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Clashes between police and protesters in Quito during the third day of demonstrations against the government of Ecuador

2022-06-16T07:21:57.024Z


During the closing of the third day of national mobilization called by the indigenous leadership in Ecuador, there were clashes between members of the Police and protesters who reached the historic center of Quito, the capital, to protest against the government of President Guillermo Lasso.


Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza released in Ecuador 3:22

(CNN Spanish) -- 

During the closing of the third day of national mobilization called by the indigenous leadership in Ecuador, there were clashes between members of the Police and protesters who reached the historic center of Quito, the capital, to protest against the government. of President Guillermo Lasso.

The Police reported that the protesters, including student groups, arrived on Wednesday night to the Plaza de Santo Domingo where they struggled with members of the public force and tried to break the metal fences placed in the streets surrounding the Carondelet Palace, seat of government. .

The Secretary of Security and Governance of the municipality of Quito reported that during these confrontations damage was recorded in heritage buildings and in the public space of the colonial center.

Quito Mayor Santiago Guarderas said earlier that he would not allow acts of violence in the capital.

VERONICA LOMBEIDA/AFP via Getty Images

The Police showed a video on their Twitter account where you can see damaged traffic lights and the forcible removal of cobblestones and sewage grids in the Plaza de Santo Domingo.

“Protesters carry out acts of vandalism in the historic center of Quito.

They will be identified and placed under the orders of the competent authority,” the police added in their tweet.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), which has been leading the national mobilization since Monday in some provinces of Ecuador, demands that the government reduce fuel prices, address the problem of unemployment, regulate the prices of farm products and combat the crime, among other demands.

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Conaie insists that it will maintain the stoppage.

Its president, Leonidas Iza, called for a peaceful demonstration and assures that his mobilization does not have vandalism overtones.

openness to dialogue

Road closures are still maintained in some provinces of the Sierra and in part of the Amazon.

In-person classes are also suspended in more than 3,000 educational establishments in the provinces where incidents are recorded.

The Minister of Government, Francisco Jiménez, during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, said that the government is open to dialogue and there could be the mediation of organizations that have been willing to do so, but he did not want to reveal which ones.

“We have no problem sitting down to dialogue directly or mediated by third parties, so that it is impartial.

We want solutions for all Ecuadorians”, said Jiménez.

The Government Minister assured that "the conflictive events have been substantially reduced."

And he did not rule out that the dialogue could be direct with the president of Conaie, Leonidas Iza, as long as he respects the law.

Iza leads the call for mobilizations and has indicated that the protests will continue if the government does not respond to its list of demands on economic matters.

The UN calls for lowering tensions

The United Nations System in Ecuador spoke through a statement this Wednesday about the protests in the Andean country.

The UN made a call for peace, lower tensions and seek ways of dialogue.

"The UN calls on social actors to exercise their right to protest peacefully, within the framework of the rule of law and the necessary coexistence and social peace," the statement said.

Kidnapped police officers, wounded soldiers, attacked journalist and arrests

The Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, informed the press on Wednesday that 63 incidents have been recorded during the days of protest;

especially in the province of Cotopaxi, which he considered to be the "epicenter of vandalism."

In addition, Carrillo said that protest actions are maintained in Imbabura and partial closures of the accesses to Quito.

Minister Carrillo reported that in Cotopaxi 7 police officers were reported being held by a community and that this constitutes the crime of "kidnapping".

He added that he is working with the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Police, the Red Cross and other organizations to secure his release.

According to the Minister of the Interior, there have been more than 20 arrests and the opening of 41 fiscal instructions due to the demonstrations in which acts of vandalism have been registered that have left 15 patrol cars disabled.

The Police also ruled on an incident involving a journalist in Latacunga who was attacked by police officers.

Through a statement he apologized to the journalist of a local media that he was kicked and beaten, according to a video of the coverage of the protests.

“The Police have arranged for the National Directorate of Internal Affairs to start an administrative process in which the responsibility of police officers in the event is determined.

All police procedure is subject to evaluation and control, ”says the Police statement.

On the other hand, the Armed Forces said that during the surveillance operations in strategic areas of the State, the installations of the Limoncocha oil station were prevented from being taken over by demonstrators.

During the operation, according to the Armed Forces, 10 of their soldiers were seriously injured and were evacuated to a hospital.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-06-16

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