ELL: U'wa: Continuing Mobilization - Solidarity planned for March 9

Sat Feb 26 12:52:56 UTC 2000

THOUSANDS OF COLOMBIANS JOIN U'WA IN RE-BLOCKADING DRILL SITE!

MARCH 9TH INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE U'WA

In the post :
1. Uwa Defense Working Group press release - Feb 25
2. U'wa communique - Feb 21 (ingles y espanol)
3. U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney supports the U'wa
---------------------------------------

#1.
U'WA DEFENSE WORKING GROUP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2000

CONTACTS:
Lauren Sullivan, +1-415-398-4404 or Stephen Kretzmann, +1-510-551-7953
Atossa Soltani, +1-310-317-7045 or Martin Wagner +1-415-627-6700 ext. 216

Thousands of Colombians Resume Blockades Near Planned Oil Well
Standoff  With Oxy Escalating
Solidarity March Today In Bogota

Rallying behind the struggle of the U'wa people of Colombia, at least
2,500 people have arrived during the past week in the small community of
Gibraltar, in the department of North Santander. The town is
approximately 6 kilometers from the site of the first well planned by
Los-Angeles based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy). The campesinos, students,
and union members have reportedly joined thousands of U'wa and other
indigenous peoples in resuming the blockade of the main road to Oxy's
well site.
"They are maintaining the blockade of the road that leads to Pamplona
and are taking shelter in the church, the schools and other sites," said
Csar Hiplito Mora, the mayor of Cubar, a neighboring town according
to Tuesday's edition of El Tiempo, a Colombian daily.
The secretary of the local Association of Campesinos (ADUC), Reina
Rojas, said from Saravena that it is not a strike, but rather a
mobilization which involves representatives from the different guilds
and unions.
"It's something indefinite that will only end with a commitment from the
Government to halt the petroleum exploration in the Samore Block. We ask
that the Ministers of the Environment, Juan Mayr, and of the Interior,
Nestor Humberto Martinez come and endorse this agreement," said Rojas.
Observers in the area report that a heavy military and police contingent
in the area is monitoring the protestors, and has stopped some shipments
of food and medical supplies bound for the U'wa. On February 11, the
police reportedly used tear gas and forcibly removed 450 U'wa who were
blockading the road, resulting in the reported drowning of three
indigenous children. The body of a four month old Uwa girl was found
last week. Two other children, ages 9 and 10, from the Guahibo tribe are
still missing and presumed dead.
Just one week ago, Occidental Petroleum Vice-President Lawrence Meriage
testified before the U.S. Congress in a subcommittee hearing on the
Military aid package to Colombia that "only two groups are intent on
blocking the project  leftist guerrillas and non-governmental
organizations in the US." Meriage further implied that the Uwa were
merely pawns of others.
The U'wa issued a statement responding to Meriage's testimony saying:
"We demand that Occidental Petroleum and those in the media who have
called us guerrilla sympathizers, rectify these accusations immediately,
because they endanger the life of the U'wa community and of those that
support us. We fight to defend our cultural principles which benefit
society as a whole, and not those particular dark interests."
"Clearly, opposition to this project began with the Uwa and support
among Colombians is broad-based and growing" said Atossa Soltani of
Amazon Watch. "Given the widespread protests in Colombia by unions,
farmers, students and indigenous communities, the only responsible
course of action is an immediate suspension of this project pending a
negotiated settlement in which all sides participate."
In Bogota, members of Colombian non-governmental and indigenous
organizations will be holding a solidarity march at 2:00 p.m. today at
the Plaza Simon Bolivar which will culminate in a rally at the Ministry
of Environment. In the United States, supporters of the U'wa continue to
target the two most prominent Oxy shareholders - Fidelity Investments
and Vice-President Al Gore Jr. Over 40 nonviolent demonstrations have
taken place in the last several weeks.

