ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL FUNDRAISING SCREENING AT THE BLOOR CINEMA:
Rye Cinema presents the acclaimed feature documentary film:
UNDER RICH EARTH
“Urgent and vital filmmaking in the spirit of Kanahsatake: 270 Years of Resistance and Manufactured Landscapes.”
- Jesse Wente, CBC
Director’s Cut!
Guest Speakers!
Director Q&A!
DVD Launch!
Fundraising!
Date: Saturday, February 13th, 2009
Time: 6:30
Where: The Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street, Toronto, Tel: 416-516-2331
Tickets: $10
Please Arrive Early! Tickets go on sale 1 hour before the event.
This is a fundraising event.
* Winner: Global Conscience Award – Mexico City Documentary Film Festival
* Top Ten Most Popular Canadian Films: Vancouver International Film Festival
* Nominated for Best Documentary – Hamburg International Independent Film Festival
* Nominated for Coral Award – Best Documentary – Havana Film Festival
* Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, Sudbury International Film Festival, Watch Docs Warsaw, Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Encuentros del Otro Cine – Quito, Boulder International Film Festival and many more…
The Honourable John McKay (To Be Confirmed) – John McKay is the Member of Parliament for Scarborough – Guildwood. His private member’s Bill C300 seeks to create a framework for transnational corporate accountability in Canadian law. The Bill has already passed second reading in the House of Commons and is not affected by Stephen Harper’s prorogation of Parliament.
Murray Klippenstein – Murray Klippenstein is a Toronto lawyer representing three Ecuadorians who are suing the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Copper Mesa Mining Corporation for violating their human rights. Under Rich Earth tells the story of the events that ultimately led to this ground breaking transnational lawsuit. Read more in the Toronto Star:http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/729148
FUNDRAISING!
Under Rich Earth was a labour of love produced on a shoestring budget over two years. Proceeds from this event will help to pay for the making of the film and to support two Ecuadorian community organizations that are featured in the film: Radio Intag (a community radio station) and Café Rio Intag, a fair trade coffee co-op located in the Intag valley.
DVD LAUNCH!
The Limited Edition Director’s Cut DVD of Under Rich Earth will be available for purchase:
$25.00 – home use
$150.00 – community organizations
$295 – Universities and Libraries.
Event Sponsors
Nathanson Centre for Transnational Human Rights Crime and Security, Osgoode Hall Law School.
Charles Street Video
Mining Awareness Coalition – Toronto
SYNOPSIS
In a remote mountain valley in Ecuador, coffee and sugarcane farmers face the dismal prospect of being forced off their land to make way for a mining project. Unprotected by the police and ignored by their government, they prepare to face down the ‘invaders’ on their own. Their resistance leads to a remarkable and dangerous stand off between farmers and a band of mysterious armed men high in the cloud forest. In a world dominated by news of massacres and terrorism, Under Rich Earth is a surprising and poignant tale of hope and determination.
HERE’S WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNDER RICH EARTH:
“Magnificent… a thrilling and revealing portrayal of the search for justice.”
- Alberto Ramos, Signis (Brussels)
“Gripping and disturbing…”
**** Eye Weekly
“Graceful and Uplifting”
Critic’s Pick NNNN
- NOW Magazine
“Hair-raising…”
- Playback Magazine
“A remarkably prescient cautionary tale…”
- Matthew Hays, Montréal Mirror
“An outstanding work of hard journalism…”
- Michael Sauve, Canadian Film Programmers Blog
“A startling exposé… a graceful, well made vérité doc.”
- Marc Glassman, Classical 96.3FM
“Down to earth…without any bullshit”
*** AfroToronto.com
“Powerful… remarkable… dramatic…”
- Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen
“It’s impossible not to be intrigued…”
- David Schmeichel, Winnipeg Sun
“Another good film about people power. Things go sideways, diagonally, and off the chart when a small Ecuadorian farming village stands up to the supremely underhanded tactics of an aggressive Canadian mining corporation.”
- Geoff Olson, Vancouver Courier
“Rogge’s most impressive achievement here is how his story gnaws through stereotypes of people as victims of corporate and army oppression. The documentary dispels such notions, revealing the people of Junin as powerful organizers.”
- Ed Janzen, FUSE Magazine
“Unarmed and unprotected, the poor farmers in a tiny mountain community in Ecuador face down and detain armed mercenaries hired by Canadian mining company Ascendant Copper. Canadian documentary maker Malcolm Rogge caught some amazing footage to build a story about corporate malfeasance and how the undertrod overcame the superior forces of might, money and political manipulation.”
