| Date: Sat 30-Apr-1994 Paper Page: 2 Publication: Daily Nation Writer: Anthony Blackman Indigenous people say governments not respecting their rights GOVERNMENTS HAVE been accused of disregarding the rights of indigenous peoples and they are being warned that such a practice must stop. The stern warning came from representatives of the Indigenous People's Tent at non-governmental organisations' Islands Forum at the Barbados Community College. "We have inherent rights and it's the governments which need to be taught to respect those rights," declared Victor Kaisiepo a delegate from West Papua New Guinea. He added: "If the governments do not pay attention then we will force the government to pay attention to our problems." He said that indigenous people have worked very hard for the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people. That draft will be finalised by the United Nations in February next year during the meeting on the Commission on Human Rights. The declaration ensures the political, social, economic and cultural rights of indigenous people will be looked after according to international law and in accordance with the charter of the United Nations. Indigenous people on their land should have the right to stay there without the interference of any government and they should be able to fight any government which tries to move them. He said all they were asking for was "autonomy and self governance". Chief Irvince Auguste of the Carib Community in Dominica noted that the situation of indigenous peoples needs to be addressed with respect to land rights and accessibility to natural resources and other concerns which relate to their very existence. Another delegate, Nelcia Robinson, said that in some Caribbean territories where there are rich mineral deposits from which indigenous people can benefit, they were often denied access to the land. However, she noted they were fighting back, and would be seeking to have indigenous people trained as lawyers. She said this was necessary since "we believe they would be more sensitive to the needs of their people". Robinson noted that in her native St. Vincent, Caribs were not given a fair break by government. She said one of the major Carib reserves was located "in a very inhospitable place" sited very close to La Soufriere, an active volcano which last erupted in 1979. Robinson voiced concern too, with regional governments' lack of commitment to preserving the culture and historic sites of the indigenous peoples of the region. Pauline Tangeriwa of New Zealand termed as "a most gross and vile trespass" the practice of some international medical organisations which go into areas with indigenous people and other poverty-stricken areas to take blood and skin samples for experiments. She called it a dangerous practice which represented a serious threat to the very survival of the indigenous people. "Chemical warfare has shown what extermination is, but the genetic warfare can also do it," Tangeriwa said. "Scientists may say we are crazy, but biological warfare is happening, and it is happening in a subtle way," she said. Tangeriwa called upon the media to assist indigenous people by writing investigative articles highlighting the wrongs done them. She said the dumping of toxic waste, deforestation and over-fishing posed a major threat to indigenous people. |