Day of Indigenous Resistance, date of native vindication

Caracas, Oct 06 ABN.- After a long struggle of 500 years of exclusion, abandonment and relegation, today the Venezuelan native people enjoy a multi-ethnic, pluricultural country that vindicates all the human rights, for that reason next Monday Oct. 12 is to be celebrated their day: the Day of Indigenous Resistance.

According to the Minister of People's Power for Indigenous People, Nicia Maldonado, those processes of fight -to get to eradicate the refusal and discrimination of our culture and folkways, which marked them for centuries- have been shaping since ten years ago with the arrival of the Bolivarian Government.

“This Administration has meant, for the two thousand 859 indigenous communities registered in the country, the salvation of dignity, of the right to exist and to look at the beings who join us as brothers.”

Likewise, she stressed that by means of the policies in favor of the indigenous people it has been bestowed the rights, laws to protect them and the conditions of life of those native families have been improving.

“We come from 500 years of resistance against genocide, abuses, discrimination and extinction. With the policies of inclusiveness for the indigenous communities there have been realized important progresses in matters of life, vindication and health. Now, we can say that for the first time in history the indigenous people support an Administration,”

she affirmed. People condemned to annihilation Minister Maldonado recalled that in the Official Gazette number 12562, dated on June 16 1915, “indigenous communities were condemned to annihilation.” I

n one of its articles, such Gazette read: “Aiming at refounding and attracting civic life to the tribe with the non-civilized partisanship, which still exist on the different regions of the Republic, and aiming, at the same time, at repopulating these regions of the union, may be created in the federal regions in Bolivar, Apure, Zulia, Zamora and Monagas states as much missions as necessary in accordance with the Federal Executive.”

Moreover, on article 5, it was expressed that “for a better regime and dominance of the Republic over the territory that include the missions, there shall be created feats or leaderships and, to the effect, they shall request to the Federal Executive, to the corresponding representative, their settlement to these establishments, being the missions separated from every other jurisdiction.”

“There was being guaranteed the annihilation and progressive disappearance of the indigenous communities, with the arrival of religions and pitiyankee missions, made official later on at the Constitution of 1961,” the Minister said.

The Venezuelan Constitution of 1961 stated on its article 77 that “the State shall improve the living conditions of the population, the Law is to establish the regime of emergency that the indigenous communities require and their progressive inclusion to the nation.”

However, according to the Minister, it is in 1998, with the arrival of the Revolutionary Government, when that process of change and historical vindication starts.

Validation of their rights In 1998, the Bolivarian Government started a process of change, of inclusion and vindication by carrying out of a set of plans and projects for native people, such as the Plan Sinaruco 2000, in Apure state; Plan Casiquiare 2000, in the Amazon region; Plan Bolivar Guajira 2000; Plan Delta; among others.

Furthermore, it was created the Minister of People's Power for Indigenous People, which comes to settle the historical debt of the two thousand 859 indigenous communities all around the country, some established in their native lands and others in urban areas.

Regarding education and the socialist missions, Minister Maldonado stressed that there have been built about 1,100 bolivarian schools, in which are educated 40 thousand children and where they also receive healthy foods.

In the remaining missions are being trained about 20 thousand young aborigines. Likewise, more than five thousand students of university studies are receiving scholarships granted by Fundayacucho (Foundation Great Marshal of Ayacucho).

Regarding health matters, he expressed that indigenous communities are receiving high-quality care in virtue of the National Public Health System, the arrival of Cuban doctors and the medical students who are being trained so as to become community and indigenous doctors.

“Just in ten years was accomplished the implementation of 400 Integral Diagnostic Centers (CDI), 545 Integral Rehabilitation Rooms (SRI) and more than six thousand 711 community outpatient clinics, which attends more than two thousand 100 aborigines. It is a very important success that had not been achieved in the five previous centuries.”

Moreover, Maldonado thanked the support of the air transport team of the Armed Forces, in Amazonas state, who have devoted 19 thousand 84 hours to health, “saving this way two thousand 579 indigenous people who were at death's door.”

Besides, she recognized the work carried out by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, “for devoting 39 thousand 169 hours to transport food for the faraway populations, benefiting this way 67 thousand 939 aborigines.”

Among other achievements obtained with the Bolivarian Government, there highlights the demarcation to more than a million hectares, delivered in 36 title deeds.

Therefore, the Minister expressed as well that 36 communes are in process of regulation, in order to create the Indigenous Communal Government in the 36 lands, guaranteeing this way the food sovereignty.

Up to the moment, 37 thousand 897 hectares of land have been cultivated as follow: 29 thousand 995 hectares of white corn; two thousand of cassava; 152 of vegetables; 500 of coffee; 152 hectares of beans; and 100 of cocoa.

There have been also granted eight thousand heads of livestock in several regions of the country, out of which 4,020 were bestowed in Apure state and ten thousand chickens in eastern communities.

“After centuries of resistance to exclusion, genocide and eradication of our culture, there has taken office a Government that has established our rights in the Constitution,” she added. Due to a presidential decree, on October 12 every year is commemorated the Day of the Indigenous Resistance.

This day is destined for recognizing the American self-assertiveness for the union and cultural and human diversity, vindicating as the indigenous people of America as the contribution of the African, Asian, European cultures in the configuration of our nationality, in the spirit of the dialog of civilizations, peace and justice.

 

Press Office of the Venezuelan Embassy Octuber 12th 2009