On November 12, 2012, the Fifth Criminal Court of Chillanes (Bolívar province) issued a preventive detention order against Manuel Trujillo and Manuela Pacheco, both leaders of the San Pablo de Amalí Community, for allegedly having committed acts of sabotage and terrorism. According to the defense attorney for the accused, they face a sentence of 4 to 8 years in prison if they are sentenced, “this is a contradiction with the Right to Resistance enshrined in our Constitution and a renewed example of criminalization of water defenders.”
Manuel Trujillo, from hiding, maintains his innocence and indicates that since the construction process of the hydroelectric plant began, they have not stopped being persecuted by the justice system and the state repressive apparatus. “What we feel is indignation, because justice is not fair for us. What happened yesterday is revenge by the Prosecutor and members of the Police, accusing us without evidence of crimes that we have not committed.”
San Pablo de Amalí is a community of peasants located on the coast of the province of Bolívar in Ecuador. It is home to numerous families who depend on agriculture to survive. However, over the last nine years, there have been scenarios of repression and judicial persecution against these peasants. The construction of the San José del Tambo hydroelectric project, carried out by the company Hidrotambo SA, sparked widespread rejection in the community and gave rise to a long process of resistance that continues to this day.
Three months ago, San Pablo de Amalí was visited by a verification mission, made up of several organizations defending human rights and nature, with the aim of verifying the vulnerable situation in which the community finds itself. One of its members said that "the process of water plundering that is taking place in San Pablo de Amalí and in numerous communities that live in this micro-basin is worrying, by granting concessions to one company practically the entire flow; here, constitutional rights related to water have been violated, putting the life of the population under serious threat." The reality analyzed by this mission will be included in a report that will be available in the next few weeks.
In 2006, the then presidential candidate Rafael Correa Delgado arrived in this area and, in front of the peasants participating in a community assembly, promised to respect the community's right to oppose the aforementioned hydroelectric project and stated verbatim that: "if you say no to this project, the project will not be built."
The peasant leaders, however, were accused of having allegedly committed crimes of sabotage and terrorism, with no evidence other than that presented by the police, the same one that currently provides security for the company.
"This is intended to thwart our struggle. I am still determined to continue fighting. I am outraged by the impotence of not being better prepared (for defense) and now I have to see my people and my children exposed to this injustice," concluded Manuel Trujillo.
Tegantai Agency.
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