Trial:
On October 21nd, after ten years of legal wrangling, 30,000 residents of the Ecuadorian Amazon will finally have their day in court – ChevronTexaco will be tried in Ecuador for environmental damages resulting from the company’s oil operations in the region from 1971 to 1991.
This is the first time a U.S.-based multi-national will be tried in a foreign court for environmental damages. The trial is expected to last six days. The judge is expected to tour affected areas following the trial. He will have up to 6 months to make a decision.
Hundreds of plaintiffs from remote Indian and farmer communities are expected to travel to the trial, to be held in a one-room courthouse in the town of Lago Agrio in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Amazon Watch is available to help coordinate journalist travel to Ecuador to cover this historic trial.
Community Fact-finding Mission:
From November 3-13, 2003, a fact-finding delegation of community leaders, including Reverand Steve Harms, Rabbi Dan Goldblatt and John Dalrymple, President of the Contra Costa Labor Council will travel to the Ecuadorian Amazon to visit the affected areas, as well as meet with community members, indigenous and non-profit organizations, government representatives and current and former Texaco employees. They are available for interviews.
Ecuadorian Plaintiffs to Visit San Francisco Bay Area:
Two community leaders from the Ecuadorian Amazon will be in the Bay Area from October 8-18, 2003. They will be speaking at the Empowering Democracy conference in Oakland on October 10th and at various community events in the San Ramon Valley the week of October 12-18. They are available for interviews.
