Venezuelan Indians Protest Power Line in Forest
9/30/99
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Title: Venezuelan Indians Protest Power Line in Forest
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: September 30, 1999
CARACAS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Indians in Venezuela's Amazon region
said they knocked down two electricity pylons Thursday to protest at
construction of a high voltage power line in a national park.
The Pemon Indians said in a statement they also blocked the main
highway linking Venezuela to Brazil on several occasions this week to
force the government to change the path of a 470-mile (750-km)
electricity line under construction.
The line runs through Canaima National Park, Venezuela's top tourist
destination and home to Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall at
3,000 feet (1,000 meters).
Environmentalists argue it will hurt a fragile ecosystem and disturb
indigenous communities. The government says the line will provide
electricity to remote villages and help mining companies operate in
the area.