This is a petition with a difference: it is a poem (with several specific 'asks' at the bottom).
The aim is to encourage as many people as possible to sign the petition and then send it to Peru's president on the 5th of June.
It was on the 5th of June last year, near Bagua, northern Peru, that Peruvian police attacked indigenous protesters. Many people were killed, hundreds injured.
The petition/poem details the various excuses made and lies told by Peru's government in response to the events at Bagua.
It names the officials in power at the time: president Garcia, prime minister Simon, Minister of the Interior Cabanillas, and Minister of Justice Pastor.
The petition/poem is an adaptation of a poem called 'To whom it may concern' by Adrian Mitchell.
Click on the link above to read and sign it. Please share with as many people as you can!
27 Mar 2010
To whom it may concern (Garcia? Simon? Cabanillas? Pastor?)
'Free trade' shot me dead on the 5th of June.
Now I wear t-shirts made on the moon.
Say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Democracy' shot me dead on an Amazon highway.
Now I have my own party, vote my way.
Say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Progress' shot me dead at the Devil's Bend.
Now I earn money I've nowhere to spend.
Say it was the US's fault, not yours,
say that was why you made the laws,
say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Development' shot me dead, left me there to bleed.
Now I see a doctor whenever I need.
Say it was a crime to have protested,
say they should all be arrested,
say it was the US's fault, not yours,
say that was why you made the laws,
say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Peru' shot me dead, took me away in a bag.
Now I know how to die for a flag.
Say you'll do a thorough investigation,
say you'll give them compensation,
say it was a crime to have protested,
say they should all be arrested,
say it was the US's fault, not yours,
say that was why you made the laws,
say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
In memory of all those who died at Bagua, northern Peru, 5 June 2009 when police attacked indigenous protesters.
This poem chronicles the various excuses made and lies told by Peru's government in response to the events at Bagua.
The title names the officials in power at the time: president Alan Garcia, prime minister Yehude Simon, Minister of the Interior Mercedes Cabanillas, and Minister of Justice Aurelio Pastor.
This poem is an adaptation of 'To whom it may concern' by Adrian Mitchell.
Now I wear t-shirts made on the moon.
Say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Democracy' shot me dead on an Amazon highway.
Now I have my own party, vote my way.
Say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Progress' shot me dead at the Devil's Bend.
Now I earn money I've nowhere to spend.
Say it was the US's fault, not yours,
say that was why you made the laws,
say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Development' shot me dead, left me there to bleed.
Now I see a doctor whenever I need.
Say it was a crime to have protested,
say they should all be arrested,
say it was the US's fault, not yours,
say that was why you made the laws,
say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
'Peru' shot me dead, took me away in a bag.
Now I know how to die for a flag.
Say you'll do a thorough investigation,
say you'll give them compensation,
say it was a crime to have protested,
say they should all be arrested,
say it was the US's fault, not yours,
say that was why you made the laws,
say it was them who attacked,
say the police just fought back,
say it was the Left who made them do it,
say the Church put them up to it,
say they didn't know why they were there,
say they were too stupid to care,
and exile them to Nicaragua.
Tell me lies about Bagua.
In memory of all those who died at Bagua, northern Peru, 5 June 2009 when police attacked indigenous protesters.
This poem chronicles the various excuses made and lies told by Peru's government in response to the events at Bagua.
The title names the officials in power at the time: president Alan Garcia, prime minister Yehude Simon, Minister of the Interior Mercedes Cabanillas, and Minister of Justice Aurelio Pastor.
This poem is an adaptation of 'To whom it may concern' by Adrian Mitchell.
4 Mar 2010
What the BBC didn't say about Yellowstone
Mark Thompson,
Director-General
BBC
PO Box 1922
Glasgow
G2 3WT
Dear Mark Thompson,
The BBC's recent programme about Yellowstone National Park in the US ('Yellowstone', BBC2, 24 February 2010) completely failed to acknowledge the fact that the creation of the park meant expelling 1000s and killing 100s of the people who used to live there.
I appreciate that wildlife was the focus of the programme, but its description of the region as a 'lost world' implied it was uninhabited before the park was created. This is false. The part of the programme called 'Yellowstone people' was an opportunity to mention those who had once lived there, but no such mention was made.
This is an extract from a recently-published book by investigative journalist Mark Dowie about Yellowstone:
'For a few years after its (the park's) creation seven native tribes – the Shoshone, Lakota, Crow, Bannock, New Perce, Flathead, and Blackfoot – lived, hunted and fished there. But 'strict natural protection' combined with wilderness romanticism to change policy, and by 1877 all Indians were ordered to leave the park for good. Resistance to eviction led to the deaths of hundreds of Indians – three hundred Shoshones in one particularly lethal encounter.' (Dowie, Conservation Refugees, MIT 2009)
The reason why it is crucial to draw attention to this is twofold:
1) Indigenous people around the world are regularly made 'invisible' on their own land. This makes it easier for governments and companies to claim their territory and exploit its natural resources for their own benefit and wealth.
2) Indigenous people around the world are regularly expelled from their land to make way for national parks. The number of people affected, known as 'conservation refugees', is estimated to be in the millions.
As your programme stated, Yellowstone was the world's first national park. . . but it also created the world's first 'conservation refugees'. By failing to acknowledge this, the BBC has seriously misled the public about the region and its history.
Yours sincerely,
James Pliny
Director-General
BBC
PO Box 1922
Glasgow
G2 3WT
Dear Mark Thompson,
The BBC's recent programme about Yellowstone National Park in the US ('Yellowstone', BBC2, 24 February 2010) completely failed to acknowledge the fact that the creation of the park meant expelling 1000s and killing 100s of the people who used to live there.
I appreciate that wildlife was the focus of the programme, but its description of the region as a 'lost world' implied it was uninhabited before the park was created. This is false. The part of the programme called 'Yellowstone people' was an opportunity to mention those who had once lived there, but no such mention was made.
This is an extract from a recently-published book by investigative journalist Mark Dowie about Yellowstone:
'For a few years after its (the park's) creation seven native tribes – the Shoshone, Lakota, Crow, Bannock, New Perce, Flathead, and Blackfoot – lived, hunted and fished there. But 'strict natural protection' combined with wilderness romanticism to change policy, and by 1877 all Indians were ordered to leave the park for good. Resistance to eviction led to the deaths of hundreds of Indians – three hundred Shoshones in one particularly lethal encounter.' (Dowie, Conservation Refugees, MIT 2009)
The reason why it is crucial to draw attention to this is twofold:
1) Indigenous people around the world are regularly made 'invisible' on their own land. This makes it easier for governments and companies to claim their territory and exploit its natural resources for their own benefit and wealth.
2) Indigenous people around the world are regularly expelled from their land to make way for national parks. The number of people affected, known as 'conservation refugees', is estimated to be in the millions.
As your programme stated, Yellowstone was the world's first national park. . . but it also created the world's first 'conservation refugees'. By failing to acknowledge this, the BBC has seriously misled the public about the region and its history.
Yours sincerely,
James Pliny
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