader, told the G1 news portal.

The plant's manager, Paulo Rogerio Novaes, indicated that the company is waiting the results from a study being conducted by Funai, which is Brazil's indigenous affairs agency.

The vast majority of Brazilian energy is generated by hydroelectric dams. The Brazilian government has approved construction of several other new plants in the Amazon.

In a similar story earlier this year, Native American objections threatened to hold up the construction of an off-shore wind farm in Massachusetts.

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