Last Wednesday Amazon Watch received a very disturbing call: the headquarters of CONFENIAE, the regional organization of eleven indigenous peoples which represents nearly 1,500 communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon, was being taken by storm. The men, women and children staying at the headquarters while participating in collaborative work projects were fast asleep at 5 am when approximately 200 police and riot cops, armed with loaded guns and accompanied by dogs, stormed the headquarters and demanded an evacuation of the premises.

CONFENIAE has long been a partner of Amazon Watch, and it was crucial to show our solidarity and offer support. Extensive mobilizing by CONFENIAE's local, national and international supporters succeeded in putting sufficient pressure on the police to retreat. But though CONFENIAE won this round, they have no illusions that the fight is over because attacks against the organization have happened before and are expected to happen again.

So why did the police storm CONFENIAE headquarters? According to CONFENIAE, it all comes down to oil. Since Rafael Correa assumed the presidency in 2007, the state has consolidated control over the natural resources, community forest management and intercultural bilingual education that have been managed by indigenous communities.

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