- Susan Walker, Toronto Star
Alrededor de 25 personas desafiaron los fuertes vientos del distrito financiero de Toronto el viernes en una vigilia para protestar por el asesinato de tres defensores de derechos humanos que fueron asesinados por hablar contra las prácticas carentes de ética de las empresas mineras canadienses en América Latina. Mariano Abarca Robelo de México, Adolfo Ich Xaman de Guatemala, y Marcelo Rivera, de El Salvador fueron asesinados por hablar en contra de las prácticas mineras que desplazan a las personas, envenenan los ríos, y destruyen la agricultura y la salud humana. Las tres empresas que se benefician con el silenciamiento de sus críticos -HudBay y la Cuenca del Pacífico figuran en la Bolsa de Valores de Toronto. En el caso de Blackfire, tres personas vinculadas a la compañía han sido arrestadas en México en relación con el asesinato de Mariano Abarca. Las organizaciones que participaron en la protesta incluyó a Respuesta Comunitaria Solidaria de Toronto y a Amnistía Internacional de Toronto y a grupos de Derechos Humanos.
La vigilia se llevó a cabo en solidaridad con las protestas del pasado viernes en México, donde, según el Toronto Star, más de 1,500 personas marcharon en Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas. Gustavo Castro, un amigo de Mariano, fue citado diciendo: “Esto no era exclusivamente una protesta contra Blackfire, sino contra la criminalización de la protesta social y la violencia, y el caso de Mariano es un ejemplo de esto”. Mariano Abarca Roblero fue conocido en México por su labor en la promoción del desarrollo comunitario y el medio ambiente, y en oposición a los daños a la salud y ambientales y a las violaciones de los derechos humanos causados por la minería. Mariano fue asesinado el 27 de noviembre por un hombre enmascarado en una motocicleta. Tres hombres vinculados a Blackfire, incluyendo un empleado, han sido detenidos en relación con este crimen. Ahora, los informes han aparecido en la prensa dominante que Blackfire admite haber pagado sobornos (ellos lo llaman extorsión) a la alcaldía de Chicomuselo, donde Blackfire opera su mina de barita., A efecto de “prevenir el vandalismo y la protesta locales en contra la mina.”
Adolfo Ich Xamán, un maestro de escuela y líder en su comunidad maya Q’eqchi ‘, fue sacado el 27 de septiembre por los guardias de seguridad durante los desalojos ilegales cuando fue a ver si los niños se estaban retrasando. Según la información disponible, el jefe de seguridad CGN lo vio y lo llamó para hablar con él. Cuando llegó a los guardias de seguridad, fue golpeado y atacado con un machete y luego lo arrastró hacia la propiedad de la empresa, donde fue baleado y asesinado por los guardias de la CGN. Habitantes mayas locales de Ich y de Qeqchi, han resistido los daños y los desalojos forzosos provocados por las empresas mineras canadienses de níquel. La primera oleada de desalojos, asesinatos y la represión se produjo en la década de 1970, a principios de 1980 la represión de las protestas relacionadas con las concesiones INCO en la zona. Los desalojos y la represión reiniciaron en 2006 (por Skye Resources), hasta la actualidad. No se ha hecho justicia acerca de ninguna de las anteriores matanzas, ni de los abusos, ni en el caso de Adolfo. La empresa Minerales HudBay niega cualquier responsabilidad y continúa con los esfuerzos para “reubicar” potencialmente a miles de aldeanos mayas Qeqchi, que viven en estas tierras desde mucho antes de que los mineros de níquel (INCO) llegara en la década de 1960. Como en los otros países de América Central, esta lucha se enfrenta a una severa represión.
En el vecino El Salvador, Marcelo Rivera fue desaparecido el 18 de junio, bajo la reminicente táctica de terror de las guerras civiles de los años 80. Su cuerpo fue encontrado en un pozo de 60 pies de profundidad y con claros signos de tortura. Marcelo Rivera había sido muy activo en el movimiento para detener la minería de metales en El Salvador, específicamente de la empresa Pacific Rim. El Salvador es un país muy pequeño con una grave escasez de agua, la minería de baja concentración de minerales usa muy intensivamente el agua y también utiliza grandes cantidades de cianuro. Después de la muerte de Marcelo los representantes del movimiento contra la minería en El Salvador visitaron Canadá para aumentar la alarma, William Castillo, uno de ellos señaló “los beneficios [de la minería] son muy pobres en comparación con los costos que todo el país vamos a tener [que pagar] … Es demasiado riesgoso tener la exploración de metales en este país. No importa lo que paguen, los riesgos son demasiado altos “. (www.sialavidatour.com).
Según un representante de Respuesta Comunitaria Solidaria de Toronto, la razón para protestar ante la Bolsa de Valores de Toronto (TSX) es que: “No hay requisitos de derechos humanos que se coticen en la Bolsa de Valores de Toronto, si hay requisitos de presentación de informes, pero las normas actuales en materia de derechos humanos no existen. La misma TSX está siendo demandada como una de las involucradas en relación con las acciones ilegales de prospección en una mina de en Ecuador, donde los guardias de seguridad dispararon contra manifestantes pacíficos, entre ellos mujeres y niños “.
