Colombia opts for oil over indigenous rights.

• Author: Runyan, Curtis
• Position: Brief Article

The Colombian government in September 1999 granted Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum a license to drill for oil near the lands of the indigenous U'wa people, who in 1997 threatened to commit mass suicide if companies were allowed to drill for oil in their territory.

The ruling comes as a heavy setback to the U'wa, who say the land approved for exploration is part of their traditional territory; which lies about 200 miles northeast of Bogota. "This action once again reveals how the rule of law ...is subsumed by a higher order of decrees and norms which serve local and transnational special interests," said Roberto Perez of the U'wa tribal council. "These interests not only threaten our ways of thinking and...