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Ecuador oil protesters threaten to resume attacks

Ecuador oil protesters threaten to resume attacks
27 Aug 2005 21:37:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Hugh Bronstein

QUITO, Ecuador, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Protesters who crippled Ecuador's vital oil industry earlier this month threatened on Saturday to resume their attacks, accusing energy companies of changing the terms of a settlement reached on Thursday.

Protest leaders said they would meet on Sunday in the eastern oil town of Francisco de Orellana to decide whether to resume dynamiting pipelines and vandalizing pumping equipment in their attempt to force companies to invest more in the poor Amazon communities where they operate.

Oil company representatives and government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The attacks, which started in mid-August, have throttled oil exports important to Ecuador's economy and helped lift world crude prices.

Oil is Ecuador's No. 1 export. The country is South America's biggest supplier to the United States after Venezuela.

Earlier this week, the protesters agreed to a "good neighbor" pact with the government and private oil companies, promising to halt the attacks in exchange for more local investment.

The protesters said the companies, which only agreed verbally to the deal and did not actually sign the accord, were trying to loosen its requirements.

"The oil companies have completely changed the terms," protest organizer Edmundo Espindola, mayor of the oil town Shushufindi, told Reuters.

Oil companies including Occidental Petroleum Corp. <OXY.N>, Petrobras <PETR4.SA> <PBR.N> and EnCana Corp. <ECA.TO> were to pave 160 miles (260 km) of new roads within three years in Sucumbios and Orellana provinces under the pact.

Sixteen percentage points of income taxes paid by the companies were to be steered toward local health, environmental and development projects.

"They are no longer agreeing to the 16 percentage points, but only up to 16 percentage points," said Espindola, who was among about 60 protest leaders in Quito for recent negotiations.

"Our agreement said the road construction would be done in three years," he added. "The companies are now saying it will be done when possible, which means it could be in 10, 20 or 30 years."

The companies would be more prepared than before to protect their property, but Espindola said protesters will be able to find targets should the attacks resume.

"The oil pipelines are very long and fragile," he said. "Every kilometer of pipeline cannot be protected."

The crisis has presented the biggest challenge yet for President Alfredo Palacio, who was appointed in April after Congress fired President Lucio Gutierrez for meddling with the Supreme Court.

Three Ecuadorean presidents have been toppled in popular unrest since 1997, but analysts expect Palacio to ride out the current crisis.


LINK: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N27140076.htm