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TITLE: Ecuador Government, Indigenous Protesters Resume Dialogue |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: AFP |
DATE: February 4, 2001 |
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Ecuadoran Indians protesting government economic policies resumed talks late Sunday with a high-level government commission led by Vice President Pedro Pinto, official sources said. Ricardo Ulcuango, vice president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), began meeting with the government commission just after 5:00 pm (2200 GMT), the head of a mediation group, Auki Tituana, told AFP. "This is the result of the effort we have made. The Indians have come with a will to move ahead as much as possible," said Tituana, who is the indigenous mayor of Cotacachi in northern Ecuador. The negotiations, in which the Indians hope to get the government to rescind 100 percent fuel price hikes, and a 75 percent increase in transport fares imposed January 1 broke off in stalemate Friday. President Gustavo Noboa, who failed to meet demands of CONAIE leader Antonio Vargas that he be directly involved in the negotiations, decreed a state of emergency throughout the nation later Friday. Also involved in Sunday's talks was Social Welfare Minister Nelson and the Agriculture Minister Raul Patino, according to Tituana and a presidential spokesman. The mediation committee took the first steps Saturday toward securing dialogue between government and Indian leaders, although Tituana had noted that neither side seemed prepared to yield. The committee includes members of the Roman Catholic Church, the Association of Municipalities of Ecuador (AME), the United Nations, human rights organizations, and universities. Around 5,000 indigenous Ecuadorans, mainly Quechua Indians, are involved in protests being held at the Salesian Polytechnic University here and where a hunger strike is now taking place in the wake of the emergency decree by Noboa. They also want Noboa to rescind his decision to replace Ecuador's currency, the sucre, with the dollar. The unpopular dollarization project was introduced by ex-president Jamil Mahuad, supported by the International Monetary Fund, and led to Mahuad's ouster in a non-violent coup just 12 months ago in the wake of similar indigenous protests. END |