Six people have died and nearly 100 have been injured since the start of the indigenous protests in Ecuador 11 days ago, the latest report from an alliance of human rights organizations showed on Friday.
Clashes between police and protesters left three more dead on Thursday, these organizations said in the report.
New balance points to three dead and 100 injured in indigenous demonstrations in Ecuador
In the capital, Quito, a 39-year-old protester was shot dead, and another young man was also killed. In Caspigasi, on the outskirts of Quito, an indigenous man died in a confrontation with soldiers.
According to the army, the confrontation in Caspigasi seriously injured 17 soldiers who were guarding a convoy They were transporting food and were “attacked by a violent group.”
According to police, 74 officers have been injured since June 13. According to the alliance, there were 92 injuries and 94 arrests among protesters in the same period.
On Thursday afternoon, several thousand indigenous people entered the Quito House of Culture, a traditional meeting place for indigenous people in the capital that had been requested by the police, and whose opening was one of the conditions for starting negotiations.
The government authorized the protesters to enter the cultural center, “in the interest of dialogue and peace”declared the Minister of Government, Francisco Jiménez.
EITHER “The goal is to end street blockades, violent demonstrations and attacks in different places.“, added the minister, in a video released to the media.
Shortly afterwards, however, a group of protesters, led by women, attempted to enter the neighboring parliament building, only to be stopped by the police, who used tear gas and stun grenades.
Some 14,000 demonstrators participated in demonstrations throughout the country to protest the increase in the cost of living and demand, in particular, a drop in fuel prices, according to police data, which estimates that the capital Quito received 10,000 protesters.
The indigenous people demand that the state of emergency decreed by the government in six provinces be lifted to stop the protests.
The government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso, for its part, rejects this demand and guarantees that the demands of the protesters, only on the price of fuel, would cost the State more than a billion dollars a year.
Source: Observadora
