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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/02/28/lasso-government-responsible-for-the-murder-of-indigenous-activist-alleges-conaie/">peoplesdispatch.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Lasso government responsible for the murder of Indigenous activist, alleges CONAIE <br></h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Peoples Dispatch - February 28, 2023<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><img src="cid:ii_lepxl3m10" alt="image.png" width="392" height="221"><br><p>Ecuadorian
Indigenous leader and environmentalist Eduardo Mendúa was assassinated
by hitmen in his home in the Sucumbíos province on Sunday, February 26.
Photo: Wambra Medio Comunitario/Twitter
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<p><span>Ecuadorian Indigenous leader Eduardo Mendúa was assassinated by
hitmen in his home on Sunday, February 26. The Confederation of
Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), the country’s largest
Indigenous organization, reported that Mendúa was in the garden of his
home in the Sucumbíos province when he was approached by unidentified,
hooded men who fired 12 shots against him and killed him. Mendúa was the
international relations leader in CONAIE’s governing council.</span></p>
<p><span>Mendúa belonged to the A’i Kofán Indigenous nationality. He was
a social leader, an environmentalist, and a land defender. He was at
the forefront of the struggle in defense of land and against oil and gas
exploitation by the PetroEcuador company in the Cofán Dureno commune,
Sucumbíos. CONAIE declared that Mendúa was murdered precisely because of
his fight against these companies and their actions in the Ecuadorian
Amazon.</span></p>
<p><span>CONAIE’s president </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/conaie.org/videos/5906215042788674/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C&mibextid=2Rb1fB&ref=sharing"><span>Leonidas Iza Salazar</span></a><span>
has stated that he holds the state owned oil company PetroEcuador and
the national government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso
responsible for Mendúa’s murder. Iza pointed out that for the past seven
months, CONAIE had been warning against the conflict and violence
generated due to the expansion of extractive activities in the Cofán
Dureno commune and the A’i Kofán territory. He condemned that the
extractive companies opened new oil fields in Indigenous territories
without guaranteeing the right to prior, free and informed consultation
as stipulated in the 2008 Constitution.</span></p>
<p><span>Iza called for the unity of all Indigenous peoples and
nationalities, of all popular sectors, so that “the acts of violence
such as the assassination our comrade Eduardo do not go unpunished.” Iza
added that the CONAIE leadership feels threatened and vulnerable as
many of them are under consistent surveillance by people and cars. In
this regard, Iza requested the intervention of international human
rights organizations to protect the lives of Indigenous leaders in
Ecuador.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="es">Exigimos justicia para nuestro compañero Eduardo
Mendúa, luchador social, defensor de la naturaleza, quien estaba al
frente de la defensa territorial en medio del conflicto generado por <a href="https://twitter.com/EPPETROECUADOR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EPPETROECUADOR</a> en la comunidad Cofán Dureno, Sucumbíos.<br>Paz en su tumba <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CONAIE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CONAIE</a> <a href="https://t.co/6YayWyeOs4">pic.twitter.com/6YayWyeOs4</a></p>
<p>— CONAIE (@CONAIE_Ecuador) <a href="https://twitter.com/CONAIE_Ecuador/status/1630045777983680512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><span>Former presidential candidate of the progressive Citizen
Revolution Movement party, Andrés Arauz, also expressed his solidarity
with Mendúa’s family and with the CONAIE. “The neocolonial system of
exploitation claimed one more victim. A total change in the model of
sovereign management of natural resources is urgently needed,” </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ecuarauz/status/1630050659184566272?s=20"><span>tweeted</span></a><span> Arauz.</span></p>
<p><span>President Lasso also expressed his government’s solidarity with
the Mendúa family and the CONAIE. “This crime will not go unpunished.
We have ordered that all investigative actions be carried out to find
those responsible and bring them to justice,” </span><a href="https://twitter.com/LassoGuillermo/status/1630024352031711232?s=20"><span>said</span></a><span> the president.</span></p>
<h3><b>CONAIE calls for radicalization of anti-government mobilizations</b></h3>
<p><span>Mendúa was assassinated two days after CONAIE called for a new national strike against the Lasso government.</span></p>
<p><span>Last week, on Thursday February 23, CONAIE denounced that President Lasso broke</span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/10/15/indigenous-organizations-and-government-conclude-negotiations-in-ecuador/"><span> the agreements reached</span></a><span> on the ban on mining and oil exploitation activities in Indigenous territories and near water resources following </span><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/01/ecuadorian-indigenous-organizations-and-government-reach-agreement-to-end-national-strike/"><span>the June 2022 national strike</span></a><span>.
In a press conference, Iza recalled that the social movements and the
national government signed an agreement to guarantee the right to prior,
free, and informed consultation at all stages of mining development. He
urged that all processes for mining concessions be stopped where this
principle has been violated.</span></p>
<p><span>Iza also denounced that the public security forces had been
using violence against community members who oppose mining projects that
harm the environment and their communities. He said that CONAIE would
hold the president responsible for the acts of violence in protected
territories and for militarizing them to impose mining projects on the
communities.</span></p>
<p><span>On Friday February 24, in a press conference, CONAIE announced
that it was suspending the dialogue process with the government and
withdrawing from the monitoring roundtables due to breaches by the
president. The organization declared that its members would be in
permanent mobilization across the national territory and called for a
national strike on March 8 to demand Lasso’s resignation due to lack of
legitimacy to govern and non-compliance with the 2022 agreements.</span></p>
<p><span>“After analyzing the follow-up report on the results achieved
at the dialogue tables, installed as a part of the Indigenous and
popular uprising of June 2022, it is evident that there has been no
political will on the part of the government to comply with it. On the
contrary, the government of President Guillermo Lasso has continued
advancing with its neoliberal policies, which violate our territorial
and community rights and the national economy. That is why we are
breaking this dialogue process and withdrawing from these follow-up
roundtables,” said Iza.</span></p>
<p><span>Following Mendúa’s assassination, on Monday, February 27,
CONAIE announced that it would radicalize the anti-government
mobilizations.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="es">Llamamiento de la Confed de Nacionalidades
Indígenas del Ecuador (CONAIE) a la movilización nacional el 8M para
exigir dimisión del pdte Lasso. CONAIE responsabiliza al Gob de asesinar
al líder indígena amazónico Eduardo Mendúa en 1 pueblo donde mantienen
la lucha con petroleras. <a href="https://t.co/ir1ApoHT2A">pic.twitter.com/ir1ApoHT2A</a></p>
<p>— Juan Miguel Garrido (@JuanmiGG_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/JuanmiGG_News/status/1630208905241395200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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