Not since 1742 has there been an Amazon Indian uprising on this scale resulting in so many deaths.

But the recent violent protests have left dozens dead and Alberto Pizango (pictured), the leader of Peru’s Amazon Indians, taking refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy in Peru.

For months, the protests had peacefully marked desperation at the government’s recent laws promoting the continued opening of indigenous land to oil companies and other groups hoping to exploit the rainforest’s many resources.

Of course not every supporter of the cause joined the demonstrations; Peru’s uncontacted tribes, who face the greatest threat from the government’s contested policies, remain far from the turmoil.

But they also make clear their desire to defend their lands, famously aiming arrows at passing planes.

Nevertheless, the movement has found support from across Peruvian society and beyond, as solidarity rallies gathered worldwide.

At this crucial moment many observers, including British newspaper The Guardian, stand with Pizango, noting that:

Peru’s president, Alan Garcia, is determined to parcel up the forest into blocks for commercial use, encouraged by a free trade deal with America signed three years ago.

More than 70% of the forest has been allocated for oil exploration and the consequences for the Amazonian ecosystem, and the people who co-exist with it, have been dire.

The protests turned bloody last Friday when clashes with the army and police, as they tried to clear a roadblock, left at least 30 people dead and perhaps many more.

The Indian spokesman, Alberto Pizango, who heads a human rights organisation that brings together Amazonian Indian interests from across the country and which has long fought peacefully to protect the forests, has been charged with sedition.

Survival’s Director, Stephen Corry, has said that the Amazon is facing its ‘Tiananmen’ unless its government changes course. There are glimmers of hope, with the BBC reporting that two highly controversial land laws have been suspended.

Now’s a good time to write a letter to President Garcia to join the growing global opposition to his government’s tactics.

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