Among the victims of the massacre was Edwin Chota, chief of the Alto Tamaya-Saweto community of Asháninkas. The outrageous of this case is that the own Edwin Chota warned in a YouTube video published on April 2013 that his community was being besieged by illegal loggers who had threatened them with gunshots and machetes, in the hopes of getting their resources from their land. Chota denounces that the state is not present and that he wants protection for his people. (See video below) | Four indigenous villagers form the ancestral Asháninka tribe were murdered by illegal loggers in the region of Ucayali, boundary with Brasil, on September 1. This has logically sparked the outrage of the Asháninkas, who rightfully are demanding the government for more protection, and also for basic needs that they lack like education. As always, the Peruvian government has ignored the rightful pleas of the long-forgotten people who compose the rich diversity of ethnic groups that make up this country, and is currently losing its battle against illegal loggers and the race against time to protect its rainforest. What really grinds our gears as Peruvians is to witness that it is common to find varieties of beers and sodas in a remote community in the heart of the Amazon, but the state is not able to provide basic needs for these people who are the true guardians of our biodiversity. |