QUITO, Oct 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Indigenous leaders and Ecuador’s president
began face-to-face talks on Sunday after nearly two weeks of violent street
protests over austerity measures instituted to obtain a multi-billion-dollar
loan from the IMF.
As the talks got underway, Jaime Vargas, the head of the indigenous
umbrella grouping CONAIE, called on President Lenin Moreno to dismiss the
interior and defense ministers for “excessive violence” during the protests.
The president did not immediately respond to that request, but said he was
willing to review his decision to cut fuel subsidies as part of a deal to
obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund — the move
that sparked the crisis.
Talks in the capital Quito — broadcast live on state television — came
after 12 days of rolling demonstrations that left six people dead and nearly
2,100 wounded or detained, according to authorities.
Protesters on Saturday targeted a television station and a newspaper, and
set fire to the comptroller general’s office.
Moreno declared a curfew and placed the city under military control to
quell the unrest. On Sunday, police dispersed protesters who tried to erect a
barricade of debris from Saturday’s violence.
An indigenous leader said Sunday that protesters who have converged on
Quito will remain until an agreement is reached on painful reforms such as a
doubling of some fuel prices.
“Not just the leaders but the rank and file — and we will stay until there
is a solution,” said Salvador Quishpe of CONAIE.
CONAIE had previously rejected an offer of dialogue but reversed course
Saturday and said the talks would focus on ending the fuel hike.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “welcomes the announcement of the
start of a dialogue process,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a
statement.
Guterres called on all groups “to commit to inclusive and meaningful talks,
and to work in good faith towards a peaceful solution,” the statement added.
Ecuador’s indigenous groups make up a quarter of the country’s 17.3 million
people. Thousands from disadvantaged communities from across the Amazon and
the Andes have traveled to Quito where they are spearheading demands that the
subsidies continue.
– Media attacked –
Demonstrators on Saturday ransacked and set fire to the building housing
the comptroller general’s office, which was shrouded in thick smoke after
being attacked with fire bombs.
The prosecutor’s office said 34 people were arrested.
Nearby, protesters had built barricades in front of the National Assembly
building as police fired tear gas at them.
The Teleamazonas TV channel interrupted its regular broadcast to air images
of broken windows, a burned vehicle and heavy police presence on the scene.
The station evacuated 25 employees, none of them hurt.
El Comercio newspaper reported on Twitter that its offices were attacked by
a “group of unknowns.” It did not provide further details.
“We have nothing to do with the events at the comptroller’s office and
Teleamazonas,” said CONAIE.
Protesters did not immediately heed the curfew that went into effect on
Saturday, with security forces still struggling to impose order in some parts
of the city.
“Where are the mothers and fathers of the police? Why do they let them kill
us?” cried Nancy Quinyupani, an indigenous woman.
The restrictions in Quito, a city of 2.7 million, came on top of a state of
emergency Moreno had declared on October 3, deploying some 75,000 military
and police and imposing a nighttime curfew in the vicinity of government
buildings.
The violence has forced Moreno to relocate his government to Ecuador’s
second city, Guayaquil, and has hit the oil industry hard with the energy
ministry suspending more than two-thirds of its distribution of crude.
Protesters seized three oil facilities in the Amazon earlier this week.
Moreno is struggling with an economic crisis that he blames on waste and
corruption by Correa’s administration.