>From: "Jon Corlett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@tonto.eunet.fi;> > >Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Weekly News Update #521, >1/23/00 1. Ecuador: President Ousted by Indigenous Uprising, Coup 2. US >Threats Quash Ecuador Uprising 3. Ecuador: Repression Accompanies >Indigenous Uprising 4. Colombian ArmArmy Closes in on U'wa, Activists >Target Gore 5. Colombia: US Colonel's Wife to Plead Guilty on Drug Charges >6. Guatemala: Two Officers Arrested in Gerardi Murder > > > > > > WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS > ISSUE #521, JANUARY 23, 2000 > NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK > 339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 > (212) 674-9499 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >1. Ecuador: President Ousted by Indigenous Uprising, Coup >2. Did US Threats Quash Ecuador Uprising? >3. Ecuador: Repression Accompanies Indigenous Uprising >4. Colombian Army Closes in on U'wa, Activists Target Gore >5. Colombia: US Colonel's Wife to Plead Guilty on Drug Charges >6. Guatemala: Two Officers Arrested in Gerardi Murder >[.....] > >ISSN#: 1084-922X. The Weekly News Update on the Americas is >published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater >New York. A one-year subscription (52 issues) is $25. To >subscribe, send a check or money order for US $25 payable to >Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY >10012. Please specify if you want the electronic or print >version: they are identical in content, but the electronic >version is delivered directly to your email address; the print >version is sent via first class mail. For more information about >electronic subscriptions, contact <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Back issues and >source materials are available on request. > > > >*1. ECUADOR: PRESIDENT OUSTED BY INDIGENOUS UPRISING, COUP > >As of Jan. 23, an indigenous uprising in Ecuador appeared to have >been defeated after forcing out President Jamil Mahuad Witt in a >coup backed by the military. Vice President Gustavo Noboa >Bejarano announced on Jan. 22 that he had taken over as president >of Ecuador; that he would continue the unpopular economic >policies (including a dollarization plan) and state of emergency >instituted by Mahuad [see Updates #519, 520]; and that those who >had led the uprising would be punished. Mahuad has remained in >Ecuador; in a television message on Jan. 22, he reiterated that >he had not resigned but rather had been forced out of office, but >he urged support for Noboa as president. Thousands of indigenous >protesters left the capital on Jan. 22 following what they called >a "betrayal" by military leaders who had briefly supported their >uprising. Indigenous leaders announced that after the communities >return home, they will begin blockading highways, thus preventing >the arrival of supplies to main cities such as Quito and >Guayaquil. [La Republica (Lima, Peru) 1/23/00 from correspondent, >wire services] > >The "popular uprising" was scheduled to begin on Jan. 15 with the >aim of forcing Mahuad from office, dismantling the three powers >of state and installing a government of "national salvation." The >movement was led by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities >of Ecuador (CONAIE) together with the Patriotic Front, which >groups unions, student associations, campesino organizations, >leftist parties and other social and grassroots sectors. > >On Jan. 17 indigenous protesters set up highway blockades around >the country, although many were subsequently dismantled by the >army. A state of emergency suspending the right of association >remained in effect. Also on Jan. 17, an explosive device of >medium power went off in the city of Cuenca at the offices of >Mahuad's party, Popular Democracy; there were minor damages and >no injuries. [Hoy (NY) 1/18/00 from AP; El Diario-La Prensa (NY) >1/18/00 from AP] > >Despite the presence of thousands of troops encircling Quito to >prevent indigenous protesters from entering the capital, some >3,000 indigenous people managed to slip into the city on Jan. 17 >and 18. Demonstrators in Quito reportedly set fire to an army >tank on Jan. 18. However, as of Jan. 18 media reports were still >predicting that the protests would be weaker than those which led >to the removal of President Abdala Bucaram from office in early >1997 [see Update #367]. [Hoy (NY) 1/19/00 from AP; ED-LP 1/19/00; >Agencia Informativa Pulsar 1/18/00] > >But on Jan. 19, the ranks of indigenous protesters occupying >Quito swelled from hundreds to more than 25,000, according to >CONAIE [or 10,000 according to many press reports]. While 6,000 >indigenous people stayed at the main gathering point, Parque del >Arbolito, another 12,000 were stopped by security forces from >reaching the Carondelet presidential palace. Police used tear gas >to prevent a group of small-scale vendors from joining the >indigenous protests, and threw leaflets from helicopters urging >protesters to respect private property. Blockades of highways in >the countryside also continued, although the military was able to >dismantle many of them. [Hoy (NY) 1/20/00 from EFE] > >Indigenous groups blocked roads in the north, and transportation >workers in Cuenca staged a 48-hour strike. [Miami Herald 1/22/00] >The Coordinating Committee of Social Movements reported that the >uprising had virtually paralyzed activity in the south, central, >northern and coastal regions of the country, while the Amazon >region was shut down with a strike by oil workers. In Guayaquil, >thousands of unemployed people and street vendors demonstrated in >support of the uprising. [Pulsar 1/19/00] > >On Jan. 19, meeting in a "Parliament of the Peoples of Ecuador" >which was set up in Quito during the week of Jan. 10, the >indigenous movement called for the joint command of the armed >forces to step in and help resolve the national crisis. [ED-LP >1/20/00 from AFP] According to the Quito daily Hoy, a >relationship between the army colonels and CONAIE had been >developing since November, with a tentative plan that if the >indigenous movement could bring together other sectors in an >uprising in Quito, the military would step in to support it. [Hoy >(Quito) 1/22/00] > >Taxi and bus drivers announced on Jan. 21 that they were joining >the uprising. Later in the day, indigenous protesters stormed the >Congress building, supported by some 500 military personnel, >including a group of colonels. The soldiers allowed some 1,500 >demonstrators to occupy the empty building, then joined with them >in declaring that the government had been dismantled. >Demonstrators seized the abandoned presidential palace, and >members of the Patriotic Front--which groups the trade union >federation CEOSL and the Popular Front coalition of grassroots >and labor organizations--occupied the empty Supreme Court >building. [BBC 1/22/00; Red Ecuatoriana de Derechos Humanos y >Sindicales REDHS-CEOSL Boletin 12, 1/21/00; La Hora (Quito) >website update 1/21/00 from EFE] > >A survey by the polling firm Cedatos showed 71% of respondents >supported the popular movement and 64% approved of the occupation >of the Congress building, although 79% favored maintaining >constitutional order. Only 7% declared support for Mahuad. [ED-LP >1/22/00] > >On Jan. 21, Mahuad fled Carondelet and took refuge at an air >force base in Quito. "There is no resignation nor is there >separation [of Mahuad from the presidency]," insisted Foreign >Minister Benjamin Ortiz. "There is a change of headquarters of >President Mahuad." [ED-LP 1/22/00 from AFP] The same day, CONAIE >president Antonio Vargas announced the formation of a "Junta of >National Salvation" including himself as Ecuador's vice president >and Col. Lucio Gutierrez Borbua as president; Col. Fausto Cobo as >chief of the armed forces joint command; Col. Luis Aguas as army >chief; Col. Gustavo Lalama as chief of the army staff; Col. Jorge >Brito as chief of the Ground Forces; and former justice Carlos >Solorzano as president of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ). >Col. Fausto Teran, who was not listed in the junta, had declared >that he was "the only member of the police to be in agreement >with this change." [ED-LP 1/22/00 from AFP; REDHS-CEOSL 1/21/00] > >After three hours of negotiations between the armed forces high >command and the new junta, at 11:30pm on Jan. 21 the formation of >a new ruling triumvirate was announced, made up of Antonio >Vargas, Carlos Solorzano and armed forces joint command chief >Gen. Carlos Mendoza. [LR 1/23/00 from correspondent] The new >triumvirate said it planned to lift the state of emergency and >hold elections as soon as possible. [BBC 1/22/00] Then at 2am on >Jan. 22, Gen. Mendoza pulled out of the triumvirate, and the >Broad Council of Generals and Admirals announced they would not >support the uprising. At 3am the military high command contacted >Noboa to suggest he take over the presidency. > >At 7am on Jan. 22, at the headquarters of the Armed Forces Joint >Command, Noboa signed Resolution No. 001, removing Mahuad from >office because of permanent absence and elevating himself to the >presidency. Present at the signing were Army chief Telmo >Sandoval, Air Force representative Fernando Donoso, Navy >representative Ramiro Monteverde and Police Commander Jorge >Villarruel. The resolution declaring Noboa president was then >ratified by the Congress in a special session in Guayaquil. [LR >1/23/00 from correspondent] In his Jan. 22 television address, >Mahuad condemned the events of Jan. 21 as a "national and >international shame," but wished Noboa luck in the presidency. >[BBC 1/23/00] > >In a statement issued by the US Embassy in Quito, the US State >Department said it was "watching closely" as events unfold in >Ecuador. "While we regret the circumstances that led President >Mahuad to call for public support for a Noboa presidency, his >statement is a magnanimous gesture to pave the way to restore the >country to constitutional