[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 20131]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LOURDES TIBAN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want other Senators to be aware of 
information I received about Ecuadorian National Assembly member 
Lourdes Tiban, a prominent and respected leader of Ecuador's indigenous 
people.
  As an indigenous leader, Ms. Tiban has become one of the most 
outspoken advocates for freedom of expression, indigenous rights, and 
social rights in Ecuador. Not surprisingly, this has made her the 
target of verbal attacks by President Rafael Correa.
  Earlier this year, Ms. Tiban was beaten by unidentified assailants as 
she was walking to work. The assault was filmed and then shared online 
by government supporters who posted humiliating comments.
  This isn't the first time that Ms. Tiban has been physically 
assaulted. She is the victim of two other similar incidents which I am 
told have not been properly investigated.
  It is regrettable that, instead of vigorously investigating this 
latest attack against Ms. Tiban, a National Assembly member from 
President Correa's political party has brought a criminal case for 
libel against her. This is believed to be in retaliation for Ms. 
Tiban's claim that government supporters were responsible for targeting 
her, presumably in an attempt to silence her and remove her from the 
National Assembly.
  Ecuador is a country where judicial independence is seriously 
compromised. I have spoken about this several times, and it has been 
well documented by the Department of State, the United Nations, and 
human rights organizations. It is also illustrated by the fact that the 
Council of the Judiciary, with the power to appoint and remove judges, 
is comprised of five former officials of the Correa administration. It 
is likely that the criminal investigation against Ms. Tiban could 
result in an unjust conviction.
  We should condemn these attacks on freedom of expression, political 
rights, and the rights of indigenous people, and we should defend 
judicial independence which is fundamental to democracy in Ecuador and 
throughout the hemisphere.
  Lourdes Tiban has devoted her legislative efforts to protecting human 
rights for her people, and I am confident that she will continue to do 
so as she is not easily intimidated. She has my support and the support 
of others who believe in the principles of democracy.

                          ____________________