When pressed, Meriage admitted on record that the U'wa had not been consulted on the company's plans to drill the Gibraltar 1 oil well. Oxy's admission about the lack of consultation gives strong credence to the ongoing legal challenges to Oxy's drilling permit in international and Colombian courts. Oxy began construction of the drill site in early February. In defense of their land and culture, currently some 2700 U'wa people, local farmers, students and union members are attempting to stop Oxy's construction works on the Gibraltar 1 drill site in Northeast Colombia through peaceful protest. The U'wa continue to stress their strong opposition to the oil project have repeatedly stated their willingness to die defending their land and culture.
Oil maintains the balance of the world and is the blood of our mother.
The U'wa President will travel to Washington, New York and Boston during the next week for meetings with the US Government and Oxy investors in order to urge for a suspension of the oil project. In Congressional testimony before the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources Subcommittee of the House Government Reform Committee, and in various lobbying documents and conversations, Occidental s spokesmen have made several disingenuous and misleading points. This implication is both patronizing and dangerous to the U wa. In September of 1997 a joint mission of the Organization of American States and Harvard University s Center for Non-Violent Solutions issued their report on solutions to the ongoing conflict between the U wa and Colombia and Oxy. Continued statements in this vein not only disregard this important recommendation designed to deescalate tension in the region, but also substantially place the U wa at risk by publicly accusing them of being linked to guerrilla forces.