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from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/3009201.stm
Published: 2003/05/08 01:20:08
Ecuadorean Indians sue Texaco
A
group of Ecuadorean Indians is filing a billion-dollar lawsuit in
Quito against the US oil giant, ChevronTexaco.
They
accuse the company of destroying large areas of rainforest and
contaminating local land and rivers.
They
are also alleging the company's activities have led to an
increased risk of cancer among the local population.
ChevronTexaco
rejects the allegations and says the company met all its
obligations under Ecuadorean law.
Correspondents
say the case has led many indigenous communities to stage protests
in the hope of keeping foreign companies out of the jungle.
'Forced
to leave'
The
case which is being heard in Ecuador for the first time follows
years of US court battles over jurisdiction.
This
has caused a lot of damage, and made a lot of people ill... we
are suffering from diseases like leukaemia, and thousands of our
people have been killed
Elias Piguaje, Indian leader
Indian
groups say Texaco - which merged with Chevron in 2001 - dumped
billions of gallons of toxic materials into unlined pits and
Amazon rivers from 1972 to 1992.
As
a result, they say, crops were damaged, farm animals killed and
cancer has increased among the local population.
Elias
Piguaje of the indigenous Secoya group said local communities had
been forced to leave their lands when the oil subsidiary was
operating there.
"We
are now living in tiny areas in the Amazon, what was once our
rainforest. The land and the big rivers have all been polluted and
destroyed," he said.
"This
has caused a lot of damage, and made a lot of people ill."
International
practices
Lawyers,
who say they are representing 30,000 people, are demanding that
the company pay for a clean-up which it is estimated could cost
$1bn.
The
company operated in accordance with all applicable Ecuadorean
laws
Charles Giddes
ChevronTexaco spokesman
The
company says that after leaving the country it spent $40m in a
clean-up project that was inspected and approved by the Ecuadorean
Government, according to the Reuters news agency.
And
a spokesman for US company told the BBC that Texaco was only a
minority partner in a consortium with the state oil company and
that all operating decisions had to be put before the consortium.
"The
company operated in accordance with all applicable Ecuadorean
laws, and used practices that were consistent with international
practices for the time," Charles Giddes said.
But
one of the lawyers representing the Indians, Joseph Kohn, accused
the oil giant of trying to hide behind the Ecuadorean authorities.
He
said the government did not have sufficient knowledge of oil
exploration and precisely for that reason, contracted Texaco - as
the supposed experts.
Story
from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/3009201.stm
Published: 2003/05/08 01:20:08
© BBC MMIII
