Ecuador: indigenous march for land rights

Translated from Milenio

Quito, July 11- Nearly 800 members of the Awá indigenous people, who inhabit northern of Ecuador on the border with Colombia, arrived today in Quito after marching cross-country for several days to demand
the government recognize their rights to "ancestral lands."

According to Awá leader, Byron Chuquisán, their territories, which were handed over to them by the Ecuadorian government in 1986, have since been invaded by illegal loggers who are exploiting timber without any controls.

Chuquisán called for a return of the ancestral lands to exclusive “Awá” control after a “co-management” plan gave access to Afro-Ecuadoran communities who are accused of destroying forests in the zone.

The “Awá” will be received this Tuesday by the acting President of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, temporarily replacing Rafael Correa, who traveled to Europe today.

The “Awá” in Ecuador number 3,100 people who live in the provinces of the north of country: Carchi, Imbabura and Esmeraldas, as well as in Colombia, in the department of Nariño.