RAID's letter to Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter MacKay, concerning Carlos Zorrilla of Defensa y Conservacion Ecologica de Intag (DECOIN). Carlos has become the subject of a campaign of intimidation apparently in connection with his work to protect the rights of local communities in Ecuador.
Read Carlos' report: "The Police Raid on My House"
Take Action! Please send a letter demanding an end to the intimidation of Ecuadorian mining activists and urge officials in Ecuador to investigate the circumstances of the police raid and the charges that have been brought against Carlos.
Press Release by the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU): "US Citizen Linked to a Transnational Mining Company, Ascendant Copper Corporation, Infiltrated a Demonstration and Brought False Accusations against Intag Leader"
Read Ascendant Copper Corporation's response to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
UPDATE: On November 16, 2006, the 10th Penal Judge of Pinchincha revoked the arrest warrant issued against Carlos Zorrilla. Zorrilla had been in hiding since the highly irregular October 17 police raid on his home. He is now free to come and go, but the trumped-up charges against him still stand and the attacks against DECOIN and the communities of the Intag region continue, both in the media and on the ground. Click here for more information (Citation: MiningWatch Canada). |
