Courtesy of Red Amazon, here’s a letter that was sent last month to Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa Delgado by the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador (CONAIE).

This is being posted to add some proof against the myth that “only outsiders oppose development.” As it has always been, the People speak for themselves.

English Version of the Letter
Translated by Martin Allen
Spanish version available here

The full text of a letter to Señor Rafael Correa Delgado, Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador, dated 11th March 2008 and signed by Marlon Santi, President of …

Here you will find Justicia Now! a 30-minute documentary produced by Mofilms to help raise awareness about “ChevronTexaco’s toxic legacy in the Northern Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest - and a courageous group of people called Los Afectados (The Affected Ones) who are seeking justice for the ensuing cancer, sickness and death in the largest environmental class action lawsuit in history.”

According to a Press Release sent out last November, the documentary was originally supposed to premiere at the Artivist Film Festival, but Director Martin O’Brien pulled it out after the festival announced a ‘new relationship’ with …

On Friday, Ecuador’s government announced that it was revoking Ascendant Copper’s mining concessions for the controversial Junin Project, an open pit copper mine located in one of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions.

Publicly, the government says it decided to revoke a total of 587 mining concessions for economic reasons; for instance, because of the companies’ failure to pay proper fees on the concessions. However it seems more likely that it’s because of the social and environmental consequences of the project. The government of President Rafael Correa just doesn’t …

The World Rainforest Movement’s Bulletin for December features an article by Guadalupe Rodriguez, a Campaigner for Tropical Forests and Human Rights, which discusses the ongoing criminalization of anyone opposed to the exploitative activities of transnational corporations in Ecuador.

The article also discusses “the First Summit of Communities Criminalized for Defending Nature”, which was held on November 16th at the Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador.

You can read the full article at World Rainforest Movement website. Here’s an excerpt:

As announced in the call to the Quito meeting, [the …

Two days ago, Correa brought an end to the state of emergency he declared on Nov. 29 in the province of Orrelana, agreeing with human rights organizations and regional leaders to investigate charges of human rights abuse that occurred while the emergency was in effect.

Correa had called the state of emergency after people from Dayuma started taking over oil wells and cutting communication lines on November 26. Before this, the protesters were peacefully calling for the government to spend more revenue from oil on infrastructure (roads and electricity lines), and …

This past June, José Aviles and Rubén Naichap, two Ecuadorian men who claim to be leaders of indigenous organizations in Ecuador, accused Ottawa-based Mining Watch Canada of supporting ‘the Economic, Cultural and Social Genocide of the Shuar people’; and of helping to keep ‘the Indigenous People of the Amazon in Poverty.’

In one of two letters written to Mining Watch, Mr. Naichap also says they “endorsed, promoted, and supported a small group of individuals who marched on the EcuaCorriente camp (December 3, 2006)”, allegedly …

Fifty years ago, the Waorani lived a lifestyle identical to that of an uncontacted, nomadic people. But with the discovery of oil and an onslaught of Christian missionaries in the years following, the Waorani were abruptly dragged into the modern world. Soon after contact, they were put under missionary control–but only for a few short years.

Upon returning to their Ancestral lands, the Waorani, known to be some of the fiercest Warriors in the Amazon, found that they were no longer allowed to live as they did …

Earlier this week, the Ecuadorian government held a press conference where it announced that Canada’s Ascendant Copper must suspend all its activities at the controversial Junin project, an open pit copper mine located in the Tropical Andes of Ecuador, for violating the country’s mining laws. This is the fourth stop work order since last December.

Immediately after the conference, Ascendant issued a statement emphatically denying it has violated any laws, and even says the Minister of Oil and Mines just doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Should …

At the end of August, two Indigenous Leaders in Puyo, Ecuador were attacked after months of receiving death threats for their efforts to protect the territory of the Zapara people in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Gloria Ushigua and Rosa Gualinga were beaten until unconscious, thrown in the trunk of a car, and later left for dead.

From Free Peltier Now - Both women are internationally known human rights defenders. Gloria Ushigua is a leader of the Zapara people. Rosa Gualinga is of the Andoas people and works closely with …

The Transnational Institute (TNI) has just released a report which examines the impact of coca cultivation, petroleum activity and armed conflict on Cofan, a people traditionally living in the tropical forest between Ecuador and Colombia.

Today their territory, culture and very survival are being threatened by the dynamics associated with the drugs trade, the armed conflict and large mega-projects being developed in their territory.

Here’s the Introduction to the report (links added by me) followed by TNI’s recommendations to the Government of Colombia:

Coca, Petroleum and Conflict in Cofán …