order," the State Department said. [MH >1/23/00] > >*2. DID US THREATS QUASH ECUADOR UPRISING? > >Major factors sparking the rebellion by officers were army >discontent over Mahuad's decision to cut the military budget, and >plummeting real wages. [LR 1/23/00 from EFE] In an interview with >an Ecuadoran television reporter, an unidentified military >officer who had joined the insurrection complained that since >Mahuad took office in August 1998, the value of his salary had >declined from $1,100 a month to less than $300. [New York Times >1/23/00] > >In recent months, Ecuador's recession-plagued economy has shrunk >by 7%, while inflation soared to 40.7%. The "dollarization" plan >announced by Mahuad on Jan. 9 was unpopular with the indigenous >and grassroots sectors, who said it would further impoverish them >by increasing prices but keeping salaries low. [BBC 1/23/00] > >Another factor in the uprising was a lack of confidence in the >democratic system. A 1997 poll across Latin America conducted by >Latinobarometro, sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank >(IDB) and the European Union, showed that Ecuador was the Latin >American country with the lowest regard for democracy as a system >of government. Only 41% of Ecuadorans agreed with the statement >that "democracy is preferable" to other forms of government, as >opposed to 86% of Uruguayans, 75% of Argentines, 50% of >Brazilians and 44% of Paraguayans. [MH 1/23/00] > >Outside economic and political factors ultimately influenced the >military high command to abandon the rebellion. Mendoza said the >quick decision to elevate Noboa to the presidency was made after >discussions with US officials, who warned that failure to restore >power to the elected government would provoke a freeze in aid and >an investment boycott, like that imposed on Cuba. Speaking on >Quito radio from Washington on Jan. 21, Peter Romero, US >Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs, had >warned leaders of the uprising that they faced "political and >economic isolation, carrying with them even worse misery for the >Ecuadoran people." [Romero served as ambassador to Ecuador from >1993 to 1996.] [NYT 1/23/00; Sunday Herald (UK) 1/23/00] In >Washington, the Organization of American States (OAS) had >condemned the uprising and urged support for Mahuad's government. >[CNN 1/22/00] > >While CONAIE announced on Jan. 22 that it will never accept >Noboa's presidency [ED-LP 1/23/00 from AFP], not all the >protesters were upset at the results of the uprising. "Why would >we be disappointed?" Luis Fernando Amaya responded to a >reporter's inquiry. "If [Noboa] tries to do the same thing as >Jamil [Mahuad], we Indians will rise up again." [MH 1/23/00] > >*3. ECUADOR: REPRESSION ACCOMPANIES INDIGENOUS UPRISING > >On Jan. 15 in Quito, joint units of heavily armed police and >military troops wearing ski-masks and accompanied by agents in >civilian dress raided the homes of three grassroots leaders, >smashing down their doors, pointing guns at family members, and >hauling them away. The three arrested were Jose Chavez, president >of the Ecuadoran Federation of Free Trade Union Organizations >(CEOSL); Ciro Guzman Aldaz, national president of the leftist >Popular Democratic Movement (MPD); and Luis Villacis Maldonado, >president of the Popular Front, an alliance of labor and >grassroots groups. The arrests were apparently carried out >without warrants; all three leaders were released on Jan. 19. In >Ambato another leader was arrested; two more were detained in >Cuenca. > >The Permanent Assembly of Human Rights (APDH) condemned the >arrests and other preventive repression tactics used by security >forces. According to the APDH, indigenous communities outside >Quito were occupied by military troops to prevent anyone from >leaving for Quito; and indigenous people were pulled off inter- >city buses just because they were indigenous and were forced to >return home on foot. [APDH 1/17/00; Pulsar 1/18/00; El Telegrafo >(Guayaquil) 1/17/00; REDHS-CEOSL Boletin 11, 1/19/00] > >Hundreds of demonstrators in Ecuador's main cities were arrested >and beaten by police on Jan. 17 and 18. In Portoviejo, in the >coastal province of Manabi, police unsucessfully used tear gas to >try to stop campesinos and urban demonstrators; soldiers were >later brought in and the battles lasted through Jan. 18. [Pulsar >1/19/00] One person was reported killed and three others injured >in the Portoviejo clashes. In Guayaquil, Ecuador's commercial >capital, looters fought with police and set fire to cars. [BBC >1/22/00] > >Following the collapse of the uprising, Vargas and other >indigenous and grassroots leaders went into hiding to avoid >arrest. [LR 1/23/00 from AFP] Gen. Mendoza had asked that the >midlevel officers who backed the uprising not be punished [Sunday >Herald 1/23/00], but on Jan. 22 at least six officers were >arrested, including Col. Lucio Gutierrez, the apparent leader of >the rebellion within army ranks. The APDH expressed concern that >it remains unclear where arrested rebel officers are being held. >Army colonels Gutierrez, Cobo, Lalalma, Brito and Aguas, plus >army captain Sandino Torres and noncommissioned officer Patricio >Robayo, as well as police major Victor Avenatti and Col. Teran, >are among those whose whereabouts are unknown, according to APDH. >[LR 1/23/00 from EFE] > >*4. COLOMBIAN ARMY CLOSES IN ON U'WA, ACTIVISTS TARGET GORE > >On Jan. 19, more than 5,000 Colombian army troops advanced on >Cedeno, site of the Gibraltar 1 oil test well for which a >drilling license was granted in September to the US-based >Occidental Petroleum (Oxy). The site has been occupied since Nov. >15 by more than 200 U'wa indigenous people, their numbers now >swelled to more than 400, who are seeking to prevent oil drilling >on their traditional lands [see Updates #504, 512, 520]. > >In January, Oxy began constructing an access road to the drill >site. The U'wa are demanding that the government withdraw its >troops and cancel all oil exploration in the area. [U'wa Cabildo >Mayor Urgent Action 1/20/00; CNN en Espanol 1/22/00 with info >from AP] An international day of action to support the U'wa has >been called for Feb. 3 [see Update #520]. For info see >http://www.ran.org, http://www.amazonwatch.org and >http://www.moles.org. > >The U'wa Defense Working Group is also urging environmentalists >and human rights supporters to pressure US vice presidential >candidate Al Gore on behalf of the U'wa. Money from Occidental >and its subsidiaries formed the basis of the Gore family fortune. >According to Gore's official Public Financial Disclosure Report >for 1998, the latest information available, the vice president >owned between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of Oxy stock inherited >from his father, Albert Gore, Sr., a former Oxy board member who >died in 1998. According to the Center for Public Integrity, a >non-profit organization that analyzes ethics in politics, >Occidental CEO Ray Irani made a donation of $100,000 to the >Democratic National Committee in 1996 just two days after >sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. [Financial >Times (London) 1/20/00; Briefing 1/21/00 prepared by Amazon >Watch, with support of RAN and Project Underground] > >"This will not look good for Al Gore in the midst of an election >campaign," said Stephen Kretzmann, U'wa campaign co-ordinator for >Amazon Watch, a California-based environmental group. "It is >clear that he could stop the drilling with a phone call and if he >doesn't do something about this he will lose the environmental >and human rights vote." [FT 1/20/00] The U'wa Defense Working >Group suggests contacting Gore's campaign headquarters in New >Hampshire (tel 603-622-8303; fax 603-668-7358) to press him to >convince CEO Irani to withdraw Oxy operations from all U'wa >traditional lands. [Amazon Watch Briefing 1/21/00] > >*5. COLOMBIA: US COLONEL'S WIFE TO PLEAD GUILTY ON DRUG CHARGES > >Laurie Anne Hiett, the wife of the former commander of the US >Army's anti-drug operation in Colombia, will plead guilty in a >federal heroin smuggling case, prosecutors have announced. >Hiett's attorneys reached an agreement earlier in January with >federal prosecutors to plead guilty to drug conspiracy charges, >according to court papers filed by Assistant US Attorney Lee >Dunst. > >Hiett surrendered to federal authorities in August after they >intercepted two 1.2 kilogram packages of heroin that she shipped >to the US from the US Embassy in Bogota [see Update #497]. She >was accused of making four other similar shipments. (Authorities >had at first said the packages contained cocaine, but they later >said lab tests showed the substance was heroin.) Hiett is >expected to plead guilty on Jan. 26. Earlier in January, >Colombian co-defendant Hernan Arcila pleaded guilty to drug >conspiracy, admitting that he accepted shipments from Colombia at >his address in Queens, New York. Both he and Hiett face up to 10 >years in prison. >The US Army insists that Col. James Hiett, then head of US anti- >drug operations in Colombia, was unaware of his wife's drug >smuggling activities. The colonel requested removal from his post >in Colombia after the allegations arose. [Associated Press >1/20/00] > >*6. GUATEMALA: TWO OFFICERS ARRESTED IN GERARDI MURDER > >In an operation that employed more than 150 agents, on the >evening of Jan. 21 Guatemala's National Civil Police arrested >former Military Intelligence head Col. Byron Disrael Lima Estrada >and his son, Capt. Byron Lima Oliva, on charges of "extrajudicial >execution" in connection with the Apr. 26, 1998 murder of Bishop >Juan Jose Gerardi Conedera. Police agents also arrested Juana >Margarita Lopez, who worked as Gerardi's cook, for "concealment." >The warrant for the arrests, issued by Judge Flor de Maria Garcia >Villatoro, also included Father Mario Leonel Orantes Najera, a >priest who lived in the same house as Gerardi but now appears to >have moved to the US. Lopez and Orantes were arrested