Stakeholders must show support to the indigenous owner’s of the TIPNIS territory as well as to the integrity of this and ALL National Parks! Current Bolivian government is literally playing with the Constitution, laws and other forms of tampering and jeopardizing the self-determination and indigenous rights, let alone the preservation we must keep of our rich and fragile environment. The following cartoons represent the public opinion in Bolivia:

This is from El Diario, February 12, 2012. Conisur is the group in favor of the road that intends to cut TIPNIS in half, and one of the bird says: “… this is the Big Chief, ‘confused arrow’… he shoots first and then consults!” That is what exactly this government is doing, recent polls on the subject reflect the opinion of Bolivian society: this intended consultation will generate violence.

The second cartoon, down below is from El Dia, February 15, 2012. It represents current presidents of the lower and upper chambers of the National Assembly, what used to be the Bolivian Congress. They went ahead and approved the law that aims at consulting for the road to cut the TIPNIS, in an unprecedented and highly negative jurisprudence for future cases. The bulldozer has a sign up front: “any disagreement is illegal.”

Finally, this cartoon is from La Prensa, February 12, 2012.  You can see Conisur happily paving the road over the TIPNIS, a coca grower is taking down a big tree and saying: “a law is made and an ‘involving’ strategy’ is made” In clear reference that not matter what and despite promises and the short law, they never had the intention to bypass the TIPNIS…

So, what is next? CIDOB and TIPNIS leaders are still in the drawing board, regarding a new protest walk, the media reports that some indigenous people from other countries will join this new march; while the groups who support this government are beginning to bad mouth and offer threats to this new march… In sum, violence, anarchy will more likely happen over the next months, while current president has spent half a million dollars for the purchase of land next to the presidential palace and has reported his intention to build a new palace, according to his taste and interpretation of the country he wants to rule…

Our role should be to continue to make this type of governmental actions known to the world and support the CIDOB and TIPNIS in their ongoing saga for the rights they were given in the Constitution this government managed to approve with the help of the former. Those of us who praise our environment, must continue to denounce these negative actions, as this issue with the TIPNIS is just the tip of the iceberg, cocaine narcotrafficking needs more space to expand its evil business.