July 9, 2000

The Case of the U'wa

by Garry Leech

On the morning of June 24, the Colombian army entered the territory of the indigenous U'wa in the department of Norte de Santander and attacked members of the tribe that were protesting the oil exploration on their traditional lands by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy). The military used tear gas and physically assaulted the U'wa demonstrators, several of them were taken to hospital.

This military operation followed a similar one on February 11 that violently cleared a road blockade and resulted in the disappearance of three indigenous children. The body of one of the children was found shortly after the military attack. The strong-arm tactics of the Colombian military are being used to keep access roads open for the drilling crews of Occidental Petroleum.

Oxy continues its exploration work in spite of a threatened mass suicide by 5,000 indigenous U'wa if they lose the ongoing battle in the Colombian courts over control of their traditional lands. The case is currently waiting to be heard by the Constitutional Court, Colombia's highest court. Under the 1991 Constitution, any corporation planning to work in the vicinity of indigenous lands, or whose activities will affect indigenous people or their lands, must seek approval from the indigenous tribe that will be effected. According to U'wa representative Ebaristo Tegria Uncaria, Occidental failed to discuss its oil exploration and drilling plans with the U'wa.

Over the last 60 years, many colonizers have illegally settled on U'wa lands and finally, several years ago, the Colombian government acknowledged that the lands belonged to the U'wa and decided the colonizers had to go. However, Colombian law allows squatters who have lived on the same land for 20 years the rights to that land. The government decided to purchase the land from the colonizers for approximately $20 million, but the colonizers still remain on U'wa land because the government has only managed to raise $6.5 million. At the same time, the Ministry of the Environment definitively drew the boundaries of the U'wa territory and strategically left outside the boundary a piece of land that had traditionally belonged to the U'wa.

It just so happened that Occidental Petroleum and its partner in this venture, Royal Dutch Shell, were interested in this particular piece of land. Furthermore, the Ministry of the Environment is also the government department responsible for handing out concessions to corporations interested in exploiting Colombia's natural resources, including oil. Royal Dutch Shell has since backed out of the project, citing human rights and public relations concerns.

When the U'wa protested the newly-drawn property lines, the government offered them two other small pieces of land that adjoined their territory. The U'wa turned down the offer because the River Cubogon runs through the land that contains the Oxy drilling site. This is the principal river in the U'wa territory and the tribe is concerned about possible environmental damage and the fact that newly-built oil access roads will result in a new wave of colonization in the region. The oil camp is located only 150 feet from the river and if the history of Oxy's Arauca pipeline is anything to go by, it will inevitably become an environmental hazard. Guerrilla forces have attacked the Arauca pipeline 473 times in the last 11 years, resulting in 1.5 million barrels of crude being spilled into the fragile ecosystem--the total amount of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez was 36,000 barrels.

In his testimony to the United States Congress in support of the Clinton Administration's $1.3 billion aid package for Colombia, Oxy vice-president Lawrence P. Meriage used the old Cold War tactic of associating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with Marxist guerrillas. In reference to Oxy's oil exploration in U'wa teritory, he claimed that, "Only two groups are intent on blocking the project--leftist guerrillas who seek to undermine the country's democratically elected government and several fringe non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the U.S. Both groups are united in their opposition to oil exploration and development."

Historically in Latin America, such irresponsible linking of NGOs to Marxist guerrilla groups has endangered the lives of many human, labor and indigenous rights workers. This still remains the case in Colombia where NGO workers have been repeatedly targeted by armed factions, especially right-wing paramilitaries. Last year, three U.S. human rights activists who were working with the U'wa in Colombia were kidnapped and killed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This abhorrent act was an unusual strategy for a guerrilla group to use against its "supposed" allies if indeed, as Meriage stated, "Both groups are united in their opposition to oil exploration and development."

In his testimony, Meriage failed to point out that paramilitaries sympathetic to Oxy's economic interests have attacked and threatened to kill several U'wa representatives, including U'wa leader, Roberto Cobaria. According to U'wa representative Tegria Uncario, the decision on Oxy's oil exploration rights in U'wa territory is a political one and part of Plan Colombia. Occidental's lobbying of the U.S. Congress helped the Colombian government get the $1.3 billion aid package it so desperately wanted.

Meanwhile, in the United States, presidential candidate and current vice-president Al Gore Jr. has sidestepped questions during his campaign regarding his connection to Occidental. His father, Al Gore Sr., was vice-president and a board member of Oxy for decades and Al Gore Jr., the environmental candidate, owns approximately $500,000 in Oxy stock. Occidental has also been a major contributor to Democratic campaigns, including a $100,000 donation to the Democratic National Committee in 1996 by Oxy chairman Ray Irani, just two days after he slept in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House.

In the meantime, the U'wa continue to protest while they pursue all legal means available in order to protect their traditional lands and culture in the face of continued military aggression. International NGOs continue to help the U'wa in their fight against corporate greed and political expediency, in spite of irresponsible comments by corporate executives that place the lives of NGO workers in Colombia at increased risk. It has been suggested that there is only enough oil beneath the U'wa territory to supply U.S. energy needs for three months. The price of 90 days of oil could be untold environmental damage and the death of 5,000 U'wa.

This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).

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