Communiqué: Mapuche Community Takes Direct Action Against Oil and Gas Exploitation on Its Territory

from UpsideDownWorld

MAPUCHE ACTION PLAN IN LOMA CAMPANA

(VACA MUERTA GAS & OIL RESERVE, NEUQUÉN, ARGENTINA)

Loma Campana, July 15th 2014

We wish to inform the local, national and international public opinion that from early in the morning we have started fencing our communal territories to protect its limits. The community of Lof Campo Maripe has been penetrated and drilled by the oil industry, which – without any regard for our collective life – disrupts family life and destroys communal economy.

The situation is aggravated by the arrival of fracking technology. Since the Government and the state oil company YPF announced a gas production record, we have proclaimed we will not allow such production levels to be attained at the expense of our life and culture. It is mandatory to set an agenda where the number one priority must be the respect for preexisting communities upon discovery of the gas reserves. Above all, laws that bind the provincial and national Government to respect the right to free, prior and informed consultation must be observed. None of this is taken into consideration during the current illegal occupation of Mapuche territory by oil companies.

After a process of dialogue with provincial authorities, we succeeded in getting the Under-Secretariat of Land to pass a Resolution on May 14th in which it expresses: “Article 1: Any titling of Provincial Public Lands in the Departments of Añelo and Confluencia in which there exist claims and/or conflicts with the Indigenous Communities to be surveyed under the Technical and Legal Cadastral Survey of lands of indigenous occupation shall be interrupted; this involves prior consultation of the communities”. Thus it is the right to prior consultation that is being breached by the oil sector and several private companies who break into our communal territories. This situation has been explained in detail in a letter submitted to the President of YPF, Miguel Galuccio, last week.

We ask for the support, solidarity and commitment of those who believe in the rightfulness of our claim; we ask you to decidedly support the action started today, which will continue until we have guarantees that our territories are protected from the destruction announced and carried out by fracking.

In defense of our territories;

In defense of Water and Life:

MARICIWEU MARICIWEU!!!

Ten times over we shall win.