<nettime> ecuador: calm ended

[florian schneider <fls@kein.org>]

Ecuador: 20.000 indigenas in Quito. The capital is militarised. Heavy
confrontations feared. 
By Marlon Carrion C.

Agencia Informativa Púlsar Información para América Latina vía Internet 
see spanish version at 
http://www.amarc.org/pulsar


QUITO, Ecuador. The apparent calm up to now in the Ecuadorian city
ended. At this stage people fear confrontations between the nearly
20.000 indigenas that converged into the city and the heavy deployed
military force around the governmental palace.

The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of
Ecuador (CONAIE), Antonio Vargas, said in a press conference that the
struggle will go on, that the indegena and popular uprising will
continue until the ex- government of Jamil Mahuad comes out of the
Palacio de Carondelet and resigns to power.

 Vargas said that the indigenas y the urban sectors will not go on their
knees in front of robbers and corrupt peoples detaining the economic and
political power. He therefore called upon one single front because only
the people can save the people. He also urged the police and the
military to point their guns towards those who plunder the country and
not against the people and the indigenas, their brothers and sisters.

While Vargas was talking to the press and in front of thousands of
indigenas gathered at the Agoras of the Casa de la Cultura, Quito, a
police helicopter threw propaganda leaflets in both Spanish and Quechua.

The leaflets accused the indigenas leaders of being corrupt and wanting
to destroy the country. It called the indigenas to go peacefully back to
their lands. This caused such anger and indignation among the
demonstrators that the police in the sector had to flee.

Vargas confirmed the paralysation of the country in the rural sectors.
He thanked the people from Quito for the support they had provided so
far.

He condemned the violence used by the military who confronted the
farmers on the Ecuadorian coast. In some places the farmers had one to
one confrontations with the military. The number of arrests is
considered to be more than 300 so far.

Antonio Vargas denounced a further attempt of the police to arrest them,
which was not possible due to the massive number of indigenas. He called
upon the workers of the transport sector not to let them fool by the
promises of the government like it had been the case for the indigenas
in July 99 when they had converged massively into Quito during another
uprising.

The Peoples Parliament rejected any dialogue with the government, saying
they were tired of promises and lies. The Peoples Parliament defended
the Constitutional paragraph attributing the sovereignty to the people
and not to the politicians.

Vargas said that the uprising will not use arms. Its strategy is to
block the roads and with the support of the oil industry workers, there
will be fuel shortage in the whole country. The idea is to generate
chaos and get the people to let the people express their discontent with
the illegitimate government of Mahuad.

This discontentment has been visible in the rest of the cities in the
country. For instance, on Wednesday morning in Cuenca, about 50.000
inhabitants took the streets and marched to the governmental building.
Although the police and the military tried to repress the people, the
push by the demonstrators was superior. Everyone is demanding Mahuad and
his government to resign.

In Loja, capital of the province with the same name, the demonstrations
and protests haven't stopped. Around noon, the military invaded
university buildings. Hundreds of students were detained and several
were seriously beaten up.

At the moment we send this message, Pulsar was informed of an enormous
military and police operation in the City of Quito that is trying to
prevent the indegenas march from reaching the centre of the City, which
is were the presidential house is. It is considered that the number of
military is way larger than it was when expresident Abdala Bucaram was
forced by the people to leave the country. (Ec/QR/Po-Pi/Cs-Pp/mc) 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 --- Forwarded Message from "el desaparecido" 
<desaparecido@gmx.de --- 
Subject: (en) [ecuador] indigenas with surprising strength and tactic

see spanish version at 
http://www.amarc.org/pulsar

19.1.2000 Ecuador: Indigenas and farmers with surpring strength and
tactic by Marlon Carrion C.

 Agencia Informativa Pulsar Información para America Latina via Internet 


Quito, Ecuador - Thousands of police y military forces posted at all the
entrances to the city of Quito, capital of Ecuador. They are confused at
the arrival of 10.000 protesting indigenas to the City.

"The indigenas came down from the mountains and took Quito by surprise",
said a chief in uniform surveying the city and asked to remain
unidentified.

What happened is that part of the indigenas provided a distraction of
the military while most of their fellows were passing through mountain
paths to make it to Quito which is at 2810 m above sea level.

The indigena leaders y farmers said they were not in a hurry to make it
to Quito and reaffirmed that another 40.000 are going to make it. They
said that this effort of the poorest in the country won't be stopped and
will not allow another deceit by the government. They will only leave
Quito once president Jamil Mahuad resigns and the congress and court of
justice is dissolved.

In July 1999 thousands of indigenas had also marched down on Quito
demanding Mahuad to change his economical policies and demanding more
resources for the indigenas. The president compromised to implement
changes which he never did, instead he worsened the economical crisis.

The Coordination of Social Movements informed that the Confederación
Unica Nacional de Afiliados al Seguro Social Campesino, Coordinadora
Nacional Campesina (both farmers unions), students and universities have
joined the uprising.

It also said that that the provinces in the South, the Centre and the
North of the country are nearly paralysed, same for the coast region and
the ecuadorian Amazonas which are progressively paralysed by the oil
industry on strike.

OEWe have defeated the repression of Mahuad y will soon announce his
resignation and the whole of his corrupt government' said the indigenas.
They called upon the progressive military, the small business and the
people in general to join the protest.

Silverio Cocha, president of the indigena movement in Chimborazo,
central Ecuador said that the military won't be able to stop people that
had enough of suffering hunger, deceit, repression. Silverio Cocha was
being searched to be imprisoned in his province, he is now in the
streets of Quito. In order to make it he had to walk around to Iliniza
mountain which about 5260 m high.

In the meantime hundreds of demonstrators in Ecuadors large cities have
been arrested and beaten up by the police. In Guayaquil, economical
capital of the country, thousands of unemployed and ambulant sellers
took to the streets in support of the indigenas uprising. In Cuenca and
Loja the repression was dramatic in violence.

In Portoviejo, home of the UPOCAM, one the countries largest farmers
union, the unionists joined the urban population protesting and fought
the police back who left abundant quantities of tear gas behind. The
military came in and the clashes went on until late into the night of
Tuesday.

The request of some business leaders to exterminate the indigena
uprising was not executed. This in part thanks to the international
support for this not to happen. The Peoples Parliament of Ecuador asked
human rights organisations and peoples organisations world wide to stay
in alert because the protests will not end. (Ec/QR/Po-Pi/Cs-Pp/mc)

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