Defense Minister demands Sea Shepherd and other organizations respect Ecuadorian laws
August 14, 2020 1:26 PM, By Roger Velez
On August 14, 2020, Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrín said that organizations cannot intervene in the sovereignty of the national territory. Photo: File / EL COMERCIO.
Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrín emphasized today, Friday August 14, 2020, that environmental organizations will not be allowed to “infiltrate the institutions of the State” and will the state enforce its sovereignty in the protection of Galapagos.
“They can participate, they can support, but they cannot infiltrate the institutions to gain power. [I] want to submit, for example, with exact names: Sea Shepherd (…). Organizations that are very welcome and that help us protect and take care, they have to abide by what the Constitution say – the laws and the institutions responsible for their management, “he said.
The organization Sea Shepherd had issued a statement weeks ago in which it indicated that it is investigating the “presence of fishing vessels between the Galapagos Marine Reserve and the sovereign waters of Ecuador” and determined that this “is not technically illegal, but violates the spirit of the marine protected area.”
During an appearance at the Assembly’s International Relations Commission, Jarrín stressed that the investigation of aquatic crimes such as illegal fishing is something that corresponds to the State Attorney General’s Office.
“Sovereignty is in the Chancellery and in Defense of the entire national territory and of everything that is established in the Convention of the Sea. No organization can intervene in the first place, however useful it may be, They [cannot] impose its interests, compete or decrease the effectiveness of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense, ”said the official.
Jarrín demanded respect for national sovereignty. “This is not done only by Ecuador with its territorial sea, but with its exclusive economic zone and with its Galapagos Islands, in the same way Brazil does with its Amazon,” he said.
Meanwhile, activists gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in Quito this morning to reject the presence of fishing vessels near the Galapagos economic zone.
This content has been originally published by Diario EL COMERCIO at the following address https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/oswaldo-jarrin-sea-shepherd-ecuador.html
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