1 12 1 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/1720b584fbd935cc45724ce42ddeac90.pdf 70e42421d45e7ac7deead40930189aa5 PDF Text Text courtesy of CONAlE. bilingual education dq>fVtnu:nl. OIL WARS IN THE ECUADORIAN AMAZON! An Interview with Leonardo Viteri (Ecuador) Leonardo Viteri, of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAlE), the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) and the Organization of Indigenous People of Pastaza (OPIP) visited the Bay Area last Spring, on a speaking tour of North America. He is a Quichua Indian from the community of Saragura in the Province of Pastaza in Ecuador's Amazon region. Approximately 200.000 Indian people live in this region, with the Quichuas numbering around 90,000. Other groups include the Shuar, Huaorani, Cofanes, Siones and the Secoya. The following is excerpted from an interview between SAUC and Leonardo. SAllC: I understAnd that you come from a large family. Are all the members of your family actively involved in thedt{enseof the rights of indian peoples? 14 SAIIC Newsletter �Yes, we worked first of all to achieve unity in our methods and politics at the level of the family. This alloWEd us to obtain the necessary baclcing and support for our work and also to inVolve the whole family in the cause of indigenous peoples. I do come from a large family ·I have nlne brothers and sisters, and we are all working with different organizations and focusing on distinct areas of work. SAJIC: Whm did you bt:gin to organize yourselves at the ~nal and nationalleoels? In the Amazon region, the Shuar Federation was the first to undertake a broad and significant process of organizing. Thereafter, indigenous peoples like the Quichua, Cofancs, Siones and Secoya, and most recently the Huaoranl, have organized themselves. The Quichua people of Pastaza have been organized since 1978, and we form part of the Organ!· zation of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OP!P). toward work, nutrition and sodal behavior are adopted, all of which diverge totally from the culture oi our people. SAJIC: Whm did the incursion of tl!e pmoleum companies bt:gin in the &:uadorian Amazon? The petroleum problem bega.n for indigenous peoples as far back as 1926. Since that time we have been waging a petroleum war in the Amazon. Confi'onted by our permanent opposition and struggle, the companies have withdrawn on several oocasions, but in 1970 they returned with much greater force. This date marks the beginning of the oil boom in the Amazon, which has been one of the most complicated and conflictive periods of our time, and also one of the most destructive in terms of the region and the cultures of indigenous peoples. SAJIC: Wiry harJe indigenous tmiWries btrm militariud? 1llose who stand i.n opposition to the interests of indigenous peoples are very concenoed by the accelerated p<OCCSS of organizing being carried out by indigenous peoples of the Amazon and SAJJC: Can you describe in throughout Ecuador in general. greater detml what Through the creation of regional CONFENAJE is, and whom it confederations, such as repr~ts? CONFENAIE in the Amazon, CONFENAIE Is a EOJARUNARI in the Sierra, regional, non-governmental and COICE in the coastal region. organization of indigenous we have been able to unite and peoples. It i epieserlls six successfully organize ourselves I'M<~ b7 M. Htt.,... nationalities that live in the uoiiiJTt/q Viteri on his visit to North AI7U!rico. at the national level. CONAlE, Amazon region, specifically the Confederation of Indigenous the Quichua, the Shuar·Achua.r, the Huaorani, the Cofanes, Nationalities of Ecuador, represents the synthesis of all of the Siona, and the Secoya. CONFENAIE was established in the regional organizations. Through CONAlE, we are able the Amazon 11 years ago, and it is the representative to struggle and put forth, as a united front, our proposals to organization of the majority of indigenous peoples of the the Ecuadorian State in order to seriously discuss and find solutions to the problems that have built up as a result of Amazon. 500 years of oppression. The mlUWization of our territories SAJIC: What has btrm tl!e impact o{tl!epdroleum amrpanieson and the persecution of indigenous peoples Is also due to the indigenous peoples? struggle ignited by the indigenous uprising of June of 1990. The policy of repression which the Ecuadorian govemrnent The government's oil policy has provoked the has adopted has caused many problems for us. plunder of 5,200,000 hectares of indigenous territory in the last twenty years, because It has awakened the ambitions of SAJIC: What companies art optrating in tl!e Amazon? outsiders to come in and grab land. Immense areas of land have also been given as ~ns to timber companies, to There are more than 22 oil companies operating in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Fifteen of these are from the agribusiness companies cultivating African palm trees, to tourist companies, and to the armed forc:es. At present, the United States. Texaco, which has been there for almost oil companies are occupying some 3,080,000 hectares. Their twenty years, Is the company that has caused the greatest operations the exploit the entire Amazon region. The ecological and social damage in the region. ARCO, which Is also present and operating in the territory of Pastaza, has presence of the companies also implies cultural changes because at times