The Guardian 28 June, 2006
Global briefs
VENEZUELA: Hundreds of Indigenous leaders took part in the First National March of the Indigenous People in Caracas on June 10 in support of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and unity of their communities. Joined by Indigenous peoples from Peru and Ecuador, the marchers expressed opposition to US military operations in Caribbean waters and support for Venezuela’s withdrawal from the Andean Community of Nations. The mobilisation was organised by the National Indigenous Council of Venezuela (CONIVE), a coalition of 60 organisations and representatives of 32 indigenous groups. Speaking at the march, CONIVE President and National Assembly representative Nicia Maldonado said, "We are also saying to the government of Mr Bush, take all your military that you have in the Caribbean and get out, because here, we want peace, we want to live, because we are in search of our greatness, our spirituality and the flourishing of our liberty … liberation is here in Venezuela."
JAPAN: The first national meeting of the Article 9 Association (A9A) was held in Tokyo last week and attended by 1550 representatives from A9A organisations throughout Japan. A9A was formed in 1989 to protect Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which bars the re-militarisation of the country. The national exchange called for "establishing a nationwide network irrespective of ideological or political differences and increasing public awareness of the need to defend the Constitution." Writers, critics, philosophers and other prominent figures in the field of culture, including Nobel Prize winner in literature Oe Kenzaburo, spoke at the meeting.
MEXICO: Hundreds of state and local police agents on June 14 attacked an encampment of 40,000 teachers in the main square of Oaxaca, capital of the southern Mexican state of the same name, reportedly resulting in at least four deaths and injuries to over 90. The teachers had maintained their encampment since May 22 to demand increased educational services for children in their poor and largely indigenous area, as well as cost-of-living adjustments. They fled into nearby streets as police destroyed their encampment, invaded the headquarters of their union, the National Education Workers Union, and smashed furniture there. Covering their faces with dampened cloths against the gas, and armed with clubs and rocks, teachers regained the central square within hours. Organisers said some 300,000 teachers and their supporters, including traditional leaders of indigenous communities, joined a June 16 march through Oaxaca to protest against the attack.
BURUNDI: Burundi’s remaining active rebel group, the Forces Nationales de Liberation (FNL), and the Burundian Government signed an agreement June 18 to end hostilities, effective immediately. South African President Thabo Mbeki and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete joined Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza at the signing which is expected to end 13 years of civil war in the Central African nation, during which at least 300,000 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.