Barcelona ( Over 30 Indigenous Groups in Colombia Threatened with Extinction )

BARCELONA, Spain – At least 34 of the more than 100 native ethnicities and indigenous communities living in Colombia are going through a “humanitarian crisis” and are threatened with extinction, according to the Autonomy and Rights Observatory for Colombia’s Indigenous Peoples (ADPI).

A Colombian activist at the Observatory, Juan Manuel Avila, living in Barcelona, Spain, told Efe that Colombia’s indigenous population totals almost 1.5 million and their lifestyle is based on the principles of “balance among living creatures, harmony, give-and-take, and defense of the common good.”

But 34 of these peoples see their way of life endangered and live under the threat of their kind disappearing, as the Colombian Constitutional Court recognized in 2009. Since then, things have only gotten worse, Avila said.

ADPI is an association of organizations and individuals who work in Barcelona to defend the human rights and collectives of Colombian Indians.

Avila said these native peoples are living through a “humanitarian crisis, due chiefly to the armed conflict” between the Colombian armed forces and the FARC guerrillas, “which is being fought in some indigenous territories” and has made the Indians “victims of both sides.”

So what the indigenous movement demands, he says, is that they be “left out of the conflict and their lands demilitarized.”

Indian ethnicities have not been invited to take part in the negotiations between the government and the guerrillas, according to Avila, who says indigenous peoples like the Awa, the Nasa and the Senu particularly fear the launching of “macroprojects based on an extractive economy, because they will only generate violence for control of the territory.”

Another problem Indians have suffered is “international invisibilization” – few remember they even exist.

Mexico ( Gang members " kill 3 migrants on train" )

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico – Four migrants were killed and three others wounded when gunmen attacked a train in southeastern Mexico, the National Migration Institute (INM) said on Thursday.

“A group of suspected criminals attacked the migrants, who were traveling on the train that covers the Arriaga, Chiapas-Ixtepec, Oaxaca route, causing the deaths of four people and wounding three others,” the INM said in a statement.

The attack occurred in a remote region of Oaxaca state and “the group of criminals tried to take advantage of this to steal belongings and money from the migrants,” the INM said.

“Some migrants refused to hand over their belongings to the suspected criminals, who shot them,” the INM said.

One of the migrants died when he jumped from the moving train “to try to avoid being robbed, dying instantly,” the INM said.

Officials have not released the identities or nationalities of the victims.

An estimated 300,000 Central Americans undertake the hazardous journey across Mexico each year on their way to the United States.

The trek is a dangerous one, with criminals and corrupt Mexican officials preying on the migrants.

Gangs kidnap, rob and murder migrants, who are often targeted in extortion schemes, Mexican officials say.

At least 100 migrants were robbed by armed men aboard “La Bestia,” or “The Beast,” the freight train Central American migrants headed for the United States often ride on their journey across Mexico, on Dec. 2.

The incident occurred in Chahuite, a town in Oaxaca state near the border with Chiapas state.

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Tucson AZ ( Puppy left in " Dumpster " in trash bag ) suspects wanted

Abandoned puppy in semi-critical condition

Sierra Vista - Animal Control Officers want information about an abandoned four-month female Maltese puppy found in a semi-critical condition and left in a dumpster on Sunday, April 13.
Police tell us the dog was found dirty, wet and suffering from hypothermia inside a Miracle Grow soil bag. The bag was left in a dumpster at the Oasis Apartments located at 4250 E. Busby Drive. The puppy was wearing a red, rhinestone collar.
She was taken to a veterinarian and is in a semi-critical condition due to a possible head trauma. She is slowly recovering as she learns to walk, eat and drink again.
If you have any information on the puppy or who might have left her, call the Sierra Vista Animal Control Office at (520) 458-4151 or the Sierra Vista Police Department at (520) 452- 7500.

Iran ( Iranian killer's execution halted at last minute by victim's parents )

Thursday, Apr 17 2014

Convict had noose around his neck when victim's mother approached, slapped him in the face and spared his life

When he felt the noose around his neck, Balal must have thought he was about to take his last breath. Minutes earlier, crowds had watched as guards pushed him towards the gallows for what was meant to be yet another public execution in the Islamic republic of Iran.

Seven years ago Balal, who is in his 20s, stabbed 18-year-old Abdollah Hosseinzadeh during a street brawl in the small town of Royan, in the northern province of Mazandaran. In a literal application of qisas, the sharia law of retribution, the victim's family were to participate in Balal's punishment by pushing the chair on which he stood.

But what happened next marked a rarity in public executions in Iran, which puts more people to death than any other country apart from China. The victim's mother approached, slapped the convict in the face and then decided to forgive her son's killer. The victim's father removed the noose and Balal's life was spared.

Balal hanging Hosseinzadeh's mother slaps Balal. Photograph: Arash Khamooshi /Isna

Photographs taken by Arash Khamooshi, of the semi-official Isna news agency, show what followed. Balal's mother hugged the grieving mother of the man her son had killed. The two women sobbed in each other's arms – one because she had lost her son, the other because hers had been saved.

The action by Hosseinzadeh's mother was all the more extraordinary as it emerged that this was not the first son she had lost. Her younger child Amirhossein was killed in a motorbike accident at the age of 11.

"My 18-year-old son Abdollah was taking a stroll in the bazaar with his friends when Balal shoved him," said the victim's father, Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh, according to Isna. "Abdollah was offended and kicked him but at this time the murderer took an ordinary kitchen knife out of his socks."

Hosseinzadeh Sr has come to the conclusion that Balal did not kill his son deliberately. "Balal was inexperienced and didn't know how to handle a knife. He was naive."

According to the father, Balal escaped the scene of the stabbing but was later arrested by the police. It took six years for a court to hand down a death sentence, and the victim's family deferred the execution a number of times. An date for execution was set just before the Persian new year, Nowruz, but the victim's family did not approve of the timing.

Hosseinzadeh said a dream prompted the change of heart. "Three days ago my wife saw my elder son in a dream telling her that they are in a good place, and for her not to retaliate ... This calmed my wife and we decided to think more until the day of the execution."

The noose is removed from around the neck of Balal. Photograph: Arash Khamooshi /Isna

Many Iranian public figures, including the popular TV sport presenter Adel Ferdosipour, had called on the couple, who have a daughter, to forgive the killer. Although they did so, Balal will not necessarily be freed. Under Iranian law the victim's family have a say only in the act of execution, not any jail sentence.