Ecuador

Press Release from Andean Indigenous Organizations

Press Release

Five Hundred official delegates from the following groups: ECUARANI (Ecuador), CONACAMI (Peru), CONAMAQ (Bolivia), ONIC (Colombia), and CITEM (Chile are participating in the First Congress of the Andean Coordinating Committee of Indigenous of Indigenous Organizations (Quechua, Kichwa, Aymara, Mapuche)

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Ecuador seeks to unite the Andean countries at upcoming CAN meeting

Associated Press June 3, 2006

QUITO - The Chancellor responsible for the next regional presidential conference, to be held in Quito next week, says that Ecuador will use the meetings to seek to preserve Andean integration..

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Quechuan communities for the solidarity of all the poor

Quechuan communities demand the nationalization of Ecuador’s natural energy resources

Canar, May 20, 2006

On the last day of the second Quechuan convention inside the “plenary”, each group presented its basic conclusions for revision and analysis of the last six months of work. Of the initiatives discussed, several basic points were emphasized: Communities stressed the need to pressure the central government on behalf of the country’s poor and the Quechuan villages to nationalize energy resources, including petroleum, hydrocarbons, electricity, telecommunication, and mining. Likewise, villages should promote the nationalization and necessary protection to prevent the inequitable privatization of other natural resources such as water, forests, and others that are in indigenous territories. All decisions regarding these must first be negotiated with the towns and communities at stake. We need to remain attentive regarding the free trade agreement, because it is totally possible that the United States government could reopen negotiations with an eventual signing of the accord. The termination of the Occidental Petroleum contract represents a victory, but also requires that we pay special attention to oversee the administration of PETROECUADOR resources and profits.

In response to the the Palacio government’s brutal repression during the protests in March, which resulted in deaths and injuries, leaving many handicapped, the Quechuan communities in this II congress propose that charges be brought against the Palacio government and that immediate compensation be demanded.

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Statement from EU-Latin American Unions and Civil Society Working Group

REGARDING THE IV SUMMIT OF HEADS OF
STATE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

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US loses interest in FTA with Ecuador

Posted by toml on Mon, 2006-05-22 15:54 Andean Free Trade Agreement | Ecuador

The chances for a short term conclusion to trade negotiations between the U.S. and Ecuador were handed a major setback last week, when the national government decided to revoke its operating contract with Occidental Petroleum and seize $1 Billion of its assets. This action was taken after the energy ministry ruled that the company had acted improperly when it transferred 40% interest in its oil fields to EnCana, a Canadian oil company.

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