Tactics for Supporters:
	The best way to take on Occidental is to target their 2 most important
shareholders - Vice President Al Gore and Fidelity Investments.  As the
U'wa blockade their homelands they time has come for us to blockade
Fidelity's operations.  Whether its demonstrating at their offices,
leafleting their customers, organizing educational events,  or shutting
down their operations with non-violent direct action the U'wa need us
all to organize in our communities.
	In the US find your nearest Fidelity Investor center at :
http://personal400.fidelity.com/gen/centers/invstctr.html.tvsr
Internationally get free  phone numbers to call Fidelity from around the
world at :
http://www100.fidelity.com/about/contact/inter.html
	Send letters of protest to Fidelity's CEO  :
Mr. Edward Johnson III,  Chairman Fidelity Investments
82 Devonshire Street, Boston, MA  02109
fax # =  617-476-4164

	Also keep the pressure on Al Gore.   Activists have been continually
disrupting his campaign appearances demanding that he address the U'wa
issue.  Let's keep it up!  Contact his national campaign office in
Nashville TN at :
phone) +1-615-340-2000   or
fax)   +1-615-340-3295  email : vicepresident at whitehouse.gov
Tell him that as a major shareholder in Oxy he  has a responsibility to
speak out against Oxy's crimes!

	Updates, factsheets and other campaign materials in a downloadable
format are available at www.ran.org also www.amazonwatch.org.  To
coordinate your local actions with other supporters and get hard copies
of materials and great stickers  please contact Patrick Reinsborough at
Rainforest  Action Network  1-800-989-RAIN or organize at ran.org

----------------------------------------

#2
(version en espanol abajo)

Association of Traditional U'wa Authorities
Communique to the General Public

As a result of the recent events that have occurred in U'wa territory,
due to the violent military and police intervention, that in past days
took the lives or three of our children and resulted in the
disappearance
of five indigenous brothers, demonstrations of solidarity for our
community have continued to grow. This show of solidarity comes from all
sectors of national and international civil society, who without
distinguishing race, color, or politics, have joined in this unequal
struggle against the National Government, the Ministry of the
Environment,
the Ministry of Mines and Energy and Occidental Petroleum of Colombia.

This time, support has come from groups in the farming communities of
Arauca, who have added approximately 4,000 people to the 1,200 members
of our indigenous community gathered near the Gibraltar well-site in
Toledo,
Norte de Santander.

The purpose of the group gathered there is to vehemently reject the
measures taken by the National Government in favor of OXY, whose plan
seeks to subdue the U'wa culture by spearheading an oil exploration
project on our ancestral territory. Nevertheless and in spite of the
many
demonstrations of support coming from all sectors of civil society, the
armed forces and police keep attempting to stop others from joining us
in
solidarity to protest Occidental.

Not only have they stopped people from passing through, but they have
also thwarted the passage of vehicles that are transporting food,
medicine
and other necessary resources crucial to the wellbeing of the people at
the Gibraltar site.

Because of the above mentioned facts:

 1) We demand that the President of the Republic of Colombia and the
Ministry of Defense, immediately withdraw the army and the police that
are
surrounding, abusing, and violating the rights of the U'wa community and
the rest of the civil population that have united with us in non-violent
protest.

 2) We demand that Occidental Petroleum immediately stop all activity on
our ancestral territory, as their presence has unleashed violence
against
our brothers, including the deaths of our children and of the American
indigenous rights activists Terence Frietas, Ingrid Washinawatok and
Larry
Gay.

 3) We demand that Occidental Petroleum and those in the media who have
called us guerrilla sympathizers, rectify these accusations immediately,

because they endanger the life of the U'wa community and of those that
support us. We fight to defend our cultural principles which benefit
society as a whole, and not those particular dark interests.

We ask that the national and international communities support our cause
which seeks to exercise the social rights of all Colombians.

