Conaie reiterated that protests will not end until the decree is revoked.
An hour after President Lenin Moreno invited the Indigenous groups and other civil society groups to “dialogue,” the National Police bombarded the protesters with live ammunition and tear gas, from armed vehicles in front of the National Assembly.
Ecuadorian social scientist, Aquiles Hervas, said from the scene: “We have just witnessed a vile betrayal. [Authorities] accepted the crowd’s arrival outside the assembly in order to talk shortly after the president’s announcement. Once they had approached [the building], the police fired at close range while people were eating soup. Several children were trampled by the terrified crowd. It is a war scene with unarmed people, several were injured.”
After the unexpected attacks, the Ecuadorian Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) released a statement calling this one of the “worst massacres in Ecuadorian history” and dismissed Moreno’s recent invitation to dialogue, saying the group has been “trying to dialogue with the government for two and a half years” when the Moreno administration entered office, “but with no specific results.”
Conaie President Jaime Vargas told teleSUR that the government is using “live ammunition” against the people. “These aren’t rubble bullets,” he said showing the camera gun casing left behind by National Police forces. “These have a range of 30-60 meters. They are murdering us,” Vargas added.
The Conaie reiterated that protests will not end until the decree is revoked.
This article originally appeared on teleSUR English.
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