Indigenous group says no to talks
QUITO: A key Ecuadoran indigenous leader on Thursday rejected talks with President Lenin Moreno and issued a call to “radicalise” protests over fuel price hikes amid violence that has left five protesters dead.
The call by Jaime Vargas, head of the indigenous umbrella organisation CONAIE, flew in the face of efforts by President Lenin Moreno to resume dialogue after a week of protests which have disrupted the country’s oil output. “No dialogue with a murderous government,” Mr Vargas said in a statement. During a tense standoff in Quito, indigenous groups seized 10 police officers, including one woman, who were later freed.
The officers were put on display before an angry crowd at Quito’s House of Culture, which indigenous groups have occupied since arriving in the city last weekend, and forced to carry around the coffin of an indigenous leader who was killed during the protests.
Some indigenous men prodded and berated one of the officers, Captain Cristian Rueda, who appeared before the crowd wrapped in an Ecuadoran flag. Mr Moreno was hopeful of resolving the crisis, which has seen more than 550 people injured and about a thousand arrested.
“Without a doubt, this is going to be solved very soon,” he told state television late on Wednesday, following clashes between protesters and security forces in the heart of the capital. Those clashes killed four civilians, including an indigenous leader, the ombudsman’s office announced on Thursday, bringing the overall toll to five.
“We are calling on the national government to eradicate violence and guarantee the exercise of the right to social protest in a peaceful manner,” it said. The first victim was hit by a vehicle on Sunday. Protesters are demanding that Mr Moreno reinstate fuel subsidies that were cut last week after US$4.2 billion (128 billion baht) in loans was agreed with the IMF. Ending the subsidies meant that fuel prices shot up by as much as 120% from Oct 3.