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Humberto Cholango, CONAIE President, speaks at a press conference in Quito on Jan. 9, 2014. Photo from Amazon Watch
Following the dissolving of Fundación Pachamama, our sister organization in Quito on December 4, 2013, the government is now turning its attention to indigenous leaders who have been at the forefront of defending their territory. A formal complaint was filed by the Secretary of Hydrocarbons, and today depositions began of eight indigenous leaders. The complaint accuses them of making threats during protests against the oil bidding announcement on November 28th, and calls for their imprisonment.
CONAIE (the national umbrella organization of indigenous nationalities) released the following statement (translated by Amazon Watch):
CONAIE Denounces Secretary of Hydrocarbon’s
Accusations Against Indigenous Leaders
Today at a press conference with his governing council, Humberto Cholango, President of CONAIE, brought to light the Secretary of Hydrocarbon’s denunciation of the events of November 28, 2013. Secretary Gustavo Andrés Donoso’s complaint has led to a preliminary investigation by the Attorney General against Cholango and Amazonian indigenous leaders.
The complaint asks for the leaders to be imprisoned. In it, the Secretary requests that the Attorney General also investigate Bartolo Ushigua, Vice President of CONAIE, Franco Viteri Gualinga, President of the Governing Body of the First Nations of the Ecuadorian Amazon (GONOAE), and seven other leaders.
The attorney general will investigate the accusation of the crime of threatening, including (1) Obstructing entry to buildings, (2) not having authorization for the public act, (3) impeding the opening of the envelopes from the oil auction, and (4) injuries.
CONAIE President Humberto Cholango stated that, “The government of Ecuador, through the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, continues to criminalize Ecuadorian indigenous leaders." He said, “As President of CONAIE and especially as an Ecuadorian citizen, I am not going to evade justice. I am going to face forward without hiding because my acts of struggle are transparent to the light of day and have not caused any damage to the State nor to any Ecuadorian or foreigner. The denunciation presented by the Secretary of Hydrocarbons Gustavo Andrés Donoso seeks the penalty of prison.”
Lastly, Cholango noted that the prosecutor trying the case is Dr. Bayron Granda and that today at 3 pm Cholango will go with his lawyers to the office of the Attorney General to sign the registry at the courthouse to begin defending himself from this unjust accusation.
--Department of Communications, CONAIE, January 9, 2014
