16 56 one claimed by the indigenous communities, it was nonetheless accepted.” The report presented by the Honorary Advisory Commission, together with its recommendations, was approved by Decree No. 3097/95 of the Provincial Government of Salta. 58. In Decree 3097/95, the Provincial Government mandated, in Article 4: “Until such moment as the above-referred bill (aimed at recognizing the communal property of the land to its inhabitants) is sanctioned and/or promulgated, Fiscal Lots 55 and 14 of the Department of Rivadavia are hereby declared areas of environmental preservation and restoration, hereby providing that any exploitation and/or production that is not a direct consequence of their occupants’ subsistence needs is prohibited.” 59. At the same time that the Honorary Advisory Commission was functioning, the Provincial Government of Salta carried out a public tender for the construction of the international bridge over the 57 Pilcomayo River, Misión La Paz – Pozo Hondo , to which reference will be made below. Despite the simultaneous nature of these two procedures, the indigenous communities were not informed or notified of the project for carrying out these public works, nor about the existence of the public tender process. 60. In April 1996, the Lhaka Honhat Association signed an Agreement with the provincial authorities, which created a Coordinating Unit in charge of advancing towards a plan for the legal 58 regularization of the population settlements in Fiscal Lots 55 and 14. 61. Between August 25 and September 16, 1996, the indigenous held a peaceful occupation of the international bridge. The stated objective of this occupation was to demand the recognition of the 59 indigenous communities’ right to possession and property of the lands that they traditionally inhabited. As a consequence of this occupation, the Governor of Salta personally went to the place and negotiated with the communities, after which he signed an Agreement in which he promised to issue, within 30 days, a decree that guaranteed the final adjudication of said lands, establishing its guidelines and parameters, 60 and mandating an equitable distribution between the indigenous and creole populations. In the Agreement, the chiefs also demanded that their representation during the adjudication process be carried out by the Lhaka Honhat Association of Aboriginal Communities; and it was agreed that all urbanization works and works of access to the bridge had to be agreed upon with the affected indigenous 61 communities. Between the years 1996 and 1998, the indigenous communities of Lots 55 and 14, 56 Initial petition, received by the IACHR on August 4, 1998, and transmitted to the State on January 26, 1999. 57 Aditional information presented by the petitioners to the IACHR on December 29, 1998 and transmitted to the State on January 26, 1999. 58 Cited in the Public Ombudsman’s Resolution of August 11, 1999. Documents submitted to the IACHR by the Public Ombudsman, received on January 19, 2001, and transmitted to the State by the IACHR through note of February 16, 2001. 59 The Joint Declaration of the leaders of the indigenous communities who carried out the protest on the international bridge states, in pertinent part: “For the title to our lands: Occupation of the international bridge over the Pilcomayo (La Paz). // For several years now we have demanded from the Government of Salta that it grant us title to property of the lands where we have always lived. We sent letters. Meetings are held, new laws and decrees issued, and more studies conducted. This is now the fourth Government that passes. But we do not obtain an answer. The years go by and our lands are impoverished, because the outsiders who have come to occupy them do not know how to look after them. The years go by, and we become poorer. // (…) we have asked the Authorities to guarantee us the title to property of our lands before they carry out those large projects where we live. They are fiscal lands, and the legislation recognizes our right to their possession and property. They speak of Mercosur, but for us the land is safer. Given the lack of a response and the upcoming inauguration of the bridge, the 35 communities of our Association have decided to peacefully occupy, on August 25, the lands on the sides of the bridge. We are going to stay here until the Government of Salta gives us a concrete answer to our demand. (…)” Declaration cited in: CARRASCO, Morita and BRIONES, Claudia: “La Tierra que nos quitaron”. Documento IWGIA No. 18, Buenos Aires, 1996, p. 204-205. Document provided as an annex to the petitioners’ observations on the merits, received by the IACHR on January 4, 2007, and transmitted to the State through note of January 12, 2007. 60 Cited in the Public Ombudsman’s Resolution of August 11, 1999. Documents sent to the IACHR by the Public Ombudsman, received on January 19, 2001, and transmitted to the State by the IACHR through note of February 16, 2001. 61 Declaration of the indigenous leaders on the occasion of the protest on the international bridge. Cited in: CARRASCO, Morita and BRIONES, Claudia: “La Tierra que nos quitaron”. Documento IWGIA No. 18, Buenos Aires, 1996, p. 204-205. Document provided as an annex to the petitioners’ observations on the merits, received by the IACHR on January 4, 2007, and transmitted to the State through note of January 12, 2007.