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<font size=4><b>Ecuador: Police Attack Indigenous Protesters <br><br>
</b></font><font size=3>Written by Amazon Watch <br>
Friday, 02 October 2009 <br>
<a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2141/68/" eudora="autourl">
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/2141/68/<br><br>
</a> Indigenous Blockades Escalate After Police Violently Attack
Protest in the Ecuadorian Amazon<br><br>
One Confirmed Dead and Dozens Injured in Unprovoked Attack on
Demonstrations About Proposed New "Water and Land Rights Laws"
<br><br>
Source: <a href="http://amazonwatch.org/">Amazon Watch</a><br><br>
Macas, Ecuador (October 1, 2009) – At 4:30 pm Wednesday, the Ecuadorian
Police staged a violent raid on indigenous protesters blockading the
bridge linking Upano between the provinces of Morona Santiago and
Pastaza. According to local communities, law enforcement backed by a
helicopter, opened fire on demonstrators armed only with ceremonial
spears. The attack has left at least one confirmed dead, a teacher and
member of the Shuar nation, and some 49 civilians and police injured.
<br><br>
Tito Puenchir, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities
of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) said in a statement on Wednesday:
"Today, President Correa declared a civil war against nationalities
from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Therefore we demand that the OAS and the UN
urgently intervene before the Government of Ecuador, to monitor and
observe the blatant violations of the rights of indigenous peoples, that
is our rights in accordance with all treaties and conventions signed by
our country as ILO Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples." <br><br>
CONFENIAE is the Amazonian arm of the Confederation of Indigenous
Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), which is made up of three regional
groupings including CONFENAIE, the Amazon indigenous federation.
Initially, CONAIE's called for national marches was part of a nation-wide
protest against a new water law. Several thousand indigenous people had
begun protests midnight on Sunday opposing the proposed water law.
<br><br>
Privatization of water sources, prioritization of water access for
industry loose regulations for water contamination, and lack of community
participation in water management where the foremost concerns of neglect
in the water law. The groups are also calling for the repeal of the
country's mining law, and for an end to oil and mining activities in the
region. Ecuador's powerful teacher's union, (UNE), also joined the strike
to protest education 'reforms' proposed by the government. <br><br>
The Correa Government earlier this week postponed all debate on the water
law pending the anticipated protests. Faced with continued protests, the
order was given for police to "use force in order to clear the
entrance and exit routes from the city" according to interior
Minister Gustavo Jalkh. <br><br>
CONAIE had called for a temporary halt to protests in many areas, yet
CONFENIAE chose to continue its protests in the Amazon region due to the
unaddressed and unique circumstances around the water law in the Amazonia
region. <br><br>
CONFENAIE is demanding that Correa travel to the region and meet directly
with local leaders and communities' representatives. Correa has rejected
the invitation, offering to engage in dialogue at the Presidential Palace
in Quito, the nation's capital. <br><br>
Mitch Anderson of Amazon Watch who is currently in Ecuador said:
"One year after Ecuador recognized the rights of nature in its new
constitution, one of the most celebrated environmental safeguards in
history, President Correa is returning to business as usual."
<br><br>
Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch's Ecuador-based coordinator observed:
"Correa's 'revolución cuidadana', or peoples' revolution campaign,
recognizes citizens' rights to protest and resist, which is exactly what
indigenous communities were doing. Sending 500 police to violently
disperse demonstrators was not only a blatant violation of human rights
but also goes against the spirit and the letter of the constitution
Correa fought so hard for." <br><br>
Given the potential for the escalation of conflict, Amazon Watch issued a
statement appealing "to Ecuadorian President Correa and government
security forces to show complete restraint in the use of force against
its own civilian population who may be exercising their democratic rights
to peaceful protest and dissent." <br><br>
Amazon Watch called for tolerance and peaceful dialogue instead of use of
force to end the current conflict as well as a full independent
investigation into yesterday's violent incident. <br><br>
Background information at:
<a href="http://www.amazonwatch.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.amazonwatch.org</a> and
<a href="http://www.confeniae.org.ec/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.confeniae.org.ec/<br><br>
<br><br>
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