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Ecuadorean anti-trade protests wane, talks start
24 Mar 2006 02:10:50 GMT
Source: Reuters
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By Alonso Soto QUITO, ECUADOR, March 23 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean troops
firing tear gas cleared Indian protesters from highways they
had blocked as protests against a U.S. free-trade deal waned
and officials began talks with Washington over the pact. Thousands of Indian peasants have blockaded roads with
piles of rubble and burning tires since last week to pressure
the government to abandon trade talks. The protesters, many of
whom are potato or corn farmers, fear that that they will not
be able to compete with U.S. products. Three people were wounded in clashes between rock-hurling
protesters and troops clearing roadblocks in the northern
province of Imbabura. One soldier was pelted by rocks and two
protesters were hit by riot gas canisters or shotgun pellets,
witnesses said. But in a sign of deepening divisions between protesters,
Indian leaders from the central highlands and Amazon region
squabbled and yelled during meetings in Quito and their
demonstration lost momentum. "The government wants the Indians to halt protests so we
can start a dialogue," Enrique Proano, the president's
spokesman, told reporters. He added the protests had cost the
Andean country $223 million in lost trade. Police in Quito fired tear gas to force small pockets of
Indian and high school student protesters to end a march
through the city's colonial downtown. But most key roads in
Quito remained calm with businesses open as usual. The skirmishes come two days after President Alfredo
Palacio declared a state of emergency in five provinces to
quell protests that have become the latest headache for his
weakened government before elections in October. Ecuadorean and U.S. negotiators met in Washington for what
could be the final round of trade talks. Ecuador, which started Andean trade pact talks in May 2004,
has been deadlocked with the United States, mostly over
agricultural issues. Neighboring Colombia and Peru have reached
trade agreements with Washington. Palacio, a 67-year-old cardiologist who came to power after
his predecessor was fired by Congress, has vowed to continue
with the trade talks despite the protests. But his government seemed to be gaining the upper hand as a
meeting among Indians leaders huddled in a Quito theater
dissolved into shouting matches. Some leaders said highlands
Indians decided to return home to restart protests next week
but Amazonian Indians, who marched to Quito, disagreed. "We walked for ten days and now you are telling us to go
back home," wailed a young Amazon Indian woman with her face
painted and wearing a feathered necklace. "That's not fair." The Ecuadorean Indian movement, once one of the most
powerful in Latin America, has lost much of its force in recent
years due to disputes between its leaders. Indians make up
around 30 percent of Ecuador's 13 million population.
(Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia)

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