The Achuar, Quichua and Shiwiar people from 148 communities will be arriving on foot April 11 in Puyo, where they will start the steep ascent to the capitol of Quito. The march will last approximately 20 days.
After two and one-half years of fruitless dialogue between the national administration and the Indians, the government refused to legalize the Indian territories and continues to give in to pressure from transnational oil, timber, mining and tourism industries to exploit the Amazon jungle of Pastaza. At the same time, the government has been moving ahead quickly with plans to colonize the region under a project known as ''Living Frontiers.''
Twenty years of oil exploitation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon has caused serious ecological and social disasters in that 12 million acre region. Oil companies are now moving into the 5 million acre Central Ecuadorian Amazon region of Pastaza which the Quichua, Shiwiar and Achuar people are defending.
After 500 years of Indian land invasions, the government of Ecuador is not willing to change their course and negotiate fairly with the Native populations. For this reason, the Indians have found it necessary to mobilize in this way. The government plans to attend the Earth Summit 92 meeting this June in Brazil with ''proof'' of their commitment to ecological development.
The members of OPIP claim that global solidarity is absolutely essential for the success of the march. They are asking for support in the following:
1. Send faxes, telegrams and letters expressing your support of the Indigenous people of Pastaza in their demands for the legalization of their territories, that the Ecuadorian constitution be reformed to reflect the plurinational and multicultural reality of Ecuador.
Send to: Dr. Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, Presidente de la Republica del Ecuador, Garcia Moreno 1043 y Chile, Quito, Ecuador. Tel: 593-2-515-408, Fax: 593-2-563-469
Dr. Favian Alarcon, Presidente del Congreso del Ecuador, Palacio Legislativo, Avenida 6 de Diciembre y Pedrahita, Quito, Ecuador, Tel: 593-2-230-330
Call or write the Ecuadoran consulates and the Embassy in the US: San Francisco: 415-957-5921 Washington DC: Tel: 202-234-7200 FAX: 202-667-3482
Send copies to OPIP for their work with the press to OPIP, Accion Ecologica, Madrid 340 y , Quito, Ecuador. Tel: 593-2-547-516, Fax: 593-2-547-516 (call first)
2. Organize solidarity marches and demonstrations in front of Ecuadorian Embassies and consulates world-wide, or in a central location in your town/city between April 11th and the 30th.
3. Call the Ecuadorian embassies and consulates during the march and express your concern for the above demands and the safety of the marchers.
4. Help to raise funds to help cover the expenses of the march. Please send what you can in US dollars to: Antonio Vargas, President of OPIP, Bank of America, Berkeley main #175, Account # 01758-02591, California, USA
Antonio Vargas, Presidente de OPIP, Banco Holandes Unido en Quito, Ecuador, CTA CTE 4046641 USD, 10 de Agosto No. 91 Bancolonda 2153, Casilla 42, 2987 man., Quito, Ecuador, Tel: 593-2-524-200, Fax: 593-2-567-308
5. Stay in contact with OPIP concerning the developments of the march through the following people:
Carlos Viteri, Gustavo Gonzalez or Peter Veilleux, OPIP, c/o Accion Ecologica, Madrid 340 y Corua, Quito, Ecuador. Tel: 593-2-547-516, Fax: 593-2-547-516 (call first)
Jose Gualinga, 32 Rue Oupny, 4987 Chevron, Belgium, Tel: 32-86-434-162
Froian Viteri, o/ Campomanes No. 13, 2nd, 28013 Madrid, Spain, Tel: 34-1-541-10-71, Fax: 34-1-559-78-97
SAIIC, PO Box 28703, Oakland, CA 94604, Tel: 510-834-4263, Fax: 510-834-4264 email: saiic@igc.org
RAN, Oil Campaign, 450 Sansome Street, Ste. 700, San Francisco, CA 94111, Tel: 415-398-4404, Fax: 415-398-2732
Juan Aulestia, Oxfam America, 115 Broadway, Boston, MA 02116, Tel: (617) 482-1211, Fax: (617) 556-8925
6. It is very important to publicize the march as much as possible. OPIP will provide you with photos, articles, and film of the march for publications and television.
7. Document your activities in support of the march with photos, articles, and film and send these to OPIP.
Please use the most rapid form of communication as possible. Thank you.
Dear Members and Friends:
We need your help on a project to help the Indigenous Peoples of the Province of Pastaza, in Ecuador. On April 11 the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OPIP) and indigenous Peoples from 148 communities will begin a march from Puyo to Quito. The purpose of the march is to demand recognition of their land rights and to stop the continuos exploitation of the natural resources.
It is possible that they may face several obstacles, among them the military. It is important to focus international attention on the march, the security and safety depends on it. Therefore we are asking your support, that is to write letters right away.
We have included the press release which provides some of the steps you can take. It is urgent that letters of support be sent now to OPIP; in addition, letters to the government asking that indigenous Peoples' demands be met, must be written.
If you have questions please call SAIIC. I thank you ahead of time for your colaboration and support.
In solidarity,
SAIIC
(Posted in Native-l on April 10, 1992 by SAIIC, saiic@igc.apc.org.)