Protests over fuel prices escalate in Ecuador, oil facilities seized
Press TV – October 8, 2019
Hundreds of people in Ecuador have clashed with security forces as they marched toward the country’s capital of Quito to protest soaring fuel prices.
Riot police and military forces used tear gas to disperse the protesters on Monday after they blocked roads with burning tires and other barricades in the town of Machachi on the outskirts of Quito.
Chanting anti-government slogans, the protesters also attempted to force their way into the National Legislative Assembly in the capital.
Thousands of indigenous people are due to converge on Quito for a protest on Wednesday.
“More than 20,000 indigenous people will be arriving in Quito,” said Jaime Vargas, the leader of the umbrella indigenous organization CONAIE, which was key to driving then-president Jamil Mahuad from office during an economic crisis in 2000.
The protesters, some armed with sticks and whips, hail from southern Andean provinces and are heading to the capital aboard pick-up trucks and on foot.
Meanwhile, Ecuador’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement on Monday that activities in three oil fields in the Amazon region had been suspended “due to the seizure of the facilities by groups of people outside the operation,” without identifying the groups responsible.
The seizures affected 12 percent of the country’s oil production, or 63,250 barrels of crude per day, according to the ministry statement.
The Latin American country has been rocked by days of mass demonstrations since increases of up to 120 percent in fuel prices came into force on October 3.
President Lenin Moreno scrapped fuel subsidies as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain loans despite Ecuador’s high public debt.
The Ecuadorian government says the protests have so far left one civilian dead and 77 injured, the majority of them security forces. A total of 477 people have also been detained.
In a radio and television address on Sunday, Moreno blamed the deterioration in the country’s finances on his predecessor, Rafael Correa, also accusing him of an “attempted coup” and of “using some indigenous groups, taking advantage of their mobilization to plunder and destroy.”
The Ecuadorian president called for dialog with the indigenous community to alleviate their grievances.
“I am committed to a dialog with you, my indigenous brothers, with whom we share so many priorities,” Moreno said in his address. “Let’s talk about how to use our national resources to help those in the greatest need.”
But his plea was met with harsh opposition from Vargas, the indigenous leader.
“We are sick of so much dialog… There have been thousands of calls, thousands and thousands of calls, and until this point, we have not brought out our response,” he said.
Moreno declared a state of emergency in indigenous areas on Thursday, allowing the government to restrict movement and to use the armed forces for maintaining order as well as censoring the press.
Ecuador Protests
Regional news for Ecuador
https://www.antiwar.com/regions/regions.php?c=Ecuador
Ecuador: Public Radio Pulled Off Air Amid Anti-Gov’t Protests
https://www.telesurtv.net/SubSecciones/en/news/latinaamerica/index.html
‘Ecuadoreans Can’t Take It Anymore’: Protesters, Indigenous People March on as Gov’t Flees Capital
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadoreans-Cant-Take-It-Anymore-Protesters-Indigenous-People-March-on-as-Govt-Flees-Capital-20191008-0004.html
Iraq protests
Latest Update 104 Killed and over 6000 injured !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regional news for Iraq
https://www.antiwar.com/regions/regions.php?c=Iraq
Iraq Daily Roundup: 19 Killed; Protest Total Now Exceeds 100 Killed, 4,000 Wounded
https://original.antiwar.com/updates/2019/10/05/iraq-daily-roundup-19-killed-protest-total-now-exceeds-100nbspkilled-4000nbspwounded/
(And by the way for the sad and authentic latest about the Afghanistan-Disaster-Debacle go there
http://www.rawa.org/kathy.htm (scroll down)… just recent:
Russia accuses US of transferring Daesh to northern Afghanistan
Inside Afghanistan: Nearly Half of Afghan Women Want to Leave
40 civilians, including children, reported killed in Afghan commando strike
Afghanistan: US confirms drone attack that killed 30 farmers
39 dead, 95 wounded in Taliban car bomb attack on hospital in Afghanistan
Afghanistan war: The BBC confirms 473 civilians killed and 786 injured in August
Inside Afghanistan: Nearly Nine in 10 Afghans Are Suffering)
Haiti protests without end
Regional news for Haiti
https://www.antiwar.com/regions/regions.php?c=Haiti
Haiti: Massive Protests Continue Calling for Presidents Removal
OCTOBER 2, 2019
https://unac.notowar.net/2019/10/02/haiti-massive-protests-continue-calling-for-presidents-removal/pro-independence
Yellow Vest – on-going – over 48 weeks long -protest summary
https://caucus99percent.com/content/yellow-vest-protest-summary
11 dead (mostly traffic accidents)
2,500 injured
(23 !!!! protesters lost an eye,
five lost a hand,
three a leg (not mentioned by the webside but according to areyouayellowvest.com )
and at least one a testicle thanks to police beatings)
50,000 arrested !!!!!!!!
26% President Macron approval rate
11 Dead, 2,500 Injured: Putin Recalls Macron His ‘Yellow Vests’ Record
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Putin-Recalls-Macron-His-Yellow-Vests-Record-20190819-0018.html
Macron booed & told to ‘step down’ during Bastille Day parade in Paris (VIDEO)
https://www.rt.com/news/464136-people-boo-macron-parade/
Catalan referendum + pro-independence protests
Catalonia: a year on, political prisoners go unnoticed by the rest of the world
More than a year on from these events, ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont remains in exile
in Belgium. Another six pro-independence leaders remain in exile! Two activists and seven politicians
remain in custody. They have been charged by Spain’s attorney general with rebellion and misuse of
“public funds”.
https://theconversation.com/catalonia-a-year-on-political-prisoners-go-unnoticed-by-the-rest-of-the-world-106411
700k protest police violence in Barcelona, Catalonia stages general strike\
https://www.sott.net/article/363598-700k-protest-police-violence-in-Barcelona-Catalonia-stages-general-strike
EU Parliament defends ‘proportionate force’ after brutal Catalan referendum crackdown
https://www.rt.com/news/405704-eu-police-force-catalonia-independence/
‘Double standard & hypocrisy’: Serbian president on EU denouncement of Catalan referendum
https://www.rt.com/news/405452-vucic-kosovo-catalonia-eu-hypocrisy/
Catalonia defies Madrid’s attempt to take over local police, as chief refuses to comply
https://www.rt.com/news/404328-madrid-sieze-control-catalan-police/
Catalan president gives instructions on Twitter after referendum website blocked
https://www.rt.com/news/403631-catalan-president-gives-referendum-instructions/
Ahhhh… and then – indeed – the current WEST’s most loved & pushed protests… Hong Kong.
The only thing I want to add further is actually the BACKGROUND of HOW it really was under
the BRITISH…
https://www.newcoldwar.org/the-real-history-of-britains-relations-with-hong-kong/
The real history of Britain’s relations with Hong Kong – July 16, 2019
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