Tony Coolidge

Among the 16 officially-recognized Indigenous tribes of Taiwan, the Bunun peoples are known for their strength, endurance and fierce nature. The people of the island’s 4^th largest Indigenous group, centered in Taitung and Hualien Counties, are distinctly shorter and have a bronze complexion. They are known for the strength of their bodies and power in their voices, which suits them for surviving in the pristine, rugged mountains of southeast Taiwan.

The Central American Network of Indigenous Community Radios, which is made up of Indigenous community radio stations from each of the seven countries of Central America (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) on March 1, 2016 pronounced their support for Bill 4087, Community Media Law in Guatemala. In a powerful letter, they urge the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala to pass this law in order to fulfill their obligation as a democratic State.

For Immediate Release 

March 31, 2016-- (Cambodia)   We are the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN), a group of Kuy ethnic volunteers who join together to protect the Prey Lang Forest, which has been part of our lives for many generations. We come from the four provinces surrounding Prey Lang, Kampong Thom, Preah Vihea, Kratie and Stung Trung and have volunteered, working together to protect Prey Lang for 16 years.

On March 13th to 15th, 2016, Edison Lanza, a journalist and lawyer from Uruguay and now the Organization of American States Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression visited Guatemala where he learned more information on the political situation regarding the legalization of community radio.

By Mark Camp, Cultural Survival
Published in Strategies for Media Reform International Perspectives Edited by Des Freedman, Jonathan Obar, Cheryl Martens, and Robert W. McChesney. (2016. Fordham University Press)

In her recent trip to Brazil from March 7-17, 2016, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz met with more than 50 Indigenous Peoples to identify and assess the main issues they are currently facing, as well as to follow-up on recommendations made in 2008 by her predecessor James Anaya. Some of the communities she met with include the Yanomami, Maxakali, Manoki, Ka'apor, Guarani-Kaiowa, and the Rede de Corporaçāo Amazonica.

Carbondale, Illinois, USA,
18 February 2015
Dilma Rousseff
Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil
Gabinete do Presidente
Palácio do Planalto Praça dos Três Poderes
Brasília – Distrito Federal 70150-900 Brazil

On March 15, 2016, Nelson Garcia, a member of the same Indigenous rights group as Berta Caceres was assassinated in Honduras. Garcia was killed by four gunshots to the face in the Rio Chiquito community, less than two weeks after Caceres’ murder.

March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

"Racism has been a banner to justify the enterprises of expansion, conquest, colonization and domination and has walked hand in hand with intolerance, injustice and violence." -- Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Guatemalan Indigenous Leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

The international community has been reeling after the gunning down of Indigenous Lenca activist Berta Caceres of Honduras, well known and loved around the world for her dedication and commitment to her community, their lands, and protecting the environment.

Thirteen Maya villagers will be standing trial in Belize on March 30th, 2016, under fabricated charges. Like many Indigenous leaders fighting to protect their lands, they are being criminalized for these actions, and may face prison time.

On the early morning of June 24th, 2015, traditional leaders of the Maya people of Southern Belize were violently awoken in their homes by police. Charges were brought against 13 people, including 10 farmers, two traditional Maya leaders, and Q’eqchi community spokesperson Cristina Coc, advisor to the traditional leaders and mother of two.  

Indigenous community radio stations in Guatemala have found themselves in the midst of a hopeful period regarding their legalizations, as the new government entered in January 2016. Bill 4087, Community Media Law, which was brought to the table in Congress after years of lobbying, has achieved significant advances as it passed its first and second readings in Congress.