BO RDE R S

Ecuador/Peru border that are the most affected when the two coun­ A Nineteenth-Century tries decide to go into battle. First, both count1ies force Indians to fight War in the Amazon: in the military. This makes neigh­ boring communities along the bor­ Indigenous Communities Caught in the der and binational communities (communities divided by the bor· Ecuador/Peru Border Dispute der) fight among each other. Much has been said t-ecently about intra­ by Fernando Rivera ethnic wars all 81-ound the world, but little attenti<>n has been paid to ndigenous people who live in independence, Peru and Gran the fact that Indian peoples in the disputed area between Colombia signed an agreement in Ecuador and Peru have been forced I Ecuador and Peru have faced which they did not establish bor­ to kill each other. Many of these severe hardship and danger dwing ders, but agreed to 1-espect the for­ people belong to the same ethnic or the latest conflict which erupted in mer colonial divisions. Since the cultw·al gt-oups, as in the case of the January of this year. Forced to fight borders in that 1-egion were never Shuar, Achuar, Aguaruna, and caught in wars not of their O\>;n clearly defined, theil: demarcation Huambiza and Quichua Indians. design, Indigenous communities in becaJne a topic of constant debate. Second, the toU of the war is felt both Ecuador and Peru endured the In 1941 a w91· broke out between primarily in Indigenous communi­ death ofsome of their people in bat­ Ecuador and Peru which ended ties along the border whet-e most of tle, the threat of mass starvation, with the signing of the R>o de the fighting occw-s. Hundreds of illnesses, and the de.struction of Janeiro Protocol which sought to families have been displaced by the their environment. define the border between the two destruction of their homes, har­ The recent fighting is an unfor­ countries. In 1950, however, vests, and cattle. Bombings occur tunate continuation of border dis­ Ecuador decla1-ed the Protocol null t-egularly, and deadly diseases are putes which have divided the two spreading rapidly. count1ies since the wars of inde­ "Indigenous communities have pendence and is another example of never had borders," says Mino the internal colonialism to which Eusebio Castro, vice-p1-esident of Indigenous peoples ru·e subjected. AIDESEP (Indigenous Association Each country has based its territor­ for the Development of the ial l"ights on di!Terent treatises and Pemvian Amazon). "Wbat is occur­ international legal concepts. Each ting is that thet-e 8l"e conflicting has had its own reasons for waging interests between two political waJ: Both Ecuador and Peru, how­ gt-oups striving for economic con­ ever, have ignored the impact that tJ-ol. We have never been consulted such land disputes have had on the and void because of what it believed over the creation of borders, yet Indigenous peoples who live along to be technical differences in who do they use when there is a their borders. With every war and demaJ-cating 78 kilometers of land conflict of this type? Who provides every treatise, neither Ecuador nor along the Condor Cordillera. In the food? Who gets recruited to Peru has been as negatively affect­ 1981, another war broke out fight on the fi-ont lines? Who gets ed as these Indigenous communi­ between the two countries. Some affected by protecting the borders? ties. analysts believe that the ruling It is the Indigenous people!" The territol"ial dispute between government of Ecuador began that Luis Macas, president of Ecuador and Peru has been one of war as a way to distract attention CONAIE (Confederation of the longest and most complicated away from its economic problems. Indigenous Nationalities of land disputes on the continent. Similarly, some analysts believe Ecuador) reported that the war has During colonial times, first the that President Fujilnoti may have directly affected 21 of the 400 Viceroyalty of Peru and later the begun the current war in order to Shuar centers (or communities) in Viceroyalty of Gran Colombia assw-e his re~lection. the Ecuadorian Amazon because of administered the Amazonian Whatever the motive, it is the their pro>