Los manifestantes clamaron “Es una vergüenza el juego mortal asesino de las empresas mineras por fines de lucro”. Susana Caxaj, de CSRT, dijo: “Creo que a muchos de los canadienses se les han engañado y mentido. Queremos creer que nuestro gobierno sea algo de lo que podamos estar orgullosos, cuando en realidad nuestro gobierno y estas empresas canadienses nos hacen cómplices de las peores abusos de derechos humanos “.
Lamentablemente los asesinatos continúan. El pasado domingo a las 4PM Ramiro Rivera Gómez, otro líder de la resistencia a la empresa Pacific Rim Mining, fue asesinado en la aldea de Cabañas, El Salvador.
Chelopec village – Bulgarian Re-sisters testify about the lack of faith they have in mining activities of the cyanide mining project by Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals. They also talk about the protests by young people and mothers which led to the cancellation of the project.
The mayor Maria Shopova explains why she supports the protests by the people of Popintsi against mining by the Canadian company Euromax Resources Limited.
Baba Rajna tells the story of the fierce protests against Canadian company Euromax Resources in 2006.
Hristina Daskalova explains why people in her village do not have faith in future mining activities by Canadian company Euromax Resources.
Pavlina Dimitrova explains how the protests by young people and mothers led to a cancellation of the cyanide mining project by Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals.
Friends of the Earth International’s community testimonies let people speak for themselves. Visit www.foei.org to hear more testimonies and to find out how you can get involved!
December 26th, 2009 / Author: underminingsustainability
Around 25 people braved the bitter winds of the Toronto’s financial district on Friday in a vigil to protest the killings of three human rights advocates who were killed for speaking out against the unethical practices of Canadian mining companies in Latin America. Mariano Abarca Roberlo of Mexico, Adolfo Ich Xaman of Guatemala, and Marcelo Rivera of El Salvador were all murdered for speaking out against mining practices that displace people, poison rivers, and destroy both agriculture and human health. The three companies that benefit from the silencing of thier critics- HudBay and Pacific Rim listed on the Toronto Stock exchange. In the case of Blackfire, three people connected to the company have been arrested in Mexico regarding the murder of Mariano Abarca. Organizations involved in the protest included Community Solidarity Response Toronto and Amnesty International Toronto’s Business and Human Rights group.
Concerned residents of Toronto hold photo of murdered Maya Q’eqchi’ schoolteacher Adolfo Ich Xaman in front of the stock market ticker at the Toronto stock exchange (all photos of vigil by Eric Akaoka. Photo of Adolfo Ich by James Rodríguez).
The vigil was held in solidarity with protests Friday in Mexico, where according to the Toronto Star over 1,500 people marched in Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas. Gustavo Castro, a friend of Mariano’s, was quoted as saying “This wasn’t exclusively a protest against Blackfire but against the criminalization of social protest, and violence, and Mariano’s case is an example of this.” Mariano Abarca Roblero was known in Mexico for his work in promotion of community development and the environmental, and in opposition to health and environmental harms and human rights violations caused by mining. Mariano was shot by a masked man on a motorcycle on Nov. 27th. Three men linked to Blackfire, including an employee, have been arrested in connection with this crime. Now reports have surfaced in the mainstream press that Blackfire admits to having paid bribes (they call it extortion) to mayor of Chicomuselo, where Blackfire operates its barite mine., for the purposes of “to prevent locals from vandalizing and protesting against its mine.”
A woman holds a photo of Mariano Abarca, killed of Chiapas, Mexico. Passers-by were angered when told of his death and of the arrest of Blackfire employees in connection with it.
Adolfo Ich Xaman, a schoolteacher and leader in his Maya Q’eqchi’ community, was taken off by security guards on Sept 27th during illegal evictions when he went to see if any children were being left behind. According the information available, the head of CGN security saw him and called him over to talk to him. When he reached the security guards, he was beaten and attacked with a machete and afterwards dragged onto company property, where he was shot and murdered by CGN’s guards. Ich, and local Mayan-Qeqchi villagers, have long been resisting the harms and forced evictions caused by Canadian nickel mining companies. The first wave of evictions, killings and repression occurred in the 1970s, early 1980s- repression of protests related to the INCO concessions in the area. Evictions and repression began again in 2006 (by Skye Resources),through to today. No justice has been done for any of the earlier killings and abuses, nor in Adolfo’s case. HudBay Minerals denies any responsibility and continues with efforts to “relocate” potentially thousands of Mayan-Qeqchi villagers, living on these lands since long before the nickel miners (INCO) arrived in the 1960s. Like in the other Central American countries, this struggle is facing severe repression.
