by: time
http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias-cuenca/72245-culmina-primera-jornada-de-la-audiencia-en-el-caso-sarayacu/
Publication Date: 2011-07-07 11:15
At the time, Don Sabino Gualinga, spiritual leader of Sarayaku, 89 years old, explained to the Court the catastrophic effects that the incursion of the Argentine oil company CGC had in his sacred jungle.
Before a question from Judge Manuel Ventura, Don Sabino clarified that in his worldview the jungle is alive and inhabited by spiritual beings that maintain the balance between humans and Nature. "We don't want those who want to blow up their entrails with explosives to enter our land," he said, because that would mean that the beings that care for the jungle leave and great evils come to the world, such as diseases and cataclysms.
Sarayacu claims the Ecuadorian State for having allowed the entry of an oil company into its territory without being informed, consulted or asked for its consent. Between 2002 and 2003, the CGC oil company left an amount close to one and a half tons of explosives planted and scattered in an area of 16,000 hectares of the Sarayaku territory.
For her part, Ena Santi, who testified with her two-month-old son in her arms, asked the Court “to tell the governments of our country to respect us, I also ask them to remove from our territory that explosive that has caused so much damage to us. made".
Sarayacu's lawyer, Mario Melo, from the Ecuadorian organization Fundación Pachamama, said "this first day has been very important because the testimonies of the victims have allowed the Inter-American Court to appreciate the seriousness of the damage caused by the unconsulted, violent and against their will, from the oil company in their territory.”
The People of Sarayacu was also represented by Viviana Kristicevik from the regional organization CEJIL, who stated “The Sarayacu people once again demonstrated their courage and dignity by testifying before the Inter-American Court. We are very pleased with the performance of the leaders and members of the community who testified today.”
The hearing is scheduled to continue today with the presentation of the expert witness James Anaya, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the expert Anthropologist Rodrigo Villagra and the State witness Colonel Oscar Troya. The parties will then make their closing arguments.
