Ecuador to close schools in Quito after protests

Ecuador to close schools in Quito after protests

26 Jan 2006 00:07:06 GMT
Source: Reuters

QUITO, Ecuador, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Ecuadorean government on Wednesday ordered all schools to be closed in the capital to try and defuse violent student protests.

The Ministry of Education said classes in Quito's public and private schools will be suspended on Thursday in response to clashes over the past two weeks between riot police and hundreds of high school and university students armed with sticks and rocks.

The students are protesting against possible increase in public transportation fares and demanding that the government issue student identification cards that would allow them to get fare discounts.

The police arrested 192 students last week. No deaths have been reported but dozens of policemen and students have been treated for minor injuries, according to the Red Cross.

If the protests continue schools could also close on Friday, an education ministry spokeswoman said.

------------------------------------------------------------

Students Protest Trade Pact

On January 12 some 3,000 Ecuadoran high school and university students protested in front of the Carondelet government palace in Quito to demand that Ecuador withdraw from negotiations over a Free Trade Treaty (TLC) with Peru, Colombia and the U.S. (known in English as the Andean Free Trade Agreement). The students were also protesting a U.S. military base established in 1999 in the coastal city of Manta, and demanding that the Ecuadoran government cancel its contract with the U.S. oil company Occidental (Oxy). Police broke up the protests with tear gas. (EFE 1/12/06; Prensa Latina 1/12/06)

The protests continued on January 13, as did police repression. Students threw rocks at police, and agents fired hundreds of tear gas grenades at protesters. More than 50 students were arrested and at least 20 were injured, according to Magdalena Vélez, president of the Popular Front, a coalition of grassroots and labor groups. One police agent fired into the air and pointed his gun at several youth, allegedly to stop them from taking a police motorcycle which had stalled in the middle of the protest. Vélez said student protests also took place in the provinces of Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Esmeraldas, Guayas and Manabí. (El Diario-La Prensa (NY) 1/14/06 from EFE; PL 1/13/06)

Following a break over the weekend, students resumed their protests on January 16 after Minister of Government Alfredo Castillo suggested that a bus fare hike—demanded by transport owner-operators—was “inevitable.” Castillo said the dollarization of Ecuador’s economy, in effect since 2000, has created economic distortions and has made vehicle parts more expensive. Since 2000, the U.S. dollar has lost nearly 50 percent of its acquisition power in Ecuador, said Castillo.

“We reject, emphatically, an increase in fares,” said Marcelo Rivera, a leader of the Federation of University Students of Ecuador (FEUE). “ . . .[W]e have no choice but to continue with the mobilizations.” (EFE 1/17/06) Marches continued every day throughout the week; in addition to protesting the TLC, the Oxy contract and the Manta base, students were rejecting any bus fare hike, demanding student ID cards, protesting the police repression and demanding the release of the arrested demonstrators. (PL 1/20/06) The January 18 arrival in Ecuador of Florida governor Jeb Bush, brother of U.S. president George W. Bush, further stoked the protests. Jeb Bush went to Ecuador to promote the TLC. (Adital 1/19/06)

On January 19, Castillo tried to calm the protesters by promising that bus fares would not be increased. Castillo also admitted that the police had committed “excesses” in their crackdowns on the protests. (Púlsar 1/19/06) Castillo’s comments failed to stem either the protests or the repression. The Red Cross reported that 123 people were injured and more than 20 arrested in protests on January 19. By January 20, according to police, at least 142 people had been injured and 139 arrested. (AFP 1/20/06; PL 1/20/06)

The Ecumenical Commission on Human Rights (CEDHU) condemned the repression and reported that police assigned to the National Congress have been illegally detaining and torturing young protesters in bathrooms and other areas of the building. According to testimony gathered by the commission, students have been punched, kicked, beaten and sprayed in the eyes and mouth with tear gas, and have been held for hours before being transferred to jails. The agents have also insulted and attacked human rights workers who try to assist the detainees, said CEDHU. (Adital 1/19/06)

On January 17, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) announced it was calling for a popular uprising to bring down all three branches of government: the Congress, President Alfredo Palacio and his ministers, and the judges. “They have not been capable of resolving the problems, for that reason we will rise up from below to reorganize the country,” said CONAIE in a communiqué. CONAIE is also demanding the suspension of negotiations over the TLC, the expulsion of Oxy from Ecuador, nationalization of the country’s oil resources and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Manta. (AFP 1/17/06) The Unitary Workers Front (FUT), Ecuador’s main union federation, is demanding a 20 percent increase in the minimum wage and says that if bus fares go up, it will join in mass mobilizations and possibly a general strike. (EFE 1/17/06)

Peru finished its TLC negotiations with the U.S. in December; Colombia and Ecuador are still in talks with the U.S. over details of the pact. (EFE 1/12/06).

This item comes from Weekly News Update on the Americas #834, 1/23/06. For subscription information, go to the Weekly News Update page on AMERICAS.ORG.