U'WA BLOCKADE ATTACKED -- CALL AL GOREU'WA BLOCKADE ATTACKED BY COLOMBIAN ARMY!
CALL AL GORE AND EXPRESS YOUR OUTRAGE!
GORE 2000 CAMPAIGN NATIONAL HQ - 615-340-2000
DEMAND GORE CALL FOR AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL DRILLING PREPARATIONS ON THE ANCESTRAL HOMELANDS OF THE U'WA PEOPLE
ASK HIM WHY HE'S PUTTING THE INTERESTS OF OXY PETROLEUM AHEAD OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
ORGANIZE A DEMONSTRATION AT YOUR NEAREST GORE 2000/DNC OFFICE! (see list of locations below) For more info on solidarity actions contact Lauren Sullivan at lsullivan@ran.org 415-398-4404/1-800-989-RAIN
U'WA DEFENSE WORKING GROUP
For Immediate Release June 26, 2000
Contact: Shannon Wright, Rainforest Action Network 415/398-4404 or 415/596-7246 Carwil James, Project Underground 510/705-8981
OCCIDENTAL'S OIL PROJECT IGNITES MORE VIOLENCE AGAINST PEACEFUL TRIBE IN COLOMBIA
Gore Family Continues To Profit From Occidental Stock Despite Abuses
Moving quickly in the wake of US Senate approval of a military aid package, Colombian armed forces attacked two hundred non-violent U'wa Indians over the weekend. The U'wa have been blockading the road to a site where Occidental Petroleum plans to begin drilling for oil for months. The nonviolent blockades are the latest phase in a nine-year campaign by the U' wa to stop drilling on traditional lands which they hold sacred.
On Saturday, June 24 some 300 anti-riot police and soldiers made a surprise, early morning attack against 200 peaceful U'wa people blockading a road near the town of Cubara in northeastern Colombia. The police and soldiers removed the U'wa through the use of tear gas and physical blows. U'wa spokespeople report that twenty-eight people were injured, with some requiring medical attention. One U'wa man received bullet wounds, according to the attending medical physician Dr. Quinones (a facsimile of the doctor's statement available upon request from RAN: 415/398-4404).
On Sunday afternoon, some 60 soldiers and police made another surprise sweep against a group of U'wa peacefully assembled in the town of Cubara.
Several were physically attacked, accused of being "subversives" and 30 were detained. Now reports are emerging today that another 40 U'wa have been detained in this systematic effort to break the blockade and allow Occidental to drill on U'wa land. This use of force against peaceful civilians comes on the heels of last week's US senate approval of a $1.3 billion aid package for Colombia, much of which is directed at the police and military. The U.S. is the number one buyer of Colombia's oil.
"The truth on the ground in Colombia is that a US-backed police and military force is using violent tactics to serve a US company-Occidental Petroleum-against a peaceful community, all in the name of oil," said Carwil James from Project Underground, which has been working in support of the U' wa since 1997.
This is the third violent strike in recent months against the non-violent U' wa people in their effort to block Occidental's oil project on their traditional territory. The U'wa are adamantly opposed to the project and have repeatedly stated that they are willing to die to stop the project, which they see as a threat to the spiritual equilibrium of the world, the environment and their physical safety from Colombia's civil war.
Meanwhile, as detailed in today's Washington Times, Vice President Al Gore's family profits are up due to positive returns on his stock investments in Oxy valued at between $500,000 to $1 million. Despite repeated requests from environmental and human rights organizations, Gore has refused to divest his family from Occidental or to support the rights of the U'wa before his family's profits.
"Mr Gore cannot pretend to be any better than Bush when his hands have the blood of the U'wa on them, " said Shannon Wright, of the Rainforest Action Network. "So much for this environmental Vice-President - he would prefer to profit from an oil project in Colombia than to use his influence to protect the human rights and forest home of the U'wa."
The U'wa Defense Working Group is a coalition of human rights and environmental organization in the United States working with the U'wa.
For more information on the U'wa people's campaign please see:
www.amazonwatch.org www.moles.org www.ran.org
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Police Break Blockade in Colombia
June 24, 2000
Filed at 9:43 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Riot police on Saturday broke up a road blockade by Colombian Indians protesting oil exploration by a U.S. company.
A representative of the U'wa Indian tribe claims two of the protesters were shot by police. Their wounds were not life-threatening, Yurisa Tegria told The Associated Press by telephone from Cubara, a town near the Venezuelan border where the incident occurred.
Police denied that account, saying an officer fired one warning shot in the air when a protesters went for his gun. National police operations director Gen. Alfonso Arellano said nobody was hurt.
The Indians were trying to prevent trucks from reaching the construction site where U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. is preparing to drill over a field thought to hold huge crude reserves.
The 8,000-member U'wa nation has been fighting for more than five years to halt the company's plans, at one point threatening mass suicide.
The U'wa say drilling violates the sanctity of the earth, and will bring guerrilla violence to their homeland. The government says the group is being intransigent, and argues a major new oil find would benefit most Colombians.
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LET THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY KNOW THAT YOU SUPPORT THE U'WA!
VISIT YOUR LOCAL GORE 2000 OFFICE OR DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE OFFICE
TELL TO STAND UP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS BY TAKING A STAND FOR THE U'WA!
Gore 2000 offices: California: Los Angeles, 501 Shatto Place
213-387-5005, california@algore2000.com
Florida: Tampa, 3608 West Azeelo
813-350-0649
813-350-0588 Fax, FL4gore@worldnet.att.net
Michigan: Lansing, 419 S. Washington Sq. South, Ste. 305B
517-267-8837
517-267-8847 Fax, MI4gore@ worldnet.att.net
New York: New York City, 450 7th Ave., Suite 509
212-947-5000, newyork@algore2000.com
Oregon: Portland, 4445 SW Barbur Blvd., Suite 104A
503-241-7784 503-224-5335 Fax, OR4Gore@worldnet.att.net
Tennessee: Nashville, 2410 Charlotte Ave.
615-340-2000, gorecorps@gorenet.com
Washington: Seattle, 2801 First Ave., Rm. 64
206-239-9554, gore2000washington@earthlink.net
Kentucky: Frankfort, 190 Democratic Drive
502-695-8240
502-695-0826 Fax, KY4gore@worldnet.att.net
Ohio: Columbus, 380 E. Town St.
614-224-9335, ohioansforgore@yahoo.com
Contact the DNC
Mailing Address: Democratic National Committee 430 S. Capitol St. SE Washington, DC 20003
Main Phone Number: 202-863-8000
FIND YOUR NEAREST DNC OFFICE :
http://www.democrats.org/action/
[Global Reponse]
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