In neighboring El Salvador, Marcelo Rivera was disappeared on June 18th, a terror tactic reminicent of the civil wars of the 80s. His body was found in a 60-foot deep well with clear signs of torture. Marcelo Rivera had been very active in the movement to stop metal mining in El Salvador, espeically by the company Pacific Rim. El Salvador is a very small country with a severe shortage of water- mining low-grade ores is very water intensive and also uses large amounts of cyanide. After the death of Marcelo representatives in the movement against mining in El Salvador visited Canada to raise awarenss here, including William Castillo, “the benefits[of mining] are very poor compared to the costs that the entire country we will bear…Its too risky, to have metal exploration in this country. It doesn’t matter what they pay the risks are too high” (www.sialavidatour.com).
According to a representative from Community Solidarity Response Toronto, the reason to protest at the Toronto stock exhange is that: “There are no human rights requirements to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, reporting requirments yes, but actual regulations on human rights do not exist. The TSX itself is being sued as one of the plaintiffs regarding illegal actions at a prospective mine in Ecuador, where security guards shot at peaceful protesters including women and babies.”
Members of Community Solidarity Response Toronto and Amnesty International Toronto stand in front of the Toronto Stock Exchange, demanding accountability. About 25 people braved the frigid winds of the downtown financial district.
Protesters chanted “mining companies deadly game- murder for profit that’s a shame”. Susana Caxaj, of CSRT, said “I think a lot of Canadians have been deceived and lied to. We want to believe that our government is something we can be proud of when really our government and these Canadian companies are making us complicit in the worst human rights abuses.”
Sadly the killings continue. Sunday at 4PM Ramiro Rivera Gomez, another leader in the resistance to Pacific Rim Mining corporation, was killed in a village in Cabanas, El Salvador.
The killings of community leaders who speak out against mining continue. To the photos of these three must now be added that of Ramiro Rivera Gomez, killed Sunday in El Salvador for his opposition to Pacific Rim. (photo: Susana Caxaj)
This song describes the present day exploitation of tribal land and forests in the name of development. Inspired by a song by Bhaghwan Maaji, leader of the adivasi struggle against bauxite mining in Kashipur, India.
December 2nd, 2009 / Author: underminingsustainability
Title: Guatemala Reportback – Someone Else’ Treasure Location: Tequilla Bookworm, 512 Queen St. West Link out: Click here Description: Home to sixty per cent of the world’s mining companies, Canada leads the way in the global mining industry. But people the world over are raising complaints describing the mining industry as Canada’s number one contribution to global injustice.
Please join Toronto based photographer Allan Lissner to discuss “Someone Else’s Treasure”, an on-going project shedding light on the experiences of people around the world – including Guatemala, the Philippines, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Chile, and Canada – whose lives have been impacted by the global mining industry.
Claudia Susana Caxaj, recently returned from a delegation to Guatemala with Rights Action examining the impact of mining on human rights, will also be speaking. Susana is a PhD student at University of Western Ontario, studying self-determination and health in communities affected by mining. Start Time: 19:00 Date: 2009-12-03
November 29th, 2009 / Author: underminingsustainability
by Elio Henriquez, correspondent for “La Jornada” Saturday 28th November, 2009
(translated by Megan Kinch)
On Friday night, 27th , Mariano Abarca Roblero was assassinated by gunshot. Mariano was one of the strongest opposition leaders against mining exploitation by the Canadian mining company Blackfire in the hills of Chiapas, Mexico.
Gustavo Castro, of the Network of Mexicans Affected by Mining (REMA for its initials in Spanish), said that according to those close to Mariano he was assassinated around 8:30 PM in the main part of Chicomuselo, close to the border with Guatemala, by a motorcyclist carrying a high-caliber weapon.
They explained that Abarca Roblero was talking outside of his house with Orlando Velásquez, also a member of REMA-Chipaas, when an unidentified person shot Abarca in the head and the chest. Velásquez was also was wounded and was transported immediately to a hospital en the city of Comitán.
Last August 17th, Mariano Abarca was arraigned by the Prosecutor General of State Justice after he was accused by Blackfire of various charges including organized crime. Due to a national and international outcry against this injustice, he was freed on the 24th of the same month, where he immediately joined the sit-in with his fellows in the municipal seat of Chicomuselo to press for the immediate removal of the company. At the end of August, the participants in a second meeting of Chiapas members of REMA in Chicomuselo, celebrated his release.
Castro said that the opposition leader in the exploitation of mines had filed a criminal complaint against a man (whose name was not provided) who was supposedly used by Blackfire to incarcerate Mariano in August. He said that this person had been summoned to appear before the proper authorities yesterday, but the case was postponed until next Thursday.
Gustavo Casrtro put forth his theory that the murder of Mariano Abarca is related to his years of campaigning against mining exploitation.
According to data from REMA, the federal authorities have authorized 54 permissions for mining exploitation to Canadian Companies in their municipalities: to Blackfire extract barite, gold and antimony en more than 10 concessions; Linear Gold Corp, with 24 concessions, mostly gold and some of them granted for 50 years; Frontier Dev. Group with 12 projects, and also with New Gold Inc. with three concessions and Radius Gold with 7, although apparently these last ones have been withdrawn.
