
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1995                   TAG: 9502010078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: MACAS, ECUADOR                                LENGTH: Short

CONFLICT BEGAN 53 YEARS AGO

Soldiers from two South American countries fight over a stretch of rugged, jungle-covered land inhabited only by the soldiers themselves and an isolated Indian tribe.

It sounds like a throwback to an earlier time. And, in a way, it is.

The conflict between Ecuador and Peru over several hundred square miles of land is a continuation of a bitter dispute that began more than a half-century ago.

Since their school days, Ecuadoreans have been taught that the region in question is their birthright, which they were forced to relinquish under a 1942 treaty after losing a war with Peru.

Peruvians, equally possessive, believe Ecuador never really controlled the region, which is believed to contain gold, uranium and oil, and are convinced it has been theirs for decades.

- Associated Press

by CNB