Huaorani URGENT ACTION ALERT

URGENT ACTION!!!

OCTOBER 26: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE HUAORANI PEOPLE

SEND FAXES TO SUPPORT THE HUAORANI'S EFFORTS TO HALT MAXUS OIL CORPORATION'S INVASION OF THEIR TERRITORY!!!

On October 26-27, more than 100 Huaorani men, women, and children will arrive in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, to meet with representatives of Maxus Energy Corporation and to address representatives of the national Congress.

The Dallas-based Maxus corporation holds a 200,000 hectare concession to exploit oil on Huaorani land. Under Ecuadorian law, the Huaorani people have no right to decide how to use the resources below the ground.

The Huaorani have voiced their opposition to Maxus' construction of a new road which will penetrate one of the richest rainforest tracts in the world, bringing with it not only oil drillers, but also lumber companies and settlers who will cause the disruption of the Huaorani way of life. The road will cross the Yasuni National Park, and also the territory of still-contacted Huaorani groups. The impacts of this road will be devastating.

On Monday, October 26th, representatives of the Huaorani organization ONHAE will meet with Maxus in Quito. They are demanding:

a moratorium to Maxus's oil exploitation in their territory;
suspension of work on the oil road;
the right to manage their own territory;
the formation of a committee to investigate

their case, which will include a member of parliament, representatives of the Indigenous organizations CONAIE, CONFENIAE, and ONHAE, an ecologist, a human rights worker, and an international observer.

The Huaorani have declared that they are ready to occupy Maxus's headquarters if the company does not accept their position.

It is critical that, on Monday October 26th, the Presidents of Ecuador and of Maxus Corporation hear your voices! For security reasons, please time your faxes so that they will arrive only after noon, Ecuador time, on Monday.

Please voice your support for the Huaorani in faxes to:

Arq. Sixto Durán Ballán		Mr. C. L. Blackburn,
Presidente Constitucional		President
República del Ecuador			Maxus Energy Corp.
						Dallas, Texas
FAX: (011-5932) 580-751		FAX: (214) 979-1977

Please send a copy to:
Campaña Amazonía por la vida - FAX: (011-5932-547-516) and/or to RAN via FAX: (415) 398-4404 or via e-mail - en.rainforest

(Posted to Native-l on Fri, 23 Oct 1992 Rainforest Action Network (rainforest@igc.apc.org))