Protest in ecuador vs oil pipeline

Campaña Ecologista
12.11.2002 23:28

From the Campaign Against the OCP

Italian Ecological Leader Arrested in Ecuador

Giuseppe De Marzo, of the Italian Green Party, was detained with 3 Ecuadorian ecologists. They were arrested at 9:00 am on Tuesday in the forest of Mindo, one of the most important forests in the world for its biodiversity. The 4 ecologists were stopped and detained in the “Protector of Mindo Forest” at an elevation 2700 meters (aprox. 8,000 feet)on the Cerro EL Castillo (Castle Hill). They were dressed as workers on the OCP (Heavy Crude oil pipeline). After spending the night to investigate the devastation produced by the construction of the pipeline. In the morning the 4 had stopped work on the OCP with peacefull protest action. The action was organized by Accion por la Vida (Action for Life) to which belonged the 3 ecological activists including the president Cesar Fiallo, Accion Ecologica (Ecological Action) and CONAIE (National Indigenous Confederation of Ecuador). Aproxamately 150 students from the Central University of Quito and representatives of numerous social and ecological asociations of Ecuadorians (and 7 foriegners) gathered in one of the access roads built by the OCP to enter the Protector of Mindo-Mambillo Forest. The protest was against the construction of the oil pipeline and to back the 4 arrested ecological activists. The OCP is a project costing 600 million dollars made up of a consortium of major international oil companies. Giuseppe De Marzo is one of the promoters of the Italian Campaign against the OCP. The Italian Campaign continues fighting and putting pressure on ENI-AGIP (oil company that is part of the project with 7.5% of the capital) and the BNL that, with other private banks, financed the project with 50 million dollars. The numerous Italian associations and NGOs that have helped the action of the Italian ecological activist, forcefully demand that the ENI and the BNL leave the project.



November 13 2002

Report from Tristan

We left Quito on Monday night and arrived in Mindo. It is a small village dependent on tourism and thus on the healthy diversity of the forest. We were met by local activists from Accion por la Vida and taken to a nice hostel owned by Cesar Fiallo. They showed us pictures and explained the communities struggle against the oil pipeline that is cutting through the nearby nature reserve. The OCP (Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados) is a 500 kilometer pipeline from the Amazon region to the coast. It is intended to carry vast amounts of crude oil through many ecologically sensitive areas and past active volcanoes. Major spills seem to be almost certain and will harm the local populace and environment while enriching multinational oil companies. They also explained how they bought a large area of hilly land on the route but the company continues construction and accuses them of forging the deeds. From January till April they had the first tree-sit in Latin America.
In the morning we got up at 6:00 and headed to Guarumos. We had to wait a while in a beautiful rainforest filled with birds and butterflies. The huge scar of the OCP construction came down an incredibly steep ridge to the stream and up the next hillside. We waited on the road with the armed guards and police and soon trucks full of soldiers arrived. Eventually 2 busses of university students came. We all gathered in the road and held up banners and chanted. When the police tried to open the gate to let vehicles out we blocked it. Soon a shoving match ensued and the police pepper-sprayed us but we closed the gate and the police gave up for hours. Eventually the students left and the hundreds of workers began to come down to the road. They were quite friendly to us and we told them how they are exploited by the bosses and the bosses don’t live up to the contract they signed with the government about labor. The workers only get a 3 month contract then new workers are hired to stop them from organizing. They told us they work 10 hours a day for 4 dollars. Eventually the police brought down the 3 arrested ecological activists, one was released earlier since he is the owner of the land and had been arrested and released by the court months ago. As night fell we went back to Mindo.
This morning we went to Quito and found Giuseppe De Marzo in a police truck waiting in front of the police station for the next step in his deportation, that is expected to be soon. We were able to talk to and interview him. The Ecuadorians are being held in jail and people have gathered there to try to press for their release.