our people go to work for the companies. militarized Its block in the face of opposition from the nus creates an economic dependency, and also transforms (setwnor@,p. 45) their way of thinking. Other life-styles, other attitudes Vol6 Nos 1&2 15 �just possible way, the interests of indigenous peoples and of Leonardo (continued from p. 15> the society in general. militarized its block in the face of opposition from the indigenous peoples of the zone. SAIIC: 1992 is appi'OtJChing... What dotS the future hold fin' Indian p<Oples and their relationships with the inlemational community? SAIIC: Is the mililtlry guarding the petroleum wells? Yes. At this very moment there are military troops guarding the oil wells, particularly those in ARCO's Block 10 and Occidental Petroleum's Block 15. The Conoco (a division of Dupont) company is also involved with petroleum exploitation in the Yasunl Park, territory which belongs to the Hauorani. SAIIC: Whal is Conoco planning to do in lhe Amazon? Conoco wants to exploit the reserves it has found within the Yasunl Park, which are yielding some 40 thou· sand barrels of oil a day. In order to exploit these reserves the company wants to construct a highway through the park. There is strong opposition to this plan from indigenous peoples, ecological organizations in Ecuador, and the public in general, because it represents a serious threat to the ecological integrity of the Yasunl Park. For this reason conoco has begun a series of maneuvers i.n the area • dividing communities, trying to cause confrontations between indigenous peoples allied with religious organiza· tionsand the military, the colonists, and companies with interests in the region -basically to confuse national and international opinion. At the same time, COnoco has begun to use environmental groups in the US, Ukc the NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council), or perhaps this group has offered itself to support the interests of Conoco in order to convince indigenous peoples to negotiate the extraction of petroleum in these territories. Arguments being used are: a) it would be impossible to get Conoco out of the fe810n, b) Conoco's proposal for environmental regulation is better than anyone else's, and c) if Conoco leaves, other much . more destructive companies like Braspctro from Braz~l, Will move in. With these kinds of arguments they have tried to pressure Indigenous peoples and elicit their approval for the negotiations. We the indigenous peoples of Ecuador, are concerned by the fact that today, as we approach the SOOth anniversary since the European invasion of America ·the scxalled "discovery of America" ·the governments of the world still have not committed themselves to seriously think through the policies needed in order to oonstruct a harmonious relationship with indigenous peoples. Oppression and exploitation still exist, and governments continue to permit genocide in indigenous territories. Now the process is not so blatant, irs not with rifles and bullets, but with other strategies which kill us culturally and physically • contamination of the rivers, destruction of nature, the looting of territories and natural resources, the imposition of religious and educational systems that are alien to us. Faced with this, we the indigenous peoples of the continent, have a moral a. d historical responsibility to take this date, n the SOOth anniversary, very seriously and to begin discussing future continental alliances. The continental conference held in Quito in)ulyof 1990wasa very important precedent. If we want to keep moving toward the future with common proposals and objectives, it is necessary to con· tinue our work at the continental level. Only in this way, can we create the groundwork and the oonditions necessary for an alliance of indigenous peoples. SAJIC: We understand that CONFENAJE has filed an interna· tiona/ lawsuit against Conoco... Knowing the impact that the construction of highways and the activities of oil companies have indu~, we have found it ncccssary to take action at an International level because our demands and our proposals are not heeded by the national government. We have considered it critical to take this issue to international forums. With the cooperation of the Sierra Oub Legal ~fense Fund, a~ organization of lawyers in San Franosco, we have peti· tioned the OAS (Organization of American States) to intervene and mediate these conflicts. Tile problems between indigenous peoples and the Ecuadorian govern· mcnt are truly very big, and for this reason we believe that the mediation of an international organization like the OAS Is important. In this way we can conduct serious discussions, that will result in solutions that address in the most Vol6 Nos 1&2 45 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 6, nos. 1&amp;2 (spring/summer 1991) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oil Wars in the Ecuadorian Amazon Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1991 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Oil Wars in the Ecuadorian Amazon Item Type Journal Article Volume 6 Issue 1&2 Pages 14-15,45 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1991 Language English Abstract Note Many quechua people are being moved so that oil companies can drill. Attachment Title Oil_Wars_In_The_Ecuadorian_Amazon!.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] CONAIE Ecuadoran amazon oil wars