Greetings from Washington,

Please find the following are the two latest news releases on the U'wa
campaign:

1. "HUMAN RIGHTS NOT CORPORATE WRONGS", SAY ACTIVISTS TO COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT
DEMONSTRATION PLANNED FOR NOON TOMORROW in Washington DC

2. Hollywood Stars Join U´wa Tribal Leader in Tree Planting Ceremony in
Panama

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AMAZON WATCH - COLOMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE - THE RUCKUS SOCIETY -
RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2000

"HUMAN RIGHTS NOT CORPORATE WRONGS"
SAY ACTIVISTS TO COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT

DEMONSTRATION PLANNED FOR NOON TOMORROW

CONTACTS: Stephen Kretzmann, 510-551-7953 (mobile) OR Alison Giffen,
202-232-8090

WHAT: DEMONSTRATION WITH VISUALS
WHEN: TUESDAY APRIL 11, AT NOON
WHERE: COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE, Q & 20th Streets

Demanding that peace in Colombia take precedence over US corporate
interests, activists from a broad coalition will rally tomorrow at noon in
front of the Colombian Ambassador's residence. Colombian President Andres
Pastrana arrives in Washington on Tuesday evening to lobby for passage of
the proposed military aid package to Colombia. The demonstration is part of
the week-long Mobilization for Global Justice that culminates on April 16th.

On Capitol Hill, the $1.7 billion aid package is being supported by a group
of US corporations that stand to profit greatly with its passage. Occidental
Petroleum (Oxy), which is locked in a stand off with the U'wa tribe over
drilling rights in the Samoré oil field-- estimated 1.5 billion barrels of
oil, has been particularly active in Washington over the last month. A
Colombian court placed an injunction on further construction by Oxy last
week, noting that drilling would violate the "fundamental rights" of the
indigenous U'wa people.

"Oxy hopes this military aid package will protect their investment - it has
nothing to do with promoting peace or human rights in Colombia. Their
continued lobbying for the military aid package is highly ironic given the
clear correlation between oil and violence in Colombia, and the fact that
Oxy has admitted that they pay a "war tax" to guerrilla groups," said
Stephen Kretzmann of Amazon Watch.

An April 3, 2000 Newsweek article reported that United Technologies, whose
Sikorsky division produces Blackhawk helicopters, donated $125,000 last year
to Democratic congressional committees. The majority of this money was
reportedly given in late December, right before the Clinton Administration
introduced the aid package earmarking $452 million for 30 Blackhawk and 15
Huey helicopters. The same article reported that both Textron who makes Bell
Huey Helicopters and United Technologies have made $1.25 million in
donations to Democrats and Republicans between 1997 and 1999.

"We want President Pastrana to know that US citizens see the emphasis on
helicopters for military activity and fumigation as only escalating a war in
which civilians are the main victims, while doing absolutely nothing to deal
with the drug problem either here or in Colombia. Instead of fanning the
flames of war, we should be addressing the gross social inequities and
injustices underlying the conflict," Charlie Roberts of the Colombia Human
Rights Committee.

Although millions of Colombians have demonstrated for peace, the majority of
this package is assistance to the Colombian army, widely-recognized as the
most abusive military in the Western hemisphere. The military aid package
will make the United States a major actor in Colombia's three decade old
counterinsurgency war.
###

_______________________________________

U'WA DEFENSE WORKING GROUP

Hollywood Stars Join U´wa Tribal Leader
in Tree Planting Ceremony in Panama

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2000

Contacts: Atossa Soltani, Amazon Watch, (310) 463-3915 asoltani@igc.org
Kim Kindersley, Heart Magic Productions, (310) 456-7808 kimk@lainet.com

Panama City, Panama (April 10, 2000) -- While on location shooting the film
adaptation of John le Carré´s "The Tailor of Panama", Director John Boorman
(Emerald Forest) along with actors, Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, and John
Polito joined indigenous leaders from the U´wa People of Colombia and the
Kuna People of Panama yesterday in a tree planting ceremony in a Panama City
park.

The ceremony commemorated three US humanitarians, Terence Freitas, Ingrid
Washinawatok and Lahe ´ena´e Gay, who were murdered in Colombia last year
while on an educational mission to assist the U´wa tribe (pronounced
oo-wah).

The U´wa are an indigenous people of approximately 8,000 who live in the
Colombian cloud forest. The U´wa are locked in a struggle against Occidental
Petroleum of Los Angeles (OXY), which plans to drill for oil on land the
U´wa consider sacred.

The U´wa who believe that oil is the blood of mother earth, have repeatedly
stated that they are willing to die peacefully defending their land from the
oil project. Current resistance to OXY´s plans include 4,500 people
peacefully blocking the proposed drill site, and a seven-days old hunger
strike by four indigenous members of the Colombian Congress and Senate.

For the Hollywood stars, the planting of a tree is close to their hearts.
Pierce Brosnan, renowned for his portrayal of James Bond in the 007 films,
is slated to open Earth Day 2000 in Los Angeles. Brosnan is also involved
in National Tree Day of Australia which he hopes will become a worldwide
campaign, of which today's ceremony was a moving example.

Digital format photos will be released on www.amazonwatch.org later this
week.

# # #

U'WA DEFENSE WORKING GROUP is endorsed by the following organizations:
Action Resource Center, Amazon Watch, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund,
EarthWays Foundation, Indigenous Environmental Network, Project Underground,
Rainforest Action Network, Sol Communications, U'wa Defense Project,
International Law Project for Human Environmental and Economic Defense.

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