An indigenous community leader and environmental defender, Americo\nPascuala Tomisha, was shot dead while patrolling his ancestral territory\nin the Amazon region of Peru, authorities reported on Tuesday (25\/8).\nThe case is now being investigated as a murder by local law\nenforcement.<\/p>\n
Pascuala, 57, was a member of the Asheninka community. He died on\nSunday (23\/8) in the Ucayali region of Peru, which borders Brazil. The\narea has previously been the site of deaths of several environmental\ndefenders.<\/p>\n
Peru\u2019s Ministry of Culture condemned Pascuala\u2019s death. The national\nprosecutor has also opened an investigation into the alleged murder of\nthe indigenous leader.<\/p>\n
The organisation ORAU, which represents a number of indigenous groups\nin the region, stated that Pascuala was hit by gunfire allegedly carried\nout by outsiders extracting copaiba oil from trees in the indigenous\nterritory.<\/p>\n
According to ORAU, Pascuala had reported the presence of these\nunknown parties on his ancestral land since 2020.<\/p>\n
ORAU Vice President Herlin Odicio condemned the killing and demanded\nthat the case be prosecuted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis cowardly murder is utterly reprehensible. What is happening in\nour Amazon must not go unpunished,\u201d Odicio said at a press\nconference.<\/p>\n
Pascuala\u2019s case adds to the long list of environmental and indigenous\nrights defenders in Latin America who face threats as a result of their\nadvocacy work. Activists are often targeted after exposing alleged\nenvironmental crimes, including deforestation and the exploitation of\nnatural resources in indigenous territories.<\/p>\n
In Peru, law enforcement regarding the killing of environmental\ndefenders also remains a concern. On Monday (24\/8), a Peruvian court\nsentenced four people found guilty of the 2023 murder of Quinto\nInuma.<\/p>\n
Inuma was a Kichwa indigenous leader known as one of the\nenvironmental defenders in the San Martin Amazon region. His murder\nbecame one of the cases that drew widespread attention to threats\nagainst indigenous leaders in Peru.<\/p>\n
According to the non-governmental organisation Global Witness, at\nleast 62 land and environmental defenders were killed in Peru between\n2012 and 2024. More than half of the victims were members of indigenous\ncommunities.<\/p>\n
In the Amazon region, conflicts are often linked to the use of\nnatural resources, logging, deforestation, and other economic activities\ntaking place in indigenous territories.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indigenous-leader-and-environmental-defender-shot-dead-in-perus-amazon-1787737853", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }