From: info@circleoflifefoundation.org 18.07.2002 00.02 Uhr Hi COL friends, The following is an update on Julia's activities in Ecuador. Along with Amazon Watch (www.amazonwatch.org) activists, and local citizens in Ecuador, Julia is opposing the construction of a very destructive oil pipeline. Please take note of the action request following the press release below. This arrest was planned, and we have been encouraged by the media attention that this arrest has created. We expect Julia to be released soon - it would be a major embarrassment to the Ecuadorian government to hold her much longer. And of course the longer she is in prison, the more media will pick up the story. ************ For immediate release: July 17, 2002 Circle of Life contact: Julia Scott js@circleoflifefoundation.org #510.601.9790 Julia Butterfly Hill arrested in Ecuador oil protest Occidental Petroleum¹s Quito office shut down by protesters (Quito, Ecuador)‹Police arrested Julia Butterfly Hill and at least 7 other peaceful protestors outside the Quito offices of US oil company Occidental Petroleum (OXY) yesterday. Most of those arrested represent Ecuadorian communities adversely affected by the new OCP (Oleoductor de Crudos Pesados) pipeline being built by Oxy. Community representatives from Mindo, Esmeraldas, Lago Agrio and Shushufindi, along with members of Acción Ecológica and Amazon Watch, had arrived at the Oxy offices with Julia Butterfly for a 3pm meeting with senior officials to discuss the environmental and social impacts of the project. Upon arrival, the delegation was refused entrance to the meeting at which time the crowd peacefully began to protest their exclusion. Shortly thereafter the arrests were made. In some cases, police acted violently kicking community representatives, and dragging them by the hair to throw them against vehicles. Amazon Watch lawyers have issued a writ of Habeas Corpus for wrongful arrest, and the defendants are preparing for a hearing tomorrow. Julia has said that she will not leave jail until her fellow protesters are also given their freedom. Hill gained international recognition for her two-year tree-sit atop Luna, an ancient 1000+ year-old redwood in Humboldt County, California that was destined to be felled. Before her arrest at around 5pm Quito time, Julia Butterfly said: "I am here working to help the people affected by oil exploitation to have their chance to be heard. Why can¹t Oxy look these affected people in the eye?" The protest still continues with the crowd largely comprised of individuals whose homes and communities are threatened by the controversial pipeline. Oxy finally agreed to meet with community representatives yesterday evening. Julia arrived in Quito on July 9 to express solidarity with communities resisting the construction of the new OCP oil pipeline through Ecuador¹s fragile tropical forests. The controversial pipeline, now under construction in the prized Mindo Cloudforest Reserve, has met fierce opposition along its 300-mile route. The Reserve is an unparalleled epicenter of biodiversity and home to more than 450 species of birds‹46 threatened by extinction. The Mindo community, inspired by forest defense tactics used in North America, staged a three month tree sit to physically halt construction. This action is the first of its kind in South America. Mindo residents also discovered on July 15 that construction had advanced 200 meters inside the Guarumos property legally owned by the community without their agreement. Residents put the OCP and police on notice that they are illegally trespassing on private lands. Meanwhile, German Bank WestLB, continues to come under fire for syndicating a $900 million loan to the OCP in violation of its own lending policies. The loan, which does not meet minimum World Bank environmental guidelines, has sparked public outrage in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia (NWR), which holds a 43 percent stake in WestLB. In recent months, several German government delegations have visited Ecuador to investigate the issue. Los Angeles-based Occidental is a key member of the OCP consortium, and is planning significant expansion of its Ecuador operations in pristine Amazon ecosystems, in expectation of the pipeline¹s completion. According to government sources, the majority of Amazon crude that will flow through the OCP pipeline is destined for markets on the West Coast of the United States. The OCP Consortium includes: Alberta Energy (Canada), Occidental Petroleum (OXY- USA), AGIP (Italy), Repsol-YPF (Spain), Perez Companc (Argentina), and Techint (Argentina). The US Bank JP Morgan Chase is the financial advisor for the project. ### **************************************************************************** ** Actions you can take: (1) Contact the Ecuadorean consulate and show your support for Julia and the protesters. Call them in San Francisco: (415) 982-1819, or in Washington, D.C.: (202) 234-7200. (2) Telephone, FAX or write to Occidental Petroleum at 10889 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90024, ph.: (310) 208-8800, FAX: (310) 443-6690. (3) E-mail the financiers of the project immediately and demand they cancel the pipeline loan (see sample letter and addresses below): EMAIL TO ALL THREE ADDRESSES: presse@westlb.de manfred_knoll@westlb.com wolfgang.clement@landtag.nrw.de Dear Sirs, I am writing to bring your attention to an environmental and social tragedy in the making-- one that you have the power to avert. The new OCP oil pipeline in Ecuador will bring devastation to the communities, protected ecosystems and pristine rainforests along its 300-mile route. The OCP pipeline route affects eleven protected areas, and cuts through the middle of the Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest Reserve and surrounding ecologically sensitive forests, an area designated as the first "Important Bird Area" of South America which contains over 450 species of birds. At his moment, affected community members and environmentalists are occupying the forest and trees within the Reserve to prevent any further destruction of this rare forest. The pipeline will lead to the doubling of oil production in the Ecuadorian Amazon, threatening the country's protected areas and last remaining old growth rainforest, much of which falls on the territories of several isolated indigenous communities. A doubling of oil production of this magnitude will severely impact the Afro-Ecuadorian communities of Esmeraldas, who suffer from chronic contamination from the country's only refinery. I urge you to visit these communities to listen to their protests. I find unacceptable and incomprehensible the lack of transparency and accountability shown by OCP financiers. The German financing bank WestLB and the major capital holders of the bank, the German Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), represented by the government of NRW, made the decision to finance the OCP project without ever having visited the region, consulted its population, or thoroughly reviewed the true impacts of the project. The bank's claims that the OCP follows World Bank guidelines are unfounded. The OCP violates the Bank's Natural Habitat Policy. This policy requires that critical habitats (such as the Mindo protected area) be avoided altogether. Furthermore, World Bank guidelines require that strategic environmental impact assessments be carried out that assesses the long-term impacts-such as additional wells, flow lines, and refineries-and ensures that serious negative impacts are mitigated or avoided. It is a travesty of justice that WestLB and the government of NRW are willing to finance a project in Ecuador that would never be approved in Germany because of egregious social, economical and environmental impacts. This pipeline project places fragile ecosystems, countless endangered and threatened species, and hundreds of communities in jeopardy and could lead to irreversible destruction of Ecuador's national parks and frontier forests. The OCP Environmental Impact Assessment, funded by the companies that will benefit from the project, is seriously flawed. In line with the concerns of Mrs. Baerbel Hoehn, Minister of Environment for NRW, I urge you to cancel immediately all loan disbursement to the OCP project. I also call on you to end financing of oil exploration and production in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Sincerely, [Date, your name and address]