PRESS RELEASE
AMAP CONDEMS THE ASSISTATION OF MARIANO ABARCA
28th November 2009
The Mexican Alliance for the People’s Self-determination (AMAP for its initials in Spanish) expresses its condemnation for the assassination of Mariano Abarca Roblero, which occurred the night of the 27th of November in Chicomuselo, Chiapas. The same attack also resulted in the grave wounding of his companion Orlando Velazquez.
Mariano led a citizen’s resistance in the municipality of Chicomuselo against the Canadian mining company Blackfire and participated actively in REMA (the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining). Given his intense activity he was harassed on many occasions ans arbitrarily detained last August, where he was kept for 10 days before being released.
However, the hostility against his person has recently increased. Only a few days ago he filed formal charges against the Directors of the Blackfire, who had delivered death threats in a public manner and appear to have followed through on them.
AMAP demands that this crime not go unpunished and beseeches to the government of Chiapas led by Juan Sabines that the material and intellectual perpetrators of this crime be prosecuted to the full extent of the law , and that the Attorney General’s office immediately follow the investigations already begun on the denunciation made by Mariano against LUIS ANTONIO FLORES VILLATORO and CIRO ROBLERO PEREZ, the first of these head of public relations for the Blackfire mine, who had publicly threatened to kill Mariano Abarca.
No more crimes against defenders of social justice! End the criminalization of citizen protest!
November 25th, 2009 / Author: underminingsustainability
Mainstream press in Canada is reporting on Canadian Mining abuses abroad
This week’s reporting in the Toronto Star included a series of important reports on Canadian mining companies operating abroad. The first report detailed allegations (backed with video evidence) that companies have used paramilitaries to violently trample their opposition to mines that threaten rainforests and their way of life in Ecuador. It also gives some context into Canada’s track record of ignoring a long history of similar allegations. The second article focused on Barrick’s Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea and particularly on Sarah Knuckey’s (Lawyer, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University School of Law) testimony before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE). There, she repeated personal accounts of gang rape and other mine security violence told to her during her time in Papua New Guinea. Finally, the third article told the story of Romina Picolotti, a former Argentine environment minister who testified to receiving threats against her and her family following a mining intervention.
John McKay, Liberal MP for Scarborough-Guildwood, has introduced a private member’s bill designed to put controls on mining companies overseas. Conservatives have vowed to kill the bill, which is opposed by Canada’s mining industry. MPs are debating it in a House of Commons committee this week.
One of Africa’s Poorest and Most Embattled Countries is Prey to Canadian Mining Companies Searching for the Last Great Gold mine
In the heart of Africa, did a Canadian mining company cut a deal with an infamous and violent African militia that played a major role in the Rwandan genocide of 1994? According to one expert of the militia, known as the “FDLR,” or the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, the mining company has no other choice if it wants to safely dig up billions-of-dollars worth of gold for themselves and their investors.
The mining company with the fever for African gold is the Banro corporation of Toronto. It owns four mines relatively close to each other in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Specifically, the mines are located in the eastern DRC province of South Kivu, a rugged landscape of jungles, volcanoes, and millions of poor Congolese. Still in an exploratory stage, Banro believes that 10 million ounces could be extracted, and if gold stays around US$950 oz., that’s roughly $10 billion.
Now Banro is trying to raise hundreds of millions of dollars via the Toronto Stock Exchange so they can begin mining this bonanza, calling it Africa’s last great gold deposit. Banro also boasts about the tax-breaks they’ve been given by a country the UN states is ranked 177th out of 179 on its Human Development Index, which measures life expectancy, annual GDP (in the case of the Congolese, $300 a year), literacy rate, and number of school-aged children being educated.
Banro’s Third World adventure is a familiar quest Canadian mining companies have undertaken during the last 20 years. Increasingly restricted by newly enacted environmental legislation in its own home¬land, a Canadian mining company leaves for a nation where the environmental laws are weak and the politician’s cheap. Funding for Banro’s African dig flows easily from the Toronto Stock Exchange. And like a lot of foreign labour, it is also dirt cheap in the eastern DRC—- where artisanal miners gladly work for just a few dollars a day.
According to CorpWatch.org, 60 percent of all the world’s mining companies are based in Canada, generating $50 billion a year for Canadians. “The Toronto Stock Exchange is the number one (generator) for mining capital in the world,” says Jamie Kneen of MiningWatch Canada, an Ottawa-based mining industry watch-dog group. Taking your operation overseas also saves your country from dealing with the mess: 20 tonnes of waste rock comes from the creation of one gold wedding ring.
But the story of Banro in the Congo has a twist. A risk actually, that some believe could turn into another African nightmare for all involved. The eastern regions of the DRC have been stricken by a decade-long “resource war” — a moniker that former Prime Minister Tony Blair and the UN has used to describe the conflict that has laid siege to the eastern DRC. This resource war has cooled of late, but the threads of peace and stability in the eastern DRC have always proven to be fragile. Thus the possibility of another western-based mining company taking billions of dollars right out from under the feet of the Congolese could create a spark that re-ignites this war.
In the late 1990s, so strong was the lure of eastern DRC gold, casserite, and coltan, that neighbouring countries of Uganda and Rwanda invaded with proxy militias and their own armies. In 2000, the Rwandan military and connected politicians, for instance, made $250 million moving coltan out of eastern DRC to Western-based mining companies and metal traders who then sold the resources to companies that manufactured parts for the likes of Sony and Motorola. Coltan, when processed becomes the powder tantalum, which is used in the making of capacitors — capacitors needed to make cell phones, video game consoles, and computers so valuable to western personal technology.
This conflict, waged in part so the West can have its personal electronics, cost the lives of three to five million Congolese and other Africans, according to many NGOs.
In the Neighbourhood
While Banro’s mines are not directly in the heart of where this resource war was waged the fiercest, their mines are awfully close. Indeed, one of the biggest players in the resource war was the FDLR, which owes its existence to illegal mining. According to FDLR-expert Hans Romkema, director of Conflict and Transition Consultancies of the Netherlands, each of Banro’s four mines are just a few miles from territory control¬led by the militia, which is an estimated 6,000 strong. Romkema has monitored the militia in-country on several expeditions. He says the FDLR, for the most part, is the only military and political force near Banro’s mines — a force that exploits natural resources, controls trade, collects taxes, and dominates the local population. The FDLR is composed of Rwandan Hutus who escaped into the neighbouring eastern forests of the DRC after the 1994 Rwandan genocide and alleged to have played a major role in murdering 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The FDLR aims to overthrow the current Rwandan government, but several FDLR leaders use the movement to protect themselves because they are wanted by the U.S. government and the International Criminal Tribune for crimes committed in 1994.
Romkema reported in 2007 that some Congolese civilians are undergoing military training so the FDLR can indoctrinate them as “Interahamwe” — those who committed genocide. Romkema believes Banro’s mines are too big and no militia “will have the guts to take control over one of those mines.” Thus no Canadian troops or any western-based private army will ever have to be flown into central Africa — hopefully. Over the past 12 months, Congolese and Rwandan government troops, along with UN Peace-keeping forces (there to enforce a peace treaty), have conducted numerous operations to oust the FDLR once and for all. The FDLR are clearly agitated, some fleeing toward Banro’s mines, reported the UN.
“There are widespread reports … of atrocities including accusations of murder, rape, and torture, on the part of the FDLR rebels,” said UN spokesperson Ron Redmond to the newswire Agence France-Press late last summer. Last May, the FDLR struck back, attacking a village in South Kivu killing 60 civilians and 30 government troops, according to the UN. On its website, the FDLR has denied any involvement.
The risk seems too great for any mining company to take the chance, but to hedge their bets, Banro may have no choice but to play “by the rules” of the eastern DRC, Romkema says. Meaning they will have to bribe or make some type of off-the-books agreement with both the Congolese government and whatever militia controls the territory their mine is located in, he says.
“In my view, Banro cannot work, neither in their (mines) without having had some contacts with the FDLR,” says Romkema. “Those contacts can have occurred through an intermediary. But somebody must have passed the message to leave the miners alone.”
Banro’s Martin Jones, a spokesperson from Toronto, refutes Romkema’s claim. “He’s not going to find any FDLR in the neighbourhood,” he said referring to the forests 20 to 40 miles south west of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, where one of Banro’s mines are. Three years ago an FDLR column passed nearby without incident, which prompts Jones to say the militia is not the concern the NGOs make them out to be.
Exposing the Mine
Nevertheless, the presence of another Canadian mining company near the killing fields of a past conflict waged so the West can have its technological toys raises a potent question: Can Banro reverse the deadly trend of resource-driven wars in Africa by putting millions back into a community which is also heavily employed by Banro?
Jones says Banro is not just interested in Congolese gold. They’ve invested into the area by building several schools, roads, and a potable water system for a region in desperate need of such infrastructure. They also said they will spend $13 million to relocate a small village of 750 Congolese, while also finding work for 800 Congolese miners who are digging “illegally,” as Banro says, near the same mine.
Romkema says if Banro operates in the same way other Western mining companies have in the past in the Congo — illegally and secretly moving resources out of the country and bribing corrupt DRC officials — “They’ll help to maintain the illegal networks that have characterized the DRC for so long and that entirely destroyed the Congolese State.” The FDLR has been part of illegal networks for many years, networks that usually end at Western-based metal brokers, such as Britain’s Afrimex, Bangkok’s Thaisacro, and Belgium’s Trademet, as uncovered earlier this year by Global Witness, a British-based NGO.
