As president of the Cabildo Mayor of the ASSOCIATION OF TRADITIONAL
U’WA AUTHORITIES and in the name of this sovereign community, I
officially present to the national and international communities the
rejection of the second ruling made by the Superior Tribunal of the
Judicial District of Santafe de Bogota.
This decision is a clear demonstration of the violation of fundamental
constitutional rights as well as of the individual and collective rights
of the the U’wa; the same rights that are in the hands of the national
courts created to administer justice in the name of the Republic of
Colombia.
Because it is our mission to defend life, the U’wa will continue on with
this struggle. We also demand respect for a healthy environment, for
human rights and for national soveriegnty as a principle of historic
dignity.
I also ask that the social sectors of the departments of Casanare, Arauca,
Boyaca, Santander and North Santander, continue with the public uprisings
and other popular avenues of pressure which demand that the Colombian
government and Occidental Petroleum respect the constitutional, legal and
historic millenial rights of the U’wa as natives of this region and of all
Colombians. Additionally, I request that the Constitutional Court immediately
review the injunction. This is the only mechanism that will demonstrate,
with transparency, the violation of our fundamental rights which occurred
in the Superior Tribunal of Bogota.
Roberto Perez Gutierrez
President of the Cabildo Mayo
U’wa Association
