Mahuad Refuses to Quit + US statements hi, hallo ! here we have some statements of the US government about the situation in Ecuador ! hier sind einige statements der US Regierung zu den Ereignissen in Ecuador la lucha sigue Top World News (Bloomberg) Fri, 21 Jan 2000, 6:12pm EST Ecuador's Mahuad Refuses to Quit, Accuses His Opponents of Staging a Coup By James Craig Ecuador's Mahuad Refuses Military Demand He Resign (Update4) (Updates with Mahuad leaving presidential palace in 2nd paragraph; minister's comments in 7th paragraph; White House statement in 8th-9th paragraph.) Quito, Ecuador Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Ecuadorean President Jamil Mahuad rejected calls for his resignation and asked for the public's support after the military high command said he should step down to preserve the peace. Mahuad accused his opponents of seeking to set up a dictatorship and said the majority of the population wasn't supporting what amounted to an attempted coup d'etat. The president later abandoned presidential palace for security reasons, officials said. ``I won't allow an interruption of the constitutional order. I won't allow Ecuador to descend into anarchy,'' Mahuad said in a televised address, flanked by members of his Cabinet. Also behind him was a navy aide, yet other military advisers were absent, local television said. Mahuad's statement comes after the head of the armed forces called on him to step down, setting up a constitutional crisis analysts say can only end with Mahuad's ouster. Thousands of Indians, who make up almost a third of Ecuador's 12.5 million people, have descended on Quito since Monday to demand Mahuad's resignation, protest rising food prices and oppose his plan to switch to the U.S. dollar. Ecuador's economy is suffering its worst recession in a century, with spiraling interest rates and the collapse of the sucre currency crushing corporate and personal incomes. Call to Resign ``We ask for the resignation of the president of the republic,'' said armed forces chief, army Gen. Carlos Mendoza, said. ``President Mahuad should resign to prevent social breakdown. It's our responsibility to maintain the judicial order.'' Interior Minister Vladimiro Alvarez said Mahuad left palace and was in hiding somewhere in Quito with ministers and some military officers. ``This is an important moment for the armed forces to deeply reflect on their mission and on what the country expects from them,'' he said. The United States said it rejected the taking of the Ecuadorean Congress and warned against any coup attempt, saying it would lead to the country's isolation from the international community. White House ``We remind that all parties that an attempted overthrow of the constitutional government of Ecuardor under whatever pretext will have disastrous consequences for all of Ecuador,'' a White House statement said. ``Any regime that emerges from such an unconstitutional process will face political and economic isolation bringing even greater misery upon the Ecuardorean people.'' The Organization of American States called on Indian groups and soldiers who took over Congress to halt their ``unconstitutional activities immediately.'' ``I condemn this act which runs contrary to the democratic principles that govern member states of the OAS,'' said Cesar Gaviria, the OAS' secretary general, said in a statement from Paris. Ambassadors from the organization's 34 member states will convene an emergency meeting tonight to discuss the attempted coup, said Javier Montes, an OAS spokesman. A Challenge Mahuad challenged his opponents to take power by force if they can and urged Ecuadoreans to oppose a takeover of the government by undemocratic forces. ``My call is that we not permit a coup d'etat, that the people not allow this,'' he said. ``I'm on the job and will remain on the job until the last moment.'' Political analysts said two things now will happen: Congress will ask for Mahuad's resignation or Mahuad will resign on his own. ``There's no other possibility in my opinion,'' said Simon Pachano, a political science professor in Quito. Violence broke out in Guayaquil, where crowds stormed the offices of the provincial government that had been taken earlier this afternoon by soldiers, news reports said. Shots were heard in radio dispatches that said troops and protesters were battling in the streets around the provincial government palace. Investors International investors said Ecuador was off their maps even before the latest crisis, mainly because of its default last year on $1.9 billion in Brady and Eurobond debt. ``I've already given up on the country,'' said Player Crosby, principal of Lenox Capital Inc. who owns Ecuadorean Brady bonds. Crosby, who bought his bonds when they traded at about 60 cents on the dollar now holds debt that trades between 20 and 39 cents on the dollar. ``It goes with the territory,'' he said. For the time being, he is putting his trust in rising oil prices. With oil trading near nine-year highs, Ecuador's ability to pay debts should ease. ``With oil near $30 a barrel, they should have little trouble paying their debts, the problem is really political, there is no consensus,'' he said. Ecuadorean par Brady bonds fell 0.2 percent to 33.76 cents on the dollar. ``We were not dealing with Mr. Mahuad we were dealing with him as a representative of the Republic of Ecuador,'' said Marc Helie, head of Ecuador Creditors Advisory Group, which is negotiating with Ecuador for a restructuring of its debt He said the group will continue to deal with the country's legitimate representatives. ``He (Mahuad) has been unable to form a consensus to deal with the problem,'' he added. ``If he resigns under pressure or otherwise we would hope that the subsequent government would be better prepared to deal with the crisis,'' Helie said. ``Bondholders have to take a back seat at the moment and see what develops.'' Giacamo de Filippis of Giadeffi Inc., a long-time Latin American investor who owns Ecuadorean pars, blames the International Monetary fund and the U.S. government for much of the problem. ``Fortunately for Camdessus he resigned before anyone could ask him to resign too,'' he said. ``It's the most incredible mess. The Ecuadoreans can't help themselves. Unfortunately the Americans have been caught sleeping as a very vital region goes up in smoke.''