Guayaquil, March 14 (Andes).- President Rafael Correa described as positive, the ruling of the International Court of Justice against the lawsuit of Chevron that wanted Ecuador to pay for the environmental damage cuased in the Amazon, based on an agreement signed in 1998.
“Despite all the injustice and abuse the country has been thorough, this is an important victory, said Rafael Correa during the Citizen Summary.
The president explained that the international tribunal should have never started this trial because it was based on the Treaty of Reciprocal Investment signed between the United States and Ecuador in 1997, but the oil company left Ecuador in 1992, and the agreement was applied retroactively, which he said is a “legal outrage.
He also outlined that the Treaty applies only to conflicts between States, but demand raised against the oil company was by a third party, the Amazon communities. Just this week the award rendered by the Hague recognizes that they must be recognized as individuals.
He added that in order to evade responsibility, Chevron argued that Ecuador signed a deal that freed them from any pollution claim in 1998, which is true, but that did not prevent private (communities) to sue. “The Court of The Hague has just said, no sir, these are individual rights, these people who have been injured and therefore can claim,” he said.
Correa also questioned president Jamil Mahuad, in whose government (1998-2000) the agreement of Chevron’s liability for pollution in areas surrounding the wells was signed. “These traitors will be accountable” he stated
