U'wa - Colombia indigenous people denounces Occidental Oil Co

Bogota, March 11, 1999

Doctor Juan Mayor Maldonado
Minister of the Environment

Dear Minister Maldonado:

I am writing to formally request that you not grant Occidental 
Corporation of Colombia's request for environmental license to 
conduct activities related to oil in the areas of Samore and Gibraltar, 
which are part of the municipality of Toledo in the department of 
Norte de Santander. 

We ask that you deny this multinational corporation's request for the 
following reasons, which the U'wa people have tirelessly proclaimed: 

(1) the region in question is part of their ancestral territory, and they 
are currently claiming these lands to incorporate them into the only 
U'wa reservation, about which they have been negotiating with 
INCORA for some time; and 
(2) that all their land is sacred, and, as such, should be respected and 
cared for.

As you know better than anyone in the government, the U'wa 
people's claim and position is supported by both national and 
international law. More than anything, however, their demand is 
based upon a greater right, which originates in Natural Law. This law, 
as they say, has always existed, since before the sun and the moon 
were created. 

I hope that you, with the many years you have dedicated to 
understanding the indigenous world and the territories that sustain 
it, will not make a decision that contradicts your life's path. Such a 
decision could lead to a denial of the rights of our people and a new 
source of suffering and waste for the U'wa People and for all of their 
brothers, sisters and friends within our country and without.

You can be sure of one thing, Mr. Minister: that any decision that 
negatively affects our brothers, any measure that goes against their 
undeniable right to preserve the integrity of their land and their 
culture, will cause a new unity of spirit and forces among all of us 
who believe that Mother Earth is not here to have her blood shed by 
a few men who cannot see past the dollar signs. 

I await your decision in this matter, which I trust will be based in 
respect for the cultural diversity which characterizes it. 

Respectfully,
LORENZO MUELAS HURTADO
Movement of Indigenous Authorities of Colombia (Movimiento 
Autoridades Indigenas de Colombia) 

cc: Cabildo Mayor U'wa ONIC
Dr. Humberto Martinez Neira, Minister of the Interior
Dr. Ivo Garcia Vargas, General Division for Indigenous Matters 
Dra. Blanca Lucia Echeverry, Public Defender 
Dr. Guillermo Acevedo, Subdivision for Environmental Licenses, 
Minambiente Occidental de Colombia

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