1 12 1 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/7d21adf1ab7b77f7d41b3286b2166c45.pdf 7df5bd1f72f7675c1dc71a3a35855847 PDF Text Text • We Are Involved 1n a joint Struggle Interview With Carmen lrnamberna undreds of Indigenous rcp~ntatwes gathered In Gene•"• m june of 1994 10 discuss nnd comment on the Draft Dcclar.uion of Indigenous Rights being prcJ>Jrcd by the UN Working GI'Oup on lndtgcnous Peoples. There, we lme"oewed C.1nnen lrnamberna, Prcsidem of the l'ederauon of Indigenous People ond O>mpesinos of lmb.1bura (fiCI). one of the largtst hoghland Indian organl%3uons m Ecwdor. on the draft dedar.ulon and her expc~nces 3S a \\'Ort13n leader H zauon. our own politics. our own foznls of economic devel· opmr:m . 1'here are differences between lndi~enous People on the best wny to express our rights. Some argue for '"free·dcter· mlnmlon.· others ror '"autonomy... Autonomy implies the expansion, the development lof rights]. under already established norms and structures. W11h free.<feterrninnuon. we are peuuonang the dtre<:t recogmuon of our nghtS-that go..emments recogntze us for who we an: These differences m<rcly tndtcate that the different peoples we rcpn:sem confront dtf· fcrent problems. have different >truggles. and diff~rent expenences. And so for some, the dedarn11on or autonomy ts suffictent. 6ut fo r those who arc t ruly in >truggle fo r free deterrmnl).uon. nutonomy is not suffic:1Cill. V.1 hcre there is n'uch discl'lmlnation, it will not protect us. We lof Ecuador! at'C argumg for free-detenninatlon, not simply autonomy. My position has aiW3)'S been 1h.11 1f we are not recognized in this Arc you >3tisfied wi th what has occurred here 31 the UN or do you think that lhe aspirations of l ndigcnous Peoples arc not being heMd? Well, I cn.mot e"actly s.1y sousfted Out 11 seems to me that the initiatives proposed here "'" Important so that " "'h ume the governmentS increasmgly open up the barriers 10 the recognlllon that we Indigenous peoples have rightS. This sp.1ee here in the UN Working Group IS impoTWlt for manner then we cannOt say tlut thl$ is our law-t.hat o£ tht outlming a program whteh the Indigenous Peoples can then lndtgenous Peoples. Rather. It Is • UN bw decbred tn the use. But I bel•.-·e th:u nothmg will change through this alone. pr~nct of lndtgcnous Peoples. Our only guamntec " the force of our peoples. Regardless of how many laws ore appro..ed. tf our commu- To conclude. could you say something about your posinltie~ don't struggle. there are no gua<Jntees. Clearly the law tion. Y are the only female president o f an Indigenous ou will be • lcgalmstrumem , but Its use depends solely on our federa tion in Ecuador. Whm enabled tha.t and what chalstrength. A s lew of laws protecting our human rights already lenges do yQu face? exist. but when and where have they truly been applied ? This is what everyone asks me. :md I really don't have a \Vhcn hnvc: we been protected under them? Rarel}r. if ever. clear re>ponse. Since <he mceptlon of FICI, for the twenty arc luws on paper complied wnh. More often the ime.rests of years thJt 11 has existed. !here h.~ ne•·er been a woman as thost In power rule. So, regardless of how marvelous our president There h.'tS been female p3ruclpntion and leaderprogram here m the Worlung Group ts, 11 will nt\'er bear >lttp. but thiS has always been •n <he role of S«mary of fruu unless w~ guarantee: it Women-not the pn:siden<:): not. even as head of one of the olher dep.utmcnts. So. lhtS ttme there W:IS a mtr.telc. llow do you feel about the drnft d cclamtion, where d oes FlCI s tond in this regard' How have the: men in the orgtmi:Qtion responded to you. Some J>tOplc believe that, because a universal decla· d<) you reel t hat t hey doub t your capacity? Well. that depends on how you proceed in the work. rntion of human rights already exists. that this adequately covers all of humanity. llut actu.1lly. Indigenous People are not S<)me may have doubts, but In gcnerni, I h:we the total sup· taken adequotcly into account under existing laws. I believe port of my colleagues. If they don't >up port me. I Sl)' th:u lhey that lndtgenous People need to be nddress.:d spocific.tlly. arc not. obeying the desires of the provt!I(Oe. For I was not because we arc different. We h.1•e our own forms of org.1ni- elected b)· JUSI one community but by the provmctal congress. JO ~Yala 1\'aos �WO MAtl To date. I have not had any problems, but rather the support and respect of all the members. \Vhat aboul women'S organiz·ing within the FlCI? Are there groups that work specifically on women's issues? Our form of struggle docs not stop " ;th specific objectives for women. I believe thot this is something imposed by colo· nialism-that women arc to fight for their rights separately. and that men then organize for the men. I don\ agree with this. I believe that we are involved in a joint Struggle where men. women, and children participate. But we can have specific activities as women within this snuggle and there can be specific problems between the genders. after all. machismo still exisls. But what we, as women, are trying to promote is that everyone is respec-ted as an equal. And that everyone understands that women are capable of assuming any responsibility. 