QUITO, Ecuador, July 14 (UPI) -- Organizers of an indigenous people's march on the Ecuadorian capital deny reports the Huaorani Indians threatened to kidnap oil workers.
Ecuadorian news sources reported the Huaorani Indians threatened to occupy oil fields and kidnap employees of Brazilian state-owned company Petrobras during a protest against plans to drill for oil in the Amazon forest.
"This is not true," Brian Keane, an organizer of the Huaorani march on Quito, told United Press International Thursday. "They did not threaten kidnappings."
Hundreds of Huaorani Indians marched on Quito dressed in their traditional garb decorated with feathers and carrying spears, El Comercio newspaper reported online.
The Indians accuse companies like Petrobras of exploiting and destroying the Amazon while surveying for and extracting precious natural resources.
Indigenous leaders said they want the Ecuadorian government to commit to exploring alternative forms of energy.
