Quito—The Indian communities of Ecuador's Amazon region are closely following a trial in Nueva Loja, northeastern Ecuador, in which the United States' Chevron-Texaco oil company is charged with causing environmental and social damage.
Luis Yantza, coordinator of the Amazon Region Defense Front, said the evidentiary phase of the trial will continue through Wednesday.
"This is a historic trial because it is the first time a transnational oil corporation as large as Chevron-Texaco is subjected to the laws of a Latin American country," Yantza said.
"Texaco is an financially powerful company, and it could possibly try to corrupt authorities hearing the case," though the indigenous communities trust the honesty of the Ecuadorian judges, Yantza remarked.
In addition, numerous journalists and activists from several international organizations are following the trial, he said.
The plaintiffs include some 30,000 members of the indigenous Siona, Secoya, Cogan, Huaroani and Quichua tribes, 75 percent of whom are tenant farmers. They plan to take turns, 20 to 50 of them assigned to sit as observers at the trial every day.
The lawsuit seeks to protect the nation's "most prized" resources, its biodiversity and environmental balance, Yantza said.
Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez has expressed interest in "pushing back the oil borders," Yantza noted, which likely means allowing domestic and international companies to drill for oil in the Amazon.
"This case is going to set a precedent, forcing every oil-drilling operation conducted in this country or any other nation on earth to respect the environment," he concluded. EFE fa/jg/mp
source: http://www.efenews.com/detalleFrontPage.asp?opcion=0&id=5556424 26oct03
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