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Subject: Please stop funding Messok Dja and start investigating abuse
Dear Mr Manservisi,
I am very concerned by the European Commission’s involvement in the creation of Messok Dja Protected Area in the Republic of Congo, which does not have the consent of local Baka communities.
Please listen to the Baka, who have urged the European Commission to visit them and seek their “advice and guidance” before providing more funds to the park.
The Baka are being driven from their land by armed rangers and excluded from the forests that they have nurtured and relied on for generations. The Baka’s free, prior and informed consent has not been sought, which is in violation of international law.
I also urge you to investigate the role of taxpayers’ money in funding armed guards who torture and abuse the Baka. People who live in fear of violence and persecution are in no position to give their consent.
Without the support and consent of the local people, the park will fail. For the sake of the Baka and the forests they have protected for generations, please stop funding this fatally flawed park.
Yours sincerely,
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