Jorge Quispe / La Paz
The eighty-year-old president of the Apdhb, Amparo Carvajal, was held yesterday for seven hours at the entrance to the Tariquía Reserve, in Tarija, where she had to overcome two blockades, cross a river on a tractor and walk for hours to demonstrate how a small community was isolated by interculturalists who support an oil project in that region.
“I am tired, very stung by insects… I have cried a lot, but well, also feeling this moment with the president of the department of Tarija, Yolanda Herrera, to whom I told that the truth has to come out from here,” Carvajal said. to Page Seven from the El Cajón community. A commission of the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of Bolivia (Apdhb) headed by both left on Monday morning for Tariquía, due to a complaint of violation of human rights to a community by intercultural sectors, according to the affected community members.
The group was initially stopped at 6:00, so the commission decided to continue their journey on foot, but a second blockade stopped them close to noon. According to Herrera, president of the Tarijeña branch of the Apdhb, the blockers said they were residents of 11 communities that are in agreement with the oil project in Tariquía.
Carvajal publicly denounced how the interculturalists did not let him pass into the reserve sector. In a video you can hear how an alleged leader of the region asks you to send his request through a letter to enter the area.
“That thing about being free doesn’t seem to exist and again they kidnap me and keep me like this (…) I’m amazed, I’m amazed and I make public complaints,” insisted Carvajal, 83 years old.
The blockers ultimately allowed Carvajal and the activists to continue their journey, on the condition that he listen to his base first. “They want work, development and I told them why they didn’t ask President (Luis) Arce who was here (he came last week) for that.” In the area there is no electricity and drinking water.
Hours later, at 3:00 p.m. and after crossing a river upriver from a tractor, the delegation reached El Cajón, where seven families, who had requested Carvajal’s presence, denounced how the interculturalists practically isolated them for opposing the oil project.
“Those who blockade ask for development, work… a justification so that between the oil company and these blockades they control the entry and exit of the families that oppose the oil company,” denounced Herrera.
The families affected by the blockades are eight, but those who direct the blockades are more.
“The blockers commit a crime against people who do not like the oil company, they threaten and intimidate them. We are going to denounce the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police, ”Herrera confirmed.
The National Committee for the Defense of Democracy (Conade) denounced the detention suffered by Carvajal in Tariquía, Tarija.
Since 2018 and given the fall in reserves and gas production, the Government put the Tariquía Reserve in the sights of oil exploration, despite the possible environmental impact.