'IA'e, as Indigenous people and a$ women ne.ed to have direct relations between our peoples where limita~ions are not imposed. where our spaces are not limited. As women. we need to understand that we are capable of taking any responsibility-that we can move forward. Throughout the world , we heard about d\e Indigenous uprising lruajune that dnew much of lhe country into tur· moil until the Ecuadorian government agreed to negotiate with Indigenous organizations. \Vhat caused the uprising? The central issue was the new agrnrian law. Over the past few years. the National llgrarian Coordinating Body organized by CON/liE held assemblies and workshops in communities to debate agrarian reform. This popular analysis Cltlminated in the "L.1w for Integrated Agriculture", which we presented to the National Congress a year ago. Yet. this proposal was never discussed by congress. In May of this year. the executi\•e branch submitted its own agrarian la\v, FoUo,-.ring our vigor· ous protest, congress rejected this law, but then turned around and approved a virtually identical bill of the dominant conservative party-the Social Democrats. The nationai "Mobilization for Life• erupted from the political and unconsl..ituti6naltnanipulation or this law that direct~ ly affects the live.• of Indigenous people and small fanners in Ecuador. The mobilization began on June 13 and lasted more than eight da)os. It resulted in many deaths. three disappearances. and 540 injured. \Vho was responsible for this violence? Throughout the Mobilization for Life, the government never accepted our proposal for open dialogue. Instead, President Duron's solution was to declare a State of Emergency. In this way, he began to milit~rize target communities. \Vhcn the nlilitary and police were authorized to intervene. the killing began. The deaths and injuries were the product of the govcmment's state of emergency. Vol. 8 No. 4 So. what's the current situation wilh the agrari3n law? Well , the law was approved. But finally, after so n)any deaths, the Tribunal of Constitutional Guarontees declared the law unconstitutional. At the same time. however, the President and the Social Democtats appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Thus the law was still in force despite the fact that a high-level institution of the s:une state declared it to be unconstitutional. \~'e. of the Agraian Coordinating Body. have appealed to the Supreme Court that it too declare the law unconstitutional. At the same time, a commission was established to re£onn the 1aw. The commission comprised representatives of the: Catholic church . Indigenous organizations, agribusiness and ranching, the national congress. the Social Democrat Party. Ministry of 1\gricuhure, and the President of the Republic himself. Decisions of the commission are simpl)' recommendations. howe\• and mtast still be approved by congress er. where the conservative Social Democrats :trc 1hc majority. ls the government showing good will in relation to Indigenous demands now? 1 there were good will, the government would have acted r before all the violence. We don't believe the re is good will. Rather, the commission 'vas constituted because of the Indigenous movementS demands and the intervention of international organiu.tions. That is why we have dialogue. Still, this is not a dialogue where decisive resolmions can be made. Rather, it is a dialogue similar to that occurring here in the Working Group. Carmen lrnamberna·s organization FICI represems thousands o f Ind igenous people in the Ecuadorian highland s, like these women from Otavato province. 31 � 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. 8, no. 4 (Winter 1994) 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 We Are Involved in a Joint Struggle: Interview With Carmen Irnamberna 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 Winter 1994 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title We Are Involved in a Joint Struggle: Interview With Carmen Irnamberna Item Type Journal Article Volume 8 Issue 4 Pages 30-31 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Winter 1994 Language English Abstract Note Abya Yala News interviews Carmen Irnamberna, President of the Federation of Indigenous People and Campesinos of Imbabura, on challenges, issues, and possible repercussions of the Draft Declaration of Indigenous Rights being prepared by the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. Attachment Title We_are_involved_in_a_joint_struggle.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] FICI Human Rights UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples