War and Peace in Kuna Yala

Posted by Okke Ornstein - September 6, 2009 at 3:29 pm

This is how we know Panama's indigenous Kuna tribe from the tourist brochures: Peaceful people who make nice "molas". In reality their leaders are committing massive environmental crimes outside Kuna Yala and destroying property that is not theirs. This story is about the other side of the Kunas, their alliance with the Colombian FARC, their kidnappings of innocent campesinos, the rise of warlordism on the Caribbean coast, and the local authorities proposing "killing five or six of them" as a plausible solution.

Full story in The Isthmian

 

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About Okke Ornstein


Okke Ornstein is from the Netherlands where he worked for about 15 years in the wonderful world of television and radio before accidentally moving to Panama. Since then, he has been chased by gangsters and many unsuccessful attempts have been made to shut him up, have him thrown out of the country, or in jail for crimes against the honor. He published The Noriegaville News for some years (a combination of investigative journalism, satire, analysis and opinion) until threats were getting out of hand and he closed it down. His written work in English can be found in publications ranging from The Narco News Bulletin to NewsMax - for the latter he dodged sniper fire and car bombs in Kabul, among other things. None of this has stopped him from briefly becoming a consultant for the election campaign of Miguel Antonio Bernal, a well known human rights activist who ran for mayor of Panama City. Ornstein continues to work as a journalist for publications in and outside of Panama, is writing a book and runs the blog Bananama Republic and his own site at ornstein.org.

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About Okke Ornstein

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http://www.ornstein.org

Biography


Okke Ornstein is from the Netherlands where he worked for about 15 years in the wonderful world of television and radio before accidentally moving to Panama. Since then, he has been chased by gangsters and many unsuccessful attempts have been made to shut him up, have him thrown out of the country, or in jail for crimes against the honor. He published The Noriegaville News for some years (a combination of investigative journalism, satire, analysis and opinion) until threats were getting out of hand and he closed it down. His written work in English can be found in publications ranging from The Narco News Bulletin to NewsMax - for the latter he dodged sniper fire and car bombs in Kabul, among other things. None of this has stopped him from briefly becoming a consultant for the election campaign of Miguel Antonio Bernal, a well known human rights activist who ran for mayor of Panama City. Ornstein continues to work as a journalist for publications in and outside of Panama, is writing a book and runs the blog Bananama Republic and his own site at ornstein.org.