ATALC, with members in many Latin American countries, is concerned and on the alert over the wave of persecutions and murders of social leaders in the region.

“ATALC expresses solidarity with Marlon Lozano Yulan’s family, while it repudiates this new assault against the life of a social leader, something which, unfortunately happens too often and with total impunity in Latin America”.

Meanwhile, the environmental network expresses “its most heartfelt solidarity with all the comrades of Tierra y Vida, and other Ecuadorian organizations that go through similar atrocities on a regular basis”.

On July 20, two hooded hired assassins shot Marlon Lozano Yulan in Guayaquil’s down town. The young activist died as a result. Tierra y Vida’s ad hoc Secretary, Raquel Silva, told Real World Radio that the deadly attack was addressed at the organization’s legal advisor, attorney Milton Yulan, who is related to Marlon.

Tierra y Vida focused its work on defending the right to ownership of the peasants in Guayas province over lands that used to belong to estate owners and bankers until the 2000 banking crisis, when they were confiscated.

Tierra y Vida suspects that sectors opposed to land distribution, which defend land concentration in the hands of corporations and economic groups were involved in the murder of the young activist.

“In response to these incidents, ATALC calls the social movements and grassroots organizations of the region to strengthen their solidarity”, reads its statement. “We also demand the Ecuadorian authorities to carry out the necessary investigations to clarify the murder of Marlon Lozano Yulan, and to punish the responsible”.

ATALC also made a special call to Ecuadorian and regional authorities in charge of enforcing human rights, the judiciary and human rights organizations to implement the necessary mechanisms “to prevent acts like this, which go against the right to peaceful protest”.

On May 24, producer Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espirito Santo, were murdered. They were known in Para state for their struggle for land and defense of the Amazon forest.

Three days later, in Rondonia state, Adelino Ramos was also killed while he was selling vegetables in the state’s capital. He had exposed the actions of big wood corporations in the border between the states of Acre, Amazonia and Rondonia. Hundreds of Brazilian environmental activists have received death threats according to the Land Pastoral Commission.
In Central America, the death threats and persecution of social leaders have become part of the daily reality. The case of Honduras, with a government that succeeded the dictatorship, is the most concerning one.

On July 14, Nery Jeremias Orellana was murdered. He was a 26 year-old journalist who worked with social movements and who was a member of the Broad Front of Popular Resistance. 14 media workers were murdered in Honduras in 2010.

The persecution and murder of social leaders in Latin America, besides the criminalization of the social protest, are especially worrisome for the environmental network Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean. The statement concludes: “ATALC keeps on the alert over the current violence against social movements in Ecuador and the region!”.

Photo: atiargentina.blogspot.com