Peru starts harassment of isolated Indigenous group

Peru starts harassment of isolated Indigenous group

By Staff Writers, teleSUR
Saturday, Jul 18, 2015

On Thursday July 17, Peru’s Ministry of Culture held a press conference announcing their implementation of a “plan of controlled contact” with the indigenous group Mashco Piro in the region of Madre de Diós. In doing so, the government is making contact with the community against the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. It is estimated that Peru has over 5,000 indigenous people in communities that are either completely or partially isolated in the regions of the Peruvian rainforest.

Rare pictures of the “uncontacted” Mascho Piros first appeared in major media outlets in February 2012. They inhabit an area in the southeastern part of the country, which is part of the Amazon Rainforest. The designation “uncontacted people” refers to those who have not had significant interactions with other communities.

The government’s announcement was made by Vice Minister of Interculturality Patricia Balbuena. She explained that a team of interpreters and translators from the Ministry of Culture “performed fieldwork with the communities of Mascho Piros with the goal of getting to know their concerns.”

She claimed the decision to initiate contact was made because of repeated sightings and encounters between the isolated community and other residents in the region.

More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_71027.shtml