Mrs. and Ms. Members of the Directive Council of the Amazon Alliance and of COICA:

• Amazon Watch, USA
• Bank Information Center (BIC), USA
• Centro de Derechos Económicos y Sociales, Ecuador
• Centro para el Desarrollo del Indígena Amazónica de Peru
• Forest Peoples Programme, UK
• Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía, Ecuador
• Fundación Gaia, Colombia
• Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico (GTA), Brazil
• Fundación Pachamama, Ecuador
• Seventh Generation Fund
• Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP), Peru
• Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Guyana
• Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia (CIDOB), Bolivia
• Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia (COIAB), Brazil
• Confederación de Nacionalidades de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana (CONFENAE), Ecuador
• Confederación Nacional del Indio Venezolano (CONIVE), Venezuela
• Federation des Organisations Amerindiennes de Guyane (FOAG), French Guyana
• Maroon Community Support Initiative, Surinam
• Organisatie van Inheemsen (OIS), Surinam
• Organización de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Amazonía Colombiana (OPIAC), Colombia

Subject: Beginning of activities of the AA Co-director, Arlen Ribeira

Throughout its 20 years of existence, COICA, an international indigenous organization founded under the principles of respect to the great diversity that surrounds the more than 390 peoples that are part of the Amazon, represented by its 9 national and/or regional organizations, has named its representatives at Congresses, Coordination and Directive Councils, with wisdom that has conduced to the policies and programmes of our organization. COICA’s wishes are to see the Amazon freed from tyranny of governments, freed from hunger, from the profit of firms and human selfishness and of the individualism that makes some of us “drunk”.

We’ve always had the conviction that the problems that the Amazon and ourselves are confronting are so huge and that to confront them, our own efforts aren’t enough. However, on our wisdom and knowledge, we should unite ourselves and with other sectors, which share common objectives as we do. Therefore, COICA celebrates its three alliances: one between ourselves (the World Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests); another one with NGOs linked to environmental issues (Amazon Coalition, currently called the Amazon Alliance); and one with European Municipalities (the Climate Alliance). However, we have previewed what is currently occurring at the base of the Amazon Alliance, where we have many questions, which must be answered not by other, but by ourselves, the members of this Alliance.

Who takes then the decisions at the base of Amazon Alliance? Its members? NGOs? We, as indigenous peoples? Or those that were hired to facilitate and boost the management actions of the Amazon Alliance, among us COICA and other allied NGOs that conform the Alliance? Where are the NGOs that compose the council of the Amazon Alliance, who do no manifest themselves, in front of the lack of respect of its representative to the decisions of COICA? Has COICA then made an alliance with Mr. Petter? No, COICA is part of an Alliance with a group of NGOs, which are serious and responsible.