Ecuador charges indigenous activists with terrorism

[naaman fletcher]

Defending sacred sights and the environment can land you in jail for being a terrorist, according to indigenous activists in Ecuador.

"There are about 200 cases against indigenous activists, campesinos, mextizos and other leaders," Pepe Acacho, Vice President of CONAIE, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in Ecuador, told Deutsche Welle.

CONAIE is documenting the government's crackdown on dissent within indigenous and activist communities who are largely opposed to resource development projects, like gold mining, oil drilling and hydroelectric dam construction. Pepe Acacho, Shuar indigenous leader and Vice President of CONAIE, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in EcuadorIs he a terrorist? Pepe Acacho opposes the government's plans to gain control over water

Communities who don't support such projects are actively organizing to stop them, like Pepe Acacho's community in the Amazon.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15398230,00.html