Calling out the Companies
When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travelled through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this summer, she railed against the sexual violence that has victimized Congolese women. She also lambasted corrupt DRC officials, calling for more government transparency and accountability. But something was inexplicably missing in her Congo roundtables, even though Congolese journalists tried to prod her about the issue. There was hardly any atonement for the Western-based mining companies and metal brokers who have helped fuel the DRC resource war of the last ten years.
“The future of Africa is up to the Africans. The future, ultimately, of the Congolese people is up to the Congolese people,” she said to journalists.
Someday that may hold to be true. But without question, the recent past of the Congolese was partially dictated by Western-based mining companies and metal brokers. A significant number of them are Canadian, as revealed by a 2001 UN investigation titled “The illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC.” One of the Canadian companies named in the report was Banro while others included First Quantum Minerals and Tenke Mining Corporation, both based in Vancouver. Simply put, these Canadian mining companies and metal brokers are accused of stealing resources from a nation, its people and government, which were overwhelmed by war.
Plundering resources from a nation in the grip of war is in violation of OECD guidelines for multi-national corporations, a voluntary set of moral standards for working in another country established by the think-tank the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, based in France. But the Canadian government — like many Western governments — are not bound to enforce OECD guidelines.
“The U.S. government was one of the most determined to quash the UN Panel’s reports but this is also true of Canada, the UK and Belgium,” says Tricia Feeney, executive director of the London-based Rights and Accountability in Development or RAID. “All (companies) were exonerated. The UN Panel said the cases had been resolved.”
Just because the UN laid down, says Feeney, doesn’t mean the companies are innocent. “Essentially the UN was forced to drop the case but as they explained (in their reports), ‘resolved’ didn’t mean that the initial allegations were unsubstantiated,” she says. “The (U.S. and Canadian) companies have tried to hide behind the technicality of ‘resolved’ but the UN itself made clear that this classification didn’t mean that the companies had not behaved in the way described in the UN reports.”
Which way will the Canadian government look?
In Ottawa, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada keeps watch on homeland mining companies working overseas. Spokesperson Laura Dalby stated in an email they are closely monitoring Banro’s four mines using trade commissioners based in the DRC capital of Kinshasa. “Canada encourages and expects Banro Corporation to respect all laws and international standards, to operate responsibly, transparently, in full consultation with the DRC government and the local community in which they are conducting their operations,” she wrote.
What’s more, Banro continues to receive “full cooperation and support” from the DRC’s central and provincial governments, she stated. The department is hoping Banro finds a way to boost the eastern DRC out of its war-torn malaise.
“We hope to see positive outcomes as a result of Banro Corporation’s investments and Corporate Social Responsibility activities in the DRC. This is meant to drive forward the country’s industrialization and create new and income-earning opportunities for the fast-growing population,” she wrote.
Just four years ago, however, MiningWatch’s Jamie Kneen said the Canadian government essentially looked the other way following a massacre in which a Canadian mining company played a role. In October of 2004, Anvil Mining, the leading copper producer in the DRC, had to shut down production at their Dikulushi Mine when a so-called “rebellion” took place in a nearby village a rebellion of “10 to 12” villagers that had nothing to do with mining, said Kneen. Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), of the DRC government, proceeded to seize the town, says Kneen, then went door-to-door “raping and pillaging.” Between 70 to 100 civilians were killed including women and children. Kneen said the DRC forces had Anvil’s “full cooperation.” Anvil claimed the DRC forces basically put a gun to their chest. Anvil nevertheless offered up trucks and logistics, says Kneen; trucks that transported troops and dead civilians.
In the aftermath, the Canadian government “refused to investigate because there’s no legal mechanism in place,” says Kneen.
In 2002, Toronto’s Barrick Gold, Canada’s biggest gold miner, was accused by NGOs of making mining agreements with two eastern DRC militias, which at the time were in the midst of murdering hundreds of civilians. In return for the mines, the militias were given housing and trucks, among other appeasements. When some of the rebels were apprehended by government forces, Barrick paid for their lawyers. In December of 2008, a Barrick Gold mine in Tanzania was overrun by hundreds of angry locals, ceasing production. Millions of dollars of damages was reported.
“If the people are not improving their lives as a result of the gold exploitation, it will be easy for rebel groups to recruit amongst the region’s youngsters,” Romkema says of Banro. “I never had the impression that the population (near Banro’s mines) is benefiting anything from the exploitation (or mining) of minerals.”
November 4th, 2009 / Author: underminingsustainability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND WIDESPREAD DISTRIBUTION:
MEXICAN SUPERIOR COURT ORDERS THE IMMEDIATE END OF NEW GOLD (TSX: NGD)-MINERA SAN XAVIER’S MINING PROJECT AT CERRO DE SAN PEDRO, SAN LUIS POTOSI
October 29th, 2009.
