Altamira, Brazil – Hundreds of indigenous leaders, fishermen and riverine people from the Xingu River basin have gathered to occupy the Belo Monte Dam 
construction site in a peaceful protest to stop its construction in Altamira, located in the state of Pará in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. They
- Poor barrio of Altimira to be permanently flooded by Belo Monte
have vowed to permanently occupy the site and are calling on allied organizations and movements to join them.
Work has been stopped while various legal cases are got rid of, with the politicians bought off by the ‘progress’ business and landlord nationalist lobby, while most people oppose the dam , as well as the amnesty for forest crimes and opening up of the Amazon with the new ‘Forest Code’.
Help support the peaceful protest: http://www.causes.com/campaigns/158177
Below: a report on the protest from Amazon Watch; and a declaration from the Xingu Alliance.
The Trans-Amazon Highway (BR-230) has been blocked around the Santo Antônio village, where it passes the proposed construction site. Groups are demanding the presence of a Brazilian government high-level official at the site to initiate a new round of negotiations that are transparent, inclusive and respectful of the rights of local people affected by the dam.
On Apr. 1, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights IACHR recommended that the Brazilian government “immediately suspend the licensing process for the Belo Monte hydroelectric project” and “any material works” to protect the rights of local indigenous people.
This “abrupt change, without precedent in the democratic history of Brazil, indicates a breakdown of dialogue within the multilateral (Organisation of American States) system,” Caldas said at the news briefing. 
The Free 