6 Abya Yala News BORDERS

11 centers closest to the border born out of an impending need to ofboth CONAlE and CONFENIAE have been greatly affected. protect the environment and the (Confederation of Indigenous Furthermore, out of the 25 Quichua desire to re-integrate the Shuar Nationalities of the Ecuadorian communit ies on both sides of the and Achuar communities in Amazon), demands, among other border (10 in Ecuador and 15 in Ecuador with their cultural COUll · things, that Ecuador be recognized Peru), the number of affected fami­ terparts in Peru- the Aguaruna and as a "multinational, multicultw·al lies reaches 800. Finally, other the Huambiza Indians. and multilingllal count•·y" (see side- smaller bordering communities Another-perhaps more radi­ Continued on page 38 also suffer from the war. These cal-declaration signed by members include the Siona, Secoya, Cofan, and the Shiwiar communities. The Ecuado ri an I ndigenous Na t ionali t i es total number oflndians in Ecuador alone affected by this war reaches to th e n atio n and wo r ld: 20,000. If the conflict continues, The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAlE) Macas predicts the loss of more and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Indigenous lives, homes, and liveli­ Amazon (CONFENIAE) met in an Encounter of Solidarity for Peace hoods. and Dignity in the city of Sucua, Ecuador, at the headquarters of the A recent article in the Quito Interprovincial Federation of Shuar-Achuar Centers (FICSHA), on daily El Comercio describes the February 21·22, 1995. After analyzing recent conflicts between social and economic effect of the Ecuador and Peru, we declare the following: war. According to the report, 180 n the conntries of Latin America and around the world and, pruticu­ Indigenous communities and lru·ly among cow>tries whicll are in conflict, we comprise a dive•-sity approximately 3,000 families "are I of peoples and cultw-es which ru-e historically located in ow- own ter­ faced with a social, economic, and ritories. psychological crisis because thei1· The border conflicts that today lead to bloodshed in neighboring pop­ crops and animals have disap­ ulations and destroy their hrun>ony and lifestyles, ru-e not in ow- inter­ peared and their understanding of ests. Rathe•·, they have lead to a stalemate and a deepening poverty for their own territory has been the communities involved. changed" since the fighting began. For these reasons, we Indigenous nationalities propose: "Life is not the same. Tr~mquillity 1. That Ecuador be constitutionally recognized as a plw'i-national, has not retw·ned to the selva since multi-cultw-al, and pluri-lingual state, because the recognition of and the cease-fire," said Luis Yam pies, a respect for diffe1-ent peoples is not an obstacle to the unity of a diverse leader of the Shuar community. oountry, but rather a resource that wi)l sta-engthen its cohesion. "Many communities cannot retum 2.ln homage to the Intemational Decade oflndigenous Peoples that to their lands because they are the United Nations declared, we demand of intemational orgauizations mined. That was a defense st•·ategy and the guarantee nations of the Rio Protocol that Indigenous peoples in by the Ecuadorian military, but we Ecuador and Peru be included in the peace negotiations as active pa•tic• are affected." ipants in the search for a definitive solution to the conOict. In formal and informal declara­ 3. That the Ecuadorian State pe1manently suspend the colonization tions, Indigenous groups have programs in the ancestral lands of the Indigenous nationalities of the denounced the violence and Amazon Region. demanded that the governments of 4. The legalization of Indigenous te11itories in the .border area and in Ecuador and Peru stop the war. the Amazon Region as a fundamental guarantee of the secUiity and ter­ COICA (The Coordinating Body for •'ito•'ial integrity of the country. the Indigenous Organizations of 5. That the National Parks, Protected Forests, and Forest Reserves be the Amazon Basin), an umbrella given to and administered directly by Indigenous organizations for the group that represents Indigenous app>'OJ?>'iate use and management of their naturalresow-ces. organizations from the eight 6. That we be 1-epaid for the socio-«onomic and envil-omnental nation-states with territorial impacts caused by the war; a guarantee of the 1-etw·n of displaced peo­ claims in the Amazon Basin, pro­ ples to theu· Indigenous communities; and the establishment of a fund posed the creation of a bi-national for the •-elatives of civilians killed in the conflict. park which would demilitarize the 7. That the budget for the lnteJ-cultural Bilingual Education pro­ conflict zone and guarantee peace gram be augmented. for years to come. The proposal was

