Colombian Oil Project on U'WA Land Sparks International Outcry Two Women Hang Peace Banner from Roof of Colombian Consulate in Los Angeles | Amazon Watch
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Colombian Oil Project on U’WA Land Sparks International Outcry Two Women Hang Peace Banner from Roof of Colombian Consulate in Los Angeles

October 12, 1999 | For Immediate Release


AMAZON WATCH - Action Resource Center - Rainforest Action Network

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Beverly Hills, CA – Five activists including two women climbers climbers were arrested this afternoon during a protest at the Colombian Consulate in Beverly Hills, California. Two women rappelled from the roof of the Colombian Consulate just after 9:00 am this morning and unfurled a 700-square foot Spanish language banner which read “Colombia: Invest in Peace, Not Oil.” The five activists arrested are Kim Mizrahi, Jennifer Zurich, Thomas Cavanagh, Jeremy Pastor, and Charissa Niles. The demonstrators are calling on the Colombian government to immediately revoke a drilling license recently granted to Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum to drill on U’wa indigenous territory.

Today’s demonstration is part of an international day of action with protests taking place at Colombian consulates and embassies in ten U.S. cities as well as in Prague, Amsterdam, Bogota, Madrid, London, Geneva, Dublin, Vancouver and Toronto. The demonstrations mark the 507th anniversary of European contact with the Americas and the resulting genocide of indigenous peoples.

Activists are calling on the Colombian government to seek peace by canceling Occidental Petroleum’s pending oil project on the U’wa land and renewing efforts towards a negotiated end to that country’s 30-year civil war. The international mobilization is in response to a call by the U’wa, a Colombian indigenous group who are so opposed to oil and the violence it brings that they have threatened to commit mass suicide if Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum drills on their land.

In a recent statement following the approval of Oxy’s drilling license, the U’wa urged that “beginning today, a strong voice of solidarity resonate and that actions be carried out in defense of our people and of all Colombians.”

In Colombia, oil and violence are closely linked. Occidental’s Caño Limón pipeline which runs through the northern part of the U’wa lands in Colombia has been bombed by guerillas 600 times over the past 13 years spilling over 1.7 million barrels of oil into the surrounding area. Areas surrounding oil facilities are centers of human rights abuses.

“Guns and oil will only bring Colombia more violence, not peace” said Lauren Sullivan of Rainforest Action Network, “We urgently call on the Colombian government to respect the rights of all Colombians, including the U’wa, and to renew their efforts towards a negotiated peace.”

The mobilization for the U’wa comes just as the U.S. Congress is set to approve a $1.5 billion military aid package to Colombia despite the Colombian military having one of the hemisphere’s worst records on human rights. The aid package is being opposed by a coalition of groups working for a peaceful end to Colombia’s 30 year civil war.

The oil drilling is set to begin on land that is within 500 meters of the U’wa reserve as designated by the Colombian government but well within the traditional territory of the U’wa. The area is estimated to hold 1.5 billion barrels of oil, which would provide only 3 weeks worth of global oil supply. Last week, the Colombian Government released a report indicating that Occidental’s proposed well site is less than 300 meters from the U’wa community of Santa Marta. The fact that there are U’wa living so close to the well site seriously calls into question the validity of Occidental’s drilling license, according to Colombian legal experts.

For digital photos of today’s demonstrations, please see www.amazonwatch.org. For a copy of a print ready map of the U’wa territory and the drill site, please see www.amazonwatch.org/uwamap.pdf. For further background information please see www.ran.org.

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