The National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of Panama (Coonapip) will start a nationwide strike this Wednesday to demand that the government title their land.
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To isolate the area, the highways from Alto Bayano, Ipetí Emberá, Pueblo Nuevo, Puerto Lara, Chepo, Puente Bayano and the Ngäbe Buglé region will be closed. Madungandí, Wargandí and collective lands as explained by the Chief General of the Guna Yala, Reginfo Navas.
“The strike and nationwide shutdown will continue until the government responsibly answers the call of all authorities who have felt ridiculed and discriminated against by the government’s lack of attention and response,” Coonapip warned.
The protest is supported by 12 congresses and councils and authorities of seven indigenous people.
The demonstration also calls for an end to the evictions by settlers and for recognition of the development of the Madungandì and Emberá areas in Alto Bayano, already recognized by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The Coonapip also confirmed the establishment of a dialogue table with the executive, which will have the Catholic Church as a mediator, to find concrete solutions to the situation of the indigenous peoples and the power over their country.
In addition, the National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of Panama (COONAPIP) announced that it would join the protests through a “national and indefinite” strike as the government failed to respond to their demands. They also confirmed their inclusion in the unified dialogue table.
— SINART World Connection (@ConexionSINART)
July 20, 2022
Last week, this organization asked Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo to sit down on July 20 for a dialogue on the plight of indigenous people.
This country is in the midst of street protests demanding the government cut the cost of living, fuel, basic necessities and medicines.
This societal impulse is calling on groups like Coonapip from across the country to call for new measures that will enable local and economic development without outmoded restrictions or threats of violence.