San Luis Potosí
On the 24th of September, 2009 the ninth Tribunal of the first circuit courts ordered the Federal Tribunal of Fiscal and Administrative Justice to emit its sentence on the suit presented by Pro San Luis Ecologico. It reads:
“…the plaintiff’s suit is well-founded. Be it resolved, on basis of art. 239-B:IV of the Federal Fiscal Code, that the authorization accorded to Minera San Xavier, S.A. de C.V. in the permit S.G.P.A./DGIRA.DG.0567/06 by the Director General of Environmental Impacts and Risks at the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) is null and void. By our order the SEMARNAT, which has already ignored a previous ruling by the court on the 5th of October, 2005, has 20 days to advise the affected party and carry out the sentence.”
CONCLUSIONS:
a) SERMARNAT, in complicity with Minera San Xavier, violated the law by granting the company its permit on the 10th of April, 2006. This was made clear in the Federal Court’s sentence of the 5th of October of 2005 which stated that not even in a conditional form could the SEMARNAT emit the land-use change permit to the company.
b) This violation of the law involved a diverse set of people, principally the managers of the company, authorities of the previous state, federal and municipal levels, as well as various members of the Partido de Acción Nacional. These individuals must be judged and punished.
c) With this sentence, Minera San Xavier has lost its single-most important operating permit (which, indeed, it never had). We must also remember here the long line of injunctions against the company that were obtained by the members of the Nucleo Ejidal Cerro de San Pedro, injunctions that have been systematically ignored.
d) The illegal work of New Gold – Minera San Xavier has created severe and irremediable consequences for the natural environment of the Valley of San Luis, such as the loss of a unique environmental and historical heritage for the Mexican nation.
THIS SENTENCE BEGINS THE FINAL LEGAL COLLAPSE OF NEW GOLD –MINERA SAN XAVIER. THE COMPANY HAS NO LATER THAN THE 15TH OF NOVEMBER TO CEASE ALL ITS OPERATIONS. THIS IS A HISTORIC TRIUMPH THAT WE WILL DEFEND WITH ALL OUR DETERMINATION.
STOP THE IMPUNITY!
HALT THE ILLEGAL OPERATIONS OF NEW GOLD-MINERA SAN XAVIER IMMEDIATELY!
PUNISHMENT OF THE GUILTY PARTIES!
Given the above, the Frente Amplio Opositor a la Minera San Xavier demands the immediate intervention of the state’s new authorities to stop this ecocidal company and to begin an investigation that will identify the culprits and bring them to justice for their crimes against Mexico’s national sovereignty.
TO ALL THE CITIZENS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO STAND IN SOLIDARITY HERE IN MEXICO AND ACROSS THE WORLD:
THE FAO IS PUTTING OUT AN URGENT CALL FOR HELP IN SPREADING NEWS OF THE IMINENT DEPARTURE OF NEW GOLD-MINERA SAN XAVIER FROM THE CERRO DE SAN PEDRO POTOSI.
WE WILL BE WATCHING THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES. WE ASK THAT BY JUSTICE AND REASON THEY HELP US IN THE IMMEDIATE APPLICATION OF THE LAW.
THE DESTRUCTION OF CERRO DE SAN IS A DEEP WOUND FOR THE VALLEY OF SAN LUIS. IT IS BUT ONE OF MANY OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS GENERATED BY CORRUPTION AND INFLUENCE PEDDLING.
IMMEDIATE APPLICATION OF THE LAW AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CULPRITS! IF THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN WE WILL ACT ACCORDINGLY.
“THE HOURS OF THE POLITICAL CLOCK ARE ALSO NUMBERED; THE POLITICAL LEADERS OF THE COUNTRY MUST NOT FORGET THIS.”
– SALVADOR NAVA.
We leave you with the contact information for various authorities, Mexican and Canadian, so that you can help us demand the immediate application of the law. This declaration is accompanied by a press release with a synthesis of the legal struggles surrounding this case since 2005 which details the violations committed by government authorities and the company with severe environmental, social and juridical consequences for the nation. Lastly, as a gift, we include the link to the video clip of Lic. Hector Barri’s press conference delivered in San Luis Potosí which explains this final chapter. New Gold must now answer for the damages it has created through this illegality.
Thank you for your solidarity. We will keep you all informed.
-FAO-
Lic. Hector Barri’s Press Conference: Minera San Xavier-New Gold must leave Cerro de San Pedro
FELIPE DE JESÚS CALDERÓN HINOJOSA
Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
Teléfono (55) 50935300 felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
no Abarca Roblero was assassinated by gunshot. Mariano was one of the strongest opposition leaders against mining exploitation by the Canadian mining company Blackfire in the hills of Chiapas, Mexico.
