BREAKING NEWS: An outspoken Peruvian opponent of illegal logging, Edwin Chota, and three other native Ashaninka community leaders were shot and killed in the remote region bordering Brazil where they live. Chota had been receiving death threats from illegal loggers in the area and their deaths are presumed by the authorities to be an act of retaliation against their work defending their land. Their tragic deaths remind us that environmental and land defenders are not safe from those who want to maintain control over their land. In recent years threats against environmental and land defenders have been on the rise and this tragic news is a reminder that more needs to be done to stop pervasive corruption which enables loggers to operate with impunity. Read the article here: aje.me/1ulxuII For more information on the dramatic rise in killings of environmental and land defenders read this Global Witness report, “Deadly Environment:” bit.ly/1wdwjOq
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:31:42 +0000