On June 28 a meeting was held in Quito, under the title of “International Forum: The Impacts of the Spraying of Crops, Typified as “Illicit Activity”, and the Armed Conflict. Responses of the Indigenous Amazon Peoples of the Boundaries”. Amazonian indigenous peoples from Ecuador, Colombia, Perú and Brazil met to discuss a joint proposal for defending their traditional ways of life and environment in the face of Plan Colombia. The proposal will be addressed to their respective governments and to the United States in the coming months. Simultaneously, the groups will work on proposals for indigenous education, health and social development. Miguel Rodriguez, of the Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon remarked, “Our most important concern is the violence. Plan Colombia has not been beneficial for us.”
