Indigenous people reject Kailasa, and masismo remains silent. Why don’t they speak out? What are they hiding? | Indígenas rechazan a Kailasa y el masismo calla. ¿Por qué no se pronuncian? ¿Qué ocultan?

By Silvana Vincenti, El Deber:

Cidob says Kailasa already has homes in the territories: the Government remains silent

Casa ocupada por personas de Kailasa en territorio cayubaba

Justo Molina, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (Cidob), stated that there are about 20 houses in the Cayubaba territory and that this religious group has been contacting indigenous peoples for three years.

“They already have 20 rented homes and are living in indigenous territory. We didn’t know, but after investigating, it turns out they have been there for about three years, working and making contact with indigenous people in the Amazon (Baure, Esse Ejja, and Cayubaba), who have signed contracts.

Now they are trying to back out. Their leaders are the ones who signed and don’t want to face the situation. They also signed with Modesta Santistevan, led by Faustino Flores, who claims to be a leader of the Guaraní People’s Assembly (APG) in Cordillera,” Justo Molina, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (Cidob), told EL DEBER.

He added that representatives from the so-called United States of Kailasa have been reaching out to all native nations, both in Chiquitania and among the Guaraní people and in Guarayos. “They reached out to me thousands of times, but I didn’t meet with them because I was aware of what happened in Paraguay and at the UN. I knew they were a sect, and they’ve been in these territories for three years, making contacts, trying to persuade, and had just started formalizing agreements until they finally signed (a contract),” he said.

Roddy Chávez, from the Cayubaba people, stated that there is only one house in their territory, occupied intermittently by three people, and that just a week ago, all three were there together, whereas in previous days, there was only one or two of them.

Regarding the interaction between indigenous people and Kailasa members, Chávez said that almost no one engages with them. “Occasionally, they go out to do yoga with the children, go to the plaza, and then return home,” he reported.

Lucio Ayala, president of Multiethnic Indigenous Territory 2 (TIM 2), located between Beni and Pando, confirmed that there is not a single Kailasa residence in that territory. “Here, we are serious and organized. TIM consists of three nations, not just the Esse Ejja, so we sanctioned them, and they retracted, but I told them they need to make it public,” he emphasized.

TIM 2 issued a statement yesterday, denouncing and rejecting the intentions of the “fictitious group United States of Kailasa, which, through deception and false promises, has attempted to take over our lands, violating our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Regarding the reports of an agreement signed between “this group of unscrupulous individuals” and some TIM II leaders, the statement denounced that Kailasa members manipulated some representatives of the Esse Ejja nation, exploiting their vulnerable situation to extract signatures with promises of easy money.

Furthermore, they nullified and declared void any agreement that aimed to cede their lands and territory to the “fictitious” State of Kailasa or any other external group attempting to undermine their territorial sovereignty. Lastly, they declared these individuals as unwelcome and prohibited them from entering their communities.

According to the Facebook account of the Baure Indigenous Territory, the “bilateral” treaty with Kailasa was signed in September 2024, with the primary objective of supporting and assisting Bolivia’s indigenous nations in community development and protecting the biodiversity of forests, flora, fauna, etc. However, in recent days, they also confirmed that they have withdrawn from the contract.

Although Kailasa representatives attended Cidob’s 42nd anniversary and presented a gift to President Luis Arce on stage, Justo Molina stated that they do not know who brought them there but admitted that they had been trying to reach him for over a year, offering remedies. “They said they have been here for several years. They were at my office with some leaders, regularly meeting with Hugo Molina from the Justice Tribunal. I told them they could not issue any documents, but it turns out they already had legal status and even had copies of property titles in their possession from some indigenous nations. Hugo Molina knows about this,” he said. He also announced that he would travel to Beni to hold meetings on the matter.

Regarding their legal status, Tatiana Montero from the Cabinet Secretariat of the Beni Governor’s Office told EL DEBER that no such process has been granted to the religious organization Kailasa.

Silence
Since Tuesday, EL DEBER has requested a statement from the Foreign Ministry regarding Kailasa’s situation, but as of last night, no official response had been issued. The same request was made to the Vice Ministry of Communication team and the INRA (National Director Eulogio Núñez).

Migration authorities have also not commented on the issue.

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