ECUADORIAN ACTIVISTS BLOCKADE OCP PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

PHONE CALLS NEEDED TO INSURE THEIR SAFETY AND CANCEL THE PROJECT



Beginning October 11, 2001 dozens of women, many accompanied by their children, began to peacefully blockade construction of the OCP pipeline through the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest in Ecuador. After months of exhausting legal options to reroute this environmentally disastrous pipeline, local activists have escalated their attempts to save this world renowned cloud forest. The activists from Accion Ecologica and local impacted communities have placed their bodies inthe path of destruction and say they will maintain a resistance camp in order to call international attention to their defense of endangered species and ecosystems. German Bank, West LB, is the financial advisor to the project. Citigroup is the primary backer of OCP consortium member, Argentinean oil company Perez Companc. Perez Compac and Citi are already set up to benefit from the new oil boom which the pipeline will facilitate since Perez owns drilling rights to two controversial drilling blocks within Yasuni National Park. Oil exploration in these fragile areas is set to begin any time.

TAKE ACTION!

CALL Citi's investor relations :

1-888-250-3985 and dial 0 until you reach a human operator .Tell them to use their influence to halt this destructive project and to stop funding destructive activities such as fossil fuel development and logging.

CALL/FAX the Ecuadorian Embassy in DC :

Tel. 202-2347200 Fax 202-667-3482

Let them know that the world is watching to insure that these activists are allowed to voice their dissent in safety. Tell them that you are a potential eco-tourist who doesn't want to see Ecuador's spectacular forest reserves like the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest threatened by the OCP pipeline.

Call the NY offices of German bank West LB at 212-852-6000

Tell them to cancel the project and redirect their investments towards renewable energy development that will help the people of Ecuador without threatening biological and cultural diversity.

ORGANIZE SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATIONS at you local Ecuadorian consulate. The locations of all Ecuadorian consulates in North America are at

http://www.ecuador.org/visa.html#ConsulatesofEcuador

For a full background info on OCP and oil development's destructive legacy in Ecuador See Amazon Watch's Report "The New Heavy Crude Pipeline in Ecuador: Fueling a Second Oil Boom in the Amazon" at

www.amazonwatch.org

For more resources and assistance in organize against Citigroup in your community check out www.ran.org or contact Rainforest Action Network at 1-800-989-RAIN or email organize@ran.org



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#2

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2001

Contacts: In US:

Ilyse Hogue, Rainforest Action Network: 415-398-4404,

Janet Lloyd, Amazon Watch: 310-455-0617

In Ecuador: