Alberto Acosta, former president of the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador
February 4, 2011
The accusation of terrorism and sabotage against a group of Shuar leaders, including Joseph acacha is Fidel and Pedro Kaniras Mashiant, further strained the issue of justice. And the massive deployment of police to stop confronting us with repressive practices believed to belong to the hateful oligarchic past.
emphasizes the lightness in the use of terrorism and sabotage charges. In the last two years it has become to wield the charge to address public outcry in this case of the Shuar leaders expressed against water law still pending. That was the practice of neo-liberal years. A life fighters were persecuted as terrorists, for corporations to plunder the natural resources attempting also against nature and community.
To turn the page on the Constituent Assembly in Montecristi, the city where born leader of the largest and perhaps only revolution of Ecuador, Eloy Alfaro, resolved through amnesty, about 600 cases of alleged terrorism. On March 14, 2008 recognized " people have been prosecuted in the need to exercise the right to claim in defense of natural resources and to achieve a dignified life in an ecologically sound and free of contamination, ( ....) and mobilization efforts and claims of communities are essentially political and social demands. "
Time has passed and the authoritarian spirit has returned. Today is repressed and pursue new popular leaders who fight for life.
No one should be no doubt that the Shuar have claims of social, cultural and economic. Their territories have been and are threatened by major oil and mining projects. Neoextractivismo hand the XXI century, just as outrageous as the past, does not stop at anything.
face so much abuse that nationality brought their rejection of confidence or certainty for any damage that these activities generate. The response was repression or the same disrespect the Constitution of Montecristi, when trying to pass a water law that opens the door to the de-privatization of this strategic resource and activities such as mining privileges over those who have to do with food sovereignty, among other weaknesses the Act.
The rights in the Constitution have not been processed yet legal tools to eradicate all practices of repression with which he blackmails and sowing terror in the community, in this case in the Shuar communities. We have a criminal code which constitutes the offense of terrorism so generally, not comport with the actual crimes of terrorism. Thus, Article 160.1 of the Penal Code is considered as terrorist who individually or by forming partnerships, (...), armed or not, claiming patriotic purposes, social, economic, political, religious, revolutionary, claiming ownership proselytizing, racial, local, regional, etc., commit crimes against the common security of individuals or human groups of any kind or property :.... and who built barricades, railings, trenches, barriers, etc., with purpose of dealing with the security forces in support of their intentions, plans, thesis or proclamations.
It follows that the crime of terrorism, as written in the code is unconstitutional. Is weasel words that lend themselves to a fanciful interpretation. Violates the principle of legality, which requires words denoting clearly unlawful conduct. In this figure include both the real criminal terrorist who plants a bomb and kill people to create fear, as one who exercises the right to resistance "in Article 98 of our Constitution, and that protest to demand their rights. The ambiguity in the criminal law is unconstitutional.
We should understand, who improperly used the State's criminal power makes acts of state terrorism because it gives unwarranted fear in society, not those who protest against the State for the rights of their community, of course under the principles of nonviolence. The State must prevent the seat and to step up violence, let alone can cause it to bring enforcement actions over the dialogue and respect for rights.
social credibility in the justice is a fundamental element of democracy. Control of justice can not obey the policy. The Constitution set a route to ensure the independence of justice, route in which little progress was made and is now being severely threatened by two referendum questions proposed by the President, questions 4 and 5 of the possible referendum, which affect the autonomy and independence of the judiciary.
We are facing a very complex scenario. If the decision to stop the Shuar leaders intervened in some way the executive, would be very serious. Already the excessive deployment of security forces reveals an abuse of force. Moreover, the fact that these leaders have been imprisoned in their place of residence and who, without authorization of the competent judge, have been taken to the capital, showing another dangerous abuse. This shows a total lack of control of State authorities that are responsible for ensuring public safety.
Again using the old standby previous mark and to demobilize sow fear and silence critics. These repressive practices are a legacy of the old policy, oriented to ignore, dismiss and even punish the social movements and their leaders. Also, unfortunately reinforces a mistaken notion of security, contrary to the guarantees and rights under the Constitution Montecristi, in both includes the abuse of state of emergency and the use of military for law enforcement purposes.
For all that, today more than ever, we need to build a new justice that is not contaminated with any form of interference from other state functions. And that is why we must also reject all forms of state terrorism .-
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HONDUREÑA WITH RESISTANCE!
Until fall dictatorship ...
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