 Cabildo Mayor U'wa
 Kuirasiru Barrosa (Traditional Authority)
 Cubara, February 21, 2000

 FOR LIFE, FOR MILLENNIAL RIGHTS AND FOR THE RESPECT OF NATIONAL
SOVEREIGNTY, THE U'WA OPPOSE THE MILITARY INTERVENTION IN OUR TERRITORY

*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	*

ASOCIACION DE CABILDOS U`WAS, ASOU`WAS
Comunicado a la Opinin Pblica
A raz de los ltimos acontecimientos que se vienen presentando en
territorio Uwa producto de la agresin estatal a travs de sus fuerzas
armadas y de polica, que en das pasados cobr la vida de tres de
nuestros nios y la desaparicin de cinco hermanos indgenas, las
manifestaciones de solidaridad hacia nuestro pueblo han venido
creciendo. Esta solidaridad proviene de todos los estamentos de la
sociedad civil nacional e internacional, que sin distingo de raza, color
o poltica, se han sumada a esta desigual lucha que venimos librando
contra el Gobierno Nacional, el Ministerio del Medio Ambiente,
Ministerio de Minas y Energa y la Occidental de Colombia.
Esta vez los grupos de apoyo provienen de comunidades campesinas del
Arauca que se suman en un nmero aproximado de 4000 a los
aproximadamente 1200 miembros de nuestra comunidad indgena que se
encuentran concentrados en el corregimiento de Gibraltar, Toledo, Norte
de Santander.
El objetivo del grupo all concentrado es rechazar enrgicamente las
medidas tomadas por el gobierno nacional en favor de la OXY, que
pretende avasallar a la cultura Uwa teniendo como punta de lanza las
exploraciones petroleras en nuestro territorio ancestral. Sin embargo, y
pese a las mltiples manifestaciones de apoyo que provienen de todos los
sectores de la sociedad civil, las fuerzas armadas y de polica vienen
impidiendo el paso, a todo costa, de todo aquel que quiera sumarse a
estas manifestaciones de repudio hacia la Occidental y de solidaridad
hacia los Uwa.
No solo se bloquea el paso de transentes, tambin se le ha cerrado el
paso a los vehculos que transportan alimentos, medicinas y dems
elementos de vital ayuda para las personas concentradas en Gibraltar.
Por los hechos en mencin:
1. Exigimos del Presidente de la Repblica, a los Ministros de Defensa y
del Interior, el retiro inmediato de la ejercito y la polica que
acordonan, atropellan y violan los derechos de nuestra comunidad Uwa y
dems miembros civiles que se han unido a nuestra pacifica protesta.
2. Exigimos a la empresa Occidental el retiro inmediato de toda
actividad en nuestro territorio ancestral, ya que su presencia ha
desencadenado procesos violentos contra nuestros hermanos, incluyendo la
muerte de nuestros hijos y los hermanos indigenistas estadounidenses
Terence Freitas, Ingrid Washinawatock y Larry Gay.
3. Exigimos a la empresa Occidental y a los medios de comunicacin que
nos han tildado de guerrilleros la rectificacin inmediata de tales
afirmaciones, que ponen en peligro la vida del pueblo Uwa y de quienes
nos apoyan. Nuestra lucha es por defender nuestros principios culturales
que velan por el inters general y no por defender oscuros intereses
particulares.
4. Demandamos de la comunidad nacional e internacional el apoyo
irrestricto a nuestra causa, que busca la reivindicacin de los derechos
sociales de los colombianos.
CABILDO MAYOR UWAKUIRASIRU BARROSA (AUTORIDAD TRADICIONAL)
CUBARA, 21 DE FEBRERO DE 2000
POR LA VIDA, POR LOS DERECHOS MILENARIOS Y EL RESPETO A LA SOBERANIA
NACIONAL LOS UWAS NOS OPONEMOS A LA INTERVENCION MILITAR EN NUESTRO
TERRITORIO

---------------------------------------
#3.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE         		Contact:  Jocco Baccus
February 22, 2000 			Phone:   (404) 377-6900

Email:Jocco.Baccus at mail.house.gov

"SUSPEND OCCIDENTIAL PETROLEUM'S DRILLING." SAYS CONGRESSWOMAN MCKINNEY

"No more blood for oil"

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), Ranking Member
of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, today
sent a letter to Vice President Al Gore, calling on him to take action in
stopping Occidental Petroleum from drilling on ancestral indigenous land in
Colombia.

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