NGOs should have nothing to fear in Ecuador

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/ngos-should-have-nothing-to-fear-in-ecuador

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Your article (Countries in the spotlight, 27 August) refers to Ecuador, using the case of the closing down of the Pachamama foundation as an example of an alleged “assault on NGOs” around the world.

The closure was a result of a legal procedure launched by the authorities when a delegation of foreign investors and diplomats accredited in Ecuador, including the ambassador of Chile, were physically attacked by members of Pachamama. The incident was public and extensively covered in the media. An investigation ensued, where the organisation was afforded every right to defend itself, and indeed made use of the due process afforded it by law. The authorities concluded that the organisation had deviated from its founding purpose and objective and was instead engaging in party politics which seriously affected public safety.

The longer online version of the article cites the impounding of a bus belonging to the Climatic Convoy by the police as another example of the alleged harassment of NGOs; it does not mention that all buses need to comply with basic driving regulation conditions, such as that a driver must have the correct type of driver’s license for the vehicle and, in the case of foreign vehicles, the appropriate documentation. The bus in question lacked both of these and the police, as would be the case anywhere else in the world, had to enforce the law.

There are more than 46,000 social organisations registered and operating in Ecuador under new legislation, engaged in all sorts of activities; many of them scrutinise the government, and many are in plain opposition to it. Many of them have foreign financing. Not one, however, has been closed down or harassed for political reasons, as the article suggests. Sadly, for some of them, the requirement to comply with legislation seems to be a good opportunity for claiming victimisation. Fidel NarváezEmbassy of Ecuador in the UK