Prosecutor’s Office begins investigation against Jaime Vargas for his call to create “own army”

The Government Ministry delivered the Indigenous leader statements.

Due to the statements of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) President, Jaime Vargas, in which he called for the creation of an “own army” of the Indigenous movement, the Prosecutor’s Office began a previous investigation, based on Article 349 of the Organic Integral Criminal Code (COIP) on subversive groups.

“The person who promotes, directs or participates in armed organizations, commandos, combat groups, terrorist groups, aimed at subverting public order, replacing the Armed Forces and National Police, attacking or interfering with their normal work, will be sanctioned with penalty custodial from five to seven years,” the COIP says.

In Morona Santiago, last Saturday, the CONAIE leader said: “We are going to organize with our former combatants. We have to form our own army to defend the people. Our own security from our communities.”

Today morning, the Government Ministry delivered these statements to the Prosecutor’s Office. Presidency’s Particular Secretary, Juan Sebastian Roldan tweeted: “committing crimes complicates the dialogue. As a Government, we will not remain silent in the face of an out of place call, to form an army.”

In a statement, Vargas explained: “On Indigenous Guard formation -which is born from our right to self-determination and is a constitutive part of constitutionally recognized legal pluralism- it aims to follow the surveillance path, control, alarm, protection and defense of our territories and our people, in coordination with traditional authorities and the entire community. ”

He added that there was a decontextualization by media outlets about his statements in Morona Santiago.

Source: Pichincha Universal