The Kakataibo Peoples have constantly warned of and denounced invasions and death threats against them without much response. The AIDESEP Alert and Early Action System (SAAT) will help change this reality.
On November 26th, 2021, a delegation led by the President of AIDESEP, Jorge Pérez Rubio, traveled to the community of Mariscal Cáceres, in the province of Padre Abad, Ucayali region. The purpose of the meeting was to launch the Indigenous territorial surveillance and monitoring system (SAAT).
During the event Herlin Osidio, President of the Native Federation of Kakataibo Communities (FENACOKA) stated that, «We have suffered invasions and murders, so much so that there have been six so far this year, this community alone,» he informed the authorities who participated in this inauguration event as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture.
The SAAT is made up of a state-of-the-art computer equipment, drone, tablet, power generator and a radio equipment, as well as a space for medicines and healthcare emergencies, both complemented with powerful satellite internet access by HughesNet with the capacity to connect 100 people simultaneously.
“The objective of this system is to report the rate of deforestation, through the analysis of satellite information, patrolling and overflight of the territory. We have been in Wawas, Amazonas, implementing this system thanks to international cooperation, but it is right there where the State has to enter, so that this action is not temporary, that is, it has to turn this initiative into a public policy to keep it alive ”, expressed Jorge Pérez, President of AIDESEP.
It should be noted that while the event was taking place, there was a new infringement to the “Flor de Ucayali” community to intimidate and ensure that the community does not communicate with anyone. Apu Miguel Guimares, who was present at the event, reported that “this fact is already being repeated and we believe that it is about land traffickers or drug traffickers”. There were 12 leaders assassinated between the regions of Loreto, Ucayali, Pasco and Junín, some of which happened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Pasco region, Lucio Pascual Yumanga, was found lifeless in the Paz de Pucharani community along with four other brothers. As a result, a commission of Ashaninka indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Ashaninka Nationality Association (ANAP) went to the area to determine what happened and take action in the case in coordination with the police authority. However, the difficulty in accessing these communities makes it almost impossible for the police to act to prevent attacks on the communities beforehand.
The route to the Indigenous community of Mariscal Cáceres, in Ucayali, is very long. You have to start from the city of Pucallpa, where you travel for two and a half hours to the town of Aguaytia and two more hours to finally reach the community.
In order to reach the community, visitors need to go through enormous oil palm plantations. The owners of these lands do not seem to be native to the place, however, they are the ones who charge a toll for traveling along the road to the native community of Mariscal Cáceres. The limited presence of authorities turns this important Indigenous territory into a “no man’s land.”
«We hope that the SAAT will truly help us stop the slaughter of our people and that the government, for its part, will find a way to approve the Escazú Agreement as a legal defense mechanism for us defenders of the territory,» concluded Herlin Odisio, Kakataibo resident of FENACOKA.
