Houston – At 12:00 noon today seven indigenous leaders, representing 100,000 people living in approximately 4 million acres of pristine rainforest, accompanied by their lawyer and various supporters, appeared at the headquarters of the oil company Burlington Resources to deliver an “Eviction Notice” calling on the company to cease all oil activities in Ecuador and Peru and leave their Amazonian territories immediately.
“The Shuar and Achuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon want it to be known that the position of our communities is no to oil exploration, no to dialogue and negotiation, no to deforestation, no to contamination, and no to all oil activities,” said Bosco Najamdey, the Coordinator of the Inter-federation Committee representing three legally recognized indigenous federations in Ecuador.
As the lawyer representing the Shuar, Achuar, Kichwa peoples of Ecuador delivered the eviction notice and a letter formally advising Burlington CEO Bobby Shackouls of their opposition to oil development in their territories, supporters unfurled banners in Spanish and English that said, “Burlington: What part of NO don’t you understand?”
Lucas Irare, the President of the Achuar federation of Peru representing 7,000 Achuar living in block 64, said, “The Achuar people of Peru will not give even one millimeter of territory for oil activities.”
Past oil drilling in Ecuador and Peru has led to gross environmental contamination, abuses and the near disappearance of some Amazonian peoples. Last week, a lawsuit relating to these abuses was filed in the Ecuadorian court against ChevronTexaco.
The strongly worded letter delivered to CEO Bobby Shackouls today reviewed a series of legal injunctions and action by Ecuadorian courts and international bodies that provide evidence that Burlington’s actions have been illegal under both Ecuadorian and International law.
Community opposition to Burlington has been so intense that the company has declared Force Majeure to explain its failure to carry out seismic testing and environmental studies. Force Majeure is usually invoked when natural disasters, such as hurricanes or floods, prevent the execution of a contract.
The situation is so tense in the Amazon community of Sarayacu, that the Inter-American Human Rights Commission on May 5 issued a ruling in favor of the affected communities and called on the Ecuadorian government to take precautionary measures to protect the lives of community leaders. Burlington recently purchased 50% of the concession affecting Sarayacu.
# # #
