Taxes, the water bill, the land bill and mining concessions are some of the most important issues the mobilization aims to put on the table.

According to CONAIE’s president, Humberto Cholango, the march will aim to gather the opinion of the general public about these issues. In an interview with Ecuadorian TV Channel Ecuavisa, the indigenous leader questioned “the granting of arbitrary concessions to mining and oil transnational corporations over indigenous territories, ignoring constitutional regulations that require a previous consultation”.

Cholango called the “organized social sectors” to join this peaceful march to “defend dignity, territories and to tell them (the authorities) that in this country we need radical changes that are not happening”.
The indigenous leader stated that CONAIE won’t ask for permission to carry out the demonstration. “We don’t need anybody’s permission to fight in this country”, he explained.

The main leader of the organization made up by Ecuadorian indigenous people regretted the fact that “197 friends, indigenous leaders, poor peasants, farmers are accused of terrorism and of sabotage”. “We don’t understand why these actions come from an administration that calls itself “socialist””, he concluded.

Government authorities and Ecuador’s President himself have stated that CONAIE is trying to destabilize the State. Cholango has denied this and said that the indigenous movement will never conspire against democracy and the State. "We are not going to agree with the right wing", said Cholango to Ecuavisa. “A part of the right wing is in office”, he added.

In addition, CONAIE’s president strongly criticized the trade agreement Ecuador is negotiating with the European Union (EU) and said that it will be “defeated”. About this he said that the businessmen have always wanted to “make profit” and that the government is an accomplice. “This is what they want to continue doing with the Free Trade Agreement” with the EU, he said.

Photo: http://servindi.org