Reply-To: "Atossa Soltani" <asoltani@igc.apc.org>
From: "Atossa Soltani" <asoltani@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Colombian Oil Project on U'wa land Sparks International
Outcry
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 17:07:35 -0700
Organization: Amazon Watch
For Immediate Release – October 12, 1999 UPDATE at 3:30PM
Contacts: Lucy Braham (310) 317 7045 or cellular (202) 256-9795
/ Lauren Sullivan (415) 595 RAIN (cellular)
COLOMBIAN OIL PROJECT ON U'WA LAND SPARKS INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY
Two Women Hang Peace Banner From Roof of Colombian Consulate
in
Los
Angeles
Beverly Hills, CA – Five activists including two
women climbers climbers were arrested this afternoon during a
protest
at the Colombian Consulate in Beverly Hills, California. Two
women
rappelled from the roof of the Colombian Consulate just after
9:00 am
this morning and unfurled a 700-square foot Spanish language
banner
which read "Colombia: Invest in Peace, Not Oil." The
five activists
arrested are Kim Mizrahi, Jennifer Zurich, Thomas Cavanagh, Jeremy
Pastor, and Charissa Niles. The demonstrators are calling on the
Colombian government to immediately revoke a drilling license
recently
granted to Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum to drill on
U'wa
indigenous territory.
Today's demonstration is part of an international day of action
with
protests taking place at Colombian consulates and embassies in
ten
U.S. cities as well as in Prague, Amsterdam, Bogota, Madrid,
London,
Geneva, Dublin, Vancouver and Toronto. The demonstrations mark
the
507th anniversary of European contact with the Americas and the
resulting genocide of indigenous peoples.
Activists are calling on the Colombian government to seek peace
by
canceling Occidental Petroleum's pending oil project on the U'wa
land
and renewing efforts towards a negotiated end to that country's
30-year civil war. The international mobilization is in response
to a
call by the U'wa, a Colombian indigenous group who are so opposed
to
oil and the violence it brings that they have threatened to commit
mass suicide if Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum drills
on their
land.
In a recent statement following the approval of Oxy's drilling
license,
the U'wa urged that "beginning today, a strong voice of
solidarity
resonate and that actions be carried out in defense of our people
and
of all Colombians."
In Colombia, oil and violence are closely linked. Occidental's
Caño
Limón pipeline which runs through the northern part of
the U'wa lands
in Colombia has been bombed by guerillas 600 times over the past
13
years spilling over 1.7 million barrels of oil into the surrounding
area. Areas surrounding oil facilities are centers of human rights
abuses."Guns and oil will only bring Colombia more violence,
not
peace" said Lauren Sullivan of Rainforest Action Network,
"We urgently
call on the Colombian government to respect the rights of all
Colombians, including the U'wa, and to renew their efforts towards
a
negotiated peace."The mobilization for the U'wa comes just
as the U.S.
Congress is set to approve a $1.5 billion military aid package
to
Colombia despite the Colombian military having one of the hemisphere's
worst records on human rights. The aid package is being opposed
by a
coalition of groups working for a peaceful end to Colombia's
30 year
civil war.
The oil drilling is set to begin on land that is within 500
meters of
the U'wa reserve as designated by the Colombian government but
well
within the traditional territory of the U'wa. The area is estimated
to
hold 1.5 billion barrels of oil, which would provide only 3 weeks
worth of global oil supply. Last week, the Colombian Government
released a report indicating that Occidental's proposed well
site is
less than 300 meters from the U'wa community of Santa Marta.
The fact
that there are U'wa living so close to the well site seriously
calls
into question the validity of Occidental's drilling license,
according
to Colombian legal experts.
For digital photos of today's demonstrations, please see
www.amazonwatch.org . For a copy of a print ready map of the
U'wa
territory and the drill site, please see
www.amazonwatch.org/uwamap.pdf. For further background information
please see <http://www.ran.org/> www.ran.org.
# # #
Atossa SoltaniAmazon Watch20110 Rockport Way, Malibu, CA
90265Tel 310-456-1340 Fax 310-456-0388<mailto:asoltani@igc.org>
asoltani@igc.org www.amazonwatch.org