Ashaninka Indians are no strangers to defending their rainforest homelands

Headlines have recently been abuzz with the news of protests among indigenous Indians in Peru about the increasing incursions of government-sponsored developers into their lands.

Last month, hundreds of thousands of native Peruvians banded together to take over company installations and airports as well as blocking roads and river ways across Peru's Amazonian region.

A state of emergency was even declared by over 100 Amazonian communities after Peru granted a sizeable oil concession to Colombian and Brazilian firms.

Coordinated by the Interethnic Association of Development of the Peruvian Jungle, the protests are opposed to laws that make Peru's rainforests more liable to exploitation by multinational corporations and put native people's homelands at threat.

According to The Republic, concessions granted to corporations by the Peru government cover almost three quarters of the rainforest - much more than in any other Amazonian country.

Add to this an ever-expanding number of roads and dirt helipads in native territories to facilitate the entry of engineers and equipment, and it is not difficult to see the root of the protesters' discontent.

More than 1,000 communities from 60 different indigenous groups have been protesting against the government, including the Ashaninka group of the Central Forest in the Amazonian part of the eastern Andean foothills in Peru.

The Ashaninka Indians have not been far from the news headlines and column inches relating to the recent campaigns and calls for respect for the Peruvian Amazon rainforest and are certainly no strangers to protest.

The events of the last few weeks and months are the culmination of years of fierce opposition to threats to their settlements and livelihoods. Indeed, the passion with which the Ashaninka's fight for their homeland can be better understood when their history of protest is also considered.

Ashaninka Indians perhaps first gained widespread recognition during Peru's contracted "dirty war" against Maoist Shining Path guerrillas during the 1980s and 1990s. The Shining Path's battle against state forces found itself in Ashaninka territory, threatening the group's peaceful way of life and the balance of local ecosystems.

In 1989, the Shining Path invaded Ashaninka territory amid attempts to control the drug trade, compromising the safety of scores of local villages.

Reluctant to concede defeat, the Ashaninka's successfully drove the guerrilla groups away from their land using bows, arrows and weapons supplied from the army. In 1993, after six Ashaninka villages were pillaged, the tribe sent a delegation to Lima to request arms and economic aid.

The tribe is also known to have driven away other rival groups such as the Amahuakas, securing ownership of their lands following repeated attempts to take over their territory.

In recent years, the fight against deforestation, illegal logging and government-sponsored concessions given to multinationals has taken an electronic turn, as Ashaninkas make use of 21st century technology as part of their battle to defend their forest homelands.

Younger factions of the indigenous groups have now turned to the internet, blogs and social networking sites as an indispensable tool for protest.

The Ashaninka Society of the Rio Amonia has used its own blog to communicate to the world how the group intends to appeal to international courts to protect their territory and the biodiversity of their local environment.

A number of non-governmental organisations have joined the cause and helped to campaign on behalf of the Ashaninkas.

This has resulted in the establishment of a protected area known as the Otishi National Park, which is located between Ashaninka and Machiguenga communal reserves in the Satipo province.

Defending their rights is a concept that the Ashaninkas are not unfamiliar with. Their history of successful protest show that they are fully capable of voicing their concerns and will not concede defeat without a struggle.

Written by Aaron Akinyemi

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