"We call upon Christians around the world to express their solidarity in light of the recent acts of deplorable violence in the Peruvian Amazon that have left at least 40 people dead and more than 100 wounded in clashes between indigenous communities and Peruvian police. Indigenous groups have been protesting against a series of laws signed last year by President Alan Garcia that expands foreign energy, agricultural and mining investment in the Amazon jungle. These laws undermine the local population’s right under international law to consultation regarding the development of the land and its resources. The native population’s main concerns is the Legislative Decree 1090, which shrinks the size of Peru's Forestry Heritage protection system, leaving roughly 60 percent of Peru's jungles unprotected and open for potential exploitation."

In the face of the violence that has surged as a result of this conflict, Christians around the world are invited to sign the following declaration and raise their voices for God’s peace and justice to prevail:

We the undersigned, representatives of Evangelical Christian Organisations in different countries, believers in God the Creator of all nations and cultures, who has made us all in His image and likeness, express the following in the face of the massacre in the Amazonas Department of Peru on June 5th 2009:

1. We are deeply moved by the acts of violence in the Department of Amazonas, which have caused the arbitrary death of dozens of human beings and the injury of hundreds more.
2. Convinced that life is a precious gift of God that should be respected and protected in all circumstances, we deplore the fact that the Peruvian government has not had the capacity to resolve through just and pacific means the demands of the indigenous communities to repeal a series of laws that affect their legitimate rights, are unconstitutional and violate international norms and treaties.
3. We demand the immediate end to all confrontation, torture and kidnapping, as well as the re-establishment of dialogue which is based on the right of the Amazonic indigenous communities to be consulted about actions that affect their development, as stated in the ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous Peoples´ and the UN Declaration on the Rights of indigenous People, both treaties of which Peru is a signatory.
4. In the face of the devastating pain produced by this cruel situation, we cry out to the God of Life, that His justice and peace bring comfort and hope to our brothers and sisters in the Amazon who have been affected, as well as to the family members of the policemen who have lost their lives and the other members of the population who have been affected.

We invite you to copy this declaration and paste it into an email addressed to:

Yehude Simon, Prime Minister, Peruvian Government
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or
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Alternatively you can email your support to Erika Izquierdo in Micah Challenge Peru:
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