(ANS - Puerto Casado) - "The Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo, the men and women religious, seminarians and pastoral workers, gathered in the ordinary missionary assembly, express their concern for the mythical Cerro León, located in the North-Eastern region of Alto Paraguay, territory entrusted by the Catholic Church to the Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco."  This is the opening paragraph of an Official Statement issued yesterday, 4 March, by the Apostolic Vicariate.

The statement, signed by Bishop Gabriel Escobar Ayala, SDB, lists all the articles and agreements - constitutional and international - that protect the territories belonging to indigenous groups that have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, there is a bill of law which overlooks the fact that those lands "will be non- attachable, indivisible, non-transferable, imprescriptible, not subject to contractual obligations and cannot be leased" (art. 64 of the community property). It continues:

As the particular Church and as active members of civil society, we express our repudiation of any abuse against the laws that guarantee the right to life, the preservation of biodiversity and its inhabitants, and the Totobiegosode people of the forest who are the owners of this land. In the same manner, we repudiate the bill that purports to change article 18 of Law 904/81, the “Statute of indigenous communities", because it contrasts with the National Constitution and the international agreements signed by the State of Paraguay, such as Convention no. 169 of the International Labour Organization.

We join all Paraguayan society and native populations in denouncing this abuse and in defence of these lands of the indigenous peoples.

We commit ourselves and invite all missionaries engaged in pastoral work with the indigenous people to accompany the process of awakening critical consciousness, for a correct understanding of the law and the draft law concerning the right of indigenous people to the legitimate possession of the land.

We urge the departmental and municipal authorities to take a clear stance against this project which is in contempt of nature, biodiversity and the habitat of the forest peoples living voluntarily in isolation.

And finally we join in solidarity with all citizens and native people of Paraguay in the defence and protection of Cerro León, as an ecological sign and symbol of the North-Eastern region of Alto Paraguay.

Gabriel Escobar Ayala, SDB

Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo

Published 05/02/2015