Vol. 9 No.1 7 ORGAN IZA TION AND COMM U NICATIO N

Amazon, Forum II its borders by g•vmg away As of now, it is apparent that Indigenous land to colonizers from the CNE will recommend the con­ f11he future of the Amazon different ru-eas of the country. stmction of the Ralco power plant .l depends on its Indigenous peo­ But peace will not come through without objectively re-evaluating ples and the state of their environ­ the fmther colonization of its inevitable effects. In December ment. The Coalition in Support of Indigenous people. On the con­ 1994, the CNE re<:ommended the Amazonian Peoples and Their trary, peace will only be achieved construction of the plant's gas Environment held its se<:ond inter­ when Indigenous land is rightly pipelines. Ralco ab-eady has uti­ national fomm in Washington, DC, and justly protected, and the lization rights on the Biobio Rive1's at the Smithsonian's Museum of Indigenous way of life seem-ed. A non-drinkable water, the provision­ American History on May 10-12. joint declaration from AIDESEP al electrical concession, and engi­ The meeting brought together and CONFENIAE states: neering studies in their final North American non-governmental "Nowadays, it is in vogue to stages of completion. orgamzations with representatives speak of integration. Howeve•; we Even though the CNE did not from the Amazon Basin to coordi­ have lived for thousru>ds of years in include the Ralco powe•· plant in its nate long-te•m efforts on behalf of peaceful communion with our latest plan of works, the govern­ Indigenous and forest-dependent Indigenous neighbors on both sides ment is· about to consent to its con­ peoples. Secretary-General of the of the border. Fmthermore, borders stmction. If the government does Organization of Ame,;can States, that the white people created have give Et-.'DESA the permission to Cesar Gaviria, and Assistant divided communities like the build Ralco, it ,viJl close the possi­ Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Shuar, Quichua and Cofan. But we bility for a real environmental US. Department of the Inte,;o•; Ada continue to feel as though we were evaluation to be conducted. Ralco, Dee•; gave keynote addresses at a part of one Indian continental like Pangue, will become an exam­ reception welcoming participants nation: the ancient Abya Yala ." f1) ple of how the Chilean govermnent on the evemng of May 9th. allows big co•·porations to under­ Additional declarations and in{or­ take socially and envil:onmentally For m.ore information on tlte mczt.ion from Indigenous organiza· risky ventures despite the exis­ Amazon Forum, contact: Melina tions on this border conflict are in Seluerston, Amazon Coalition, 1511 SAl/C's PeaceNet coll{erence tence of laws that prohibit such K. Street, N~V, # 1044, Washington, saiic.indio as well as on the proje<:ts. A sinrilru· multi-dan> pro­ DC 20005, 'tel: (202) 637- 9718, Internet at: ject during the 1970s, Antuco Fax: (202) 637-9719, e-mail: ama­ http: II ulwnaix.cc.ulwns.edu/-mar County on the Laja River, did not [email protected]. c/ geography / latinam I ecuador/ bor der_; nain.html. make good on its promise . Antuco is today one of poo1-est counties of State Frontiers Chile. Public outcry has been massive. and Indian Nations Chile, Upper Biobfo Different environmental orgauiza­ Continued {rom Page 7 Contmued {rotn page 27 tions like GABB (Action Group in bru· (page ?)for extracts from the Howeve•; because of a lack of Defense of the Biobio), Indigenous declaration) to guarantee the resom-ces and interest, this law is 1ights g>-oups, student activists and integrity and respect for not always enforced and large com­ other outraged citizens have joined Indigenous peoples. panies such as ENDESA can cir­ forces to stop the constmction of With· all of these declarations, cumvent the law by, for example, Ralco. In a public declaration, Indigenous leaders reiterate the buying land and building houses in GABB called fo•-a complete halt to importance that Indigenous prutic­ other a•·eas, trying to persuade any other pt-oject along the Biobio ipation should have in peace talks. native communities to "sell." River, the enforcement of the They •·ightly point out that a mean­ The purpose of the Environmental and Indigenous ingful and lasting peace will not be Environmental Bases Law (No. Laws, respect for the Pehuenche reached as long as the Indigenous 19,300) is " to regulate all activities communities, their land and cul­ peoples who live in the disputed that in one way or another a.ffe<:t the ture, and the creation of an effec­ te11-itories continue to be ignored. environment." However, because tive energy policy that would prior­ Still, the governments of Ecuador the law still lacks spe<:ific and defin­ itize the social and ecological sus­ and Peru are not listemng. The itive legislative language, it is easy tainability of the country. f1) government of Pem, for exrunple, for large corporations to act in defi­ has proposed a plan to strengthen ance of the spirit such laws.

38 Abya Yala News