Justice in The Amazon: Chevron v.s Ecuador

For your information — This editorial appeared today in the Diario El Comercio, one of the major newspapers in Ecuador.  Below is an imperfect but understandable Google translation.

Justice takes time but it arrives!

In a small office building located in the main street of Lago Agrio, Nicolas Zambrano judge ruled against the powerful multinational oil company Chevron-Texaco: “Pay USD 8 000 million and public apology by the environmental and human damage caused duringoperations in the Amazon. ” This is the decision of the judge who reviewed the historical claim of 30 000 inhabitants of Sucumbíos affected by the irresponsibility and excessive ambition of Texaco, which shed about 30 billion gallons of formation waters in estuaries and rivers, waters which came loaded with metals heavy and benzene, both highly carcinogenic products. These downloads represent three times the pollution that caused the Exxon Valdez spill and 150 times the discharge of the British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico! But greed for easy money and the lack of a basic sense of responsibility and ethics, makes the highest officials of Chevron declared that the verdict is a fraud and that they will not recognize the resolution because the Ecuadorian judicial system is corrupt. The funny thing is that when the affected lawyers filed the complaint before a judge in New York in 1993, Texaco requested that the trial is conducted in Ecuador, because the events had occurred in this country under its laws and because they trusted fully in the fairness and effectiveness of the Ecuadorian courts.

“Finally, the judgment? How good is justice when you can manipulate a poor judge when the judge does not accept pressure and bribes?

Chevron-Texaco will appeal the decision and also affected. Justice takes a little longer but someday and that day will show several things: 1 .- now you can not treat the small countries as did the cowboys in the Wild West or the Americans in the ‘banana Countries ‘. 2 .- That the citizens have rights that are universal and appear poor or homeless at some point succeed in raising their voice and fight to defend these rights, and 3 .- The nature can not be treated with contempt, quemeimportismo and absolute irresponsibility and that the cause of such damage must be held accountable for their misdeeds.Chevron-Texaco now gives kick drowned, says it remediated the damage that Ecuador has signed a deed of settlement, that Petroecuador is responsible.

Evidence is seen in the 339 wells drilled and contaminants that still lie in pits stinking as Aguarico 4, Sacha Sur or San Carlos, all silent witnesses to the vandalism of the multinational oil against human beings and the environment.

Karen Hinton

Hinton Communications

1215 19th Street, NW

Washington, DC  20036

karen@hintoncommunications.com

703-798-3109, cellular

480-275-3554, fax by email