previously >in July 1998, but prosecutors eventually freed them [see Updates >443, 473]. [Guatemala Hoy 1/22/00; El Nuevo Herald (Miami) >1/23/00 from EFE] > >On Jan. 22, police agents arrested former military adviser Jose >Obdulio Villanueva in the village of Don Diego, in the southern >department of Jutiapa, also on charges of participating in >Gerardi's murder. [CNN en Espanol 1/22/00 with info from AP] > >Official sources indicated that one immediate cause of the >arrests was new testimony on Jan. 17 or 18 from Ruben Chanax >Sontay, an indigent who spent much of his time near Gerardi's >residence. He reportedly told the courts that Lima Oliva had >warned him to stay away the night of the murder. [GH 1/22/00; ENH >1/23/00 from EFE] But church and human rights groups have long >suspected Lima Estrada and Lima Oliva in the murder, which took >place two days after Gerardi released a report blaming the >military for most of the violence in Guatemala's 36-year armed >conflict. Special prosecutor Celvin Manolo Galindo fled Guatemala >on Oct. 7, 1999 because of death threats; he had reportedly >completed the investigation of the case and planned to arrest >Lima Oliva and another officer, Francisco Escobar Blas [see >Update #506]. > >During his inauguration on Jan. 14--one week before the arrests-- >Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo Cabrera promised to solve >the Gerardi murder. But Portillo's motives are not clear. A >former leftist, the new president ran as a member of the >rightwing Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), headed by former >dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who directed some of the worst >repression during the 1980s. Rios Montt was overthrown in a 1983 >coup which was supported by Lima Estrada. [New York Times >1/23/00] The Mutual Support Group (GAM), made up of 45,000 >relatives of people who disappeared during the counterinsurgency, >said on Jan. 22 that the investigation should not be limited to >the Gerardi murder but should also deal with Lima Estrada's >"dark" past. [ENH 1/23/00 from EFE] > >The arrests in the Gerardi case came shortly after Portillo shook >up the military by appointing Col. Juan de Dios Estrada Velasquez >as defense minister. The appointment, announced on Jan. 14, >forced the retirement of 17 brigadier generals, two major >generals and one vice admiral--every officer with a higher rank >than the new defense minister, since in the structure of the >Guatemalan military, no officer can take orders from a lower- >ranking officer. This was an act without precedent in Guatemalan >history, according to Lt. Col. Mauricio Lopez Bonilla, who said >the new president was trying to begin with a totally new and >different system. Portillo called the appointment of Estrada >Velasquez a "temporary measure," saying he plans to name a >civilian to hold the post within months. Estrada Velasquez was >sworn in at a ceremony in military headquarters on Jan. 18, along >with Col. Cesar Augusto Ruiz, the new army chief of staff. [GH >1/14/00, 1/18/00; Reuters 1/18/00; Agencia Informativa Pulsar >1/19/00] > >[.....] > >======================================================================= >Weekly News Update on the Americas * Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY >339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 * 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139 >http://home.earthlink.net/~dbwilson/wnuhome.html * [EMAIL PROTECTED] >======================================================================= >________________________________________________________________ >**************************************************************** >* CLM-NEWS is brought to you by the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at * >* http://www.prairienet.org/clm * >* and the CHICAGO COLOMBIA COMMITTEE * >* Email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or * >* Dennis Grammenos at [EMAIL PROTECTED] * >* To subscribe send request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * >* subscribe clm-news Your Name * >**************************************************************** > > > > > >_______________________________________________________________________ > > >REVOLUTION, COMMUNIST & CONTINUOUS ! ! ! > > http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/8805/ > >LENIN & RUSSIAN REVOLUTION PAGES: http://members.xoom.com/joncorlett/ > >RCP SITE: http://www.geocities.com/jcorlett8/ > >CHINA COMREV SITE: http://www.geocities.com/jcorlett3/ > >E Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >To Subscribe or Unsubscribe; Click Reply in E Mail Program, > >enter 'Subscribe' or 'Unsubscribe' on Subject line and Send to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >If wish to receive only certain types of Revolutionary Communist Information >Please Specify. > > >_______________________________________________________________________ > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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