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Listen to the Sápara and the Kichwa of Sarayaku: the Amazon is NOT for sale!

Earlier today representatives of the Sápara indigenous people protested outside a government building in Quito, Ecuador. Why? Ecuador’s Ministry of Strategic Sectors just signed an oil-drilling contract with Chinese oil company Andes Petroleum for a million acres of their Amazonian territory. The Sápara People, a small threatened group of only 300 which has official recognition by UNESCO as an "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," is calling on the world to denounce this deal, which puts at risk their culture and their Amazonian home.

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The Ecuadorian government falsely claimed to have consulted the Sápara in accordance with Article 57 of the constitution, which requires Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation (FPIC). However, instead of obtaining consent of the communities, it created its own Sápara federation, comprised of just a handful of individuals. In fact, the only legitimate federation of the Sápara does not recognize any agreement for access to their territory.

"The government has not conducted free, prior, and informed consultation as the Constitution requires," said Manari Ushigua, president of the Sápara Federation. "We reject and do not recognize what the government is doing. We do not accept oil extraction on our lands. We have the right to decide our own future and survival, and are carrying out projects that protect our territory and protect our planet from the impacts of climate change."

Tell Ecuador that you stand with the Sápara! #KeepItInTheGround

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