« OREGON FAITH REPORT: Oregon Unitarian outreach workers held in Cuba | Home | CSM: Cuba opens airspace to US flights »
All Gold Does not Glitter
By fauxpas | January 23, 2010
COLOMBIA PEACE PROJECT
Dear Friends,
When we visited Colombia last July, we met Embera Indigenous people who are struggling to preserve their land from encroachment by two mining companies, Muriel Mining Company, based in Denver, Colorado, and Rio Tinto, an Australian Company. Colombian and international law require mining companies to receive informed consent from indigenous communities before mining on their land. Muriel and Rio Tinto used pressure and deception to get signatures of some indigenous representatives, without consent of the communities, on documents which were then used to gain a mining permit from the Colombian government. The government granted the companies a permit to explore for copper, molybdenum and gold on Embera and Afro-Colombian land in the Jiguamiando basin, part of the Bajo Atrato watershed, one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. The communities are now trying to get the government to reverse its decision.
Mining companies, especially gold mining companies are a particular problem in Colombia and other developing countries. Some economists promote the idea of buying gold as a hedge against inflation. But they ignore the environmental destruction of gold mining. The area of the proposed mine is near the headwaters of the rivers that nourish the region we visited.
In El Salvador, on the other hand, the government has established a moratorium on mining. This is due to the valiant efforts of Salvadoran environmentalists who are concerned about further contamination of their country’s dwindling supply of fresh water. Two of those environmentalists have been assassinated in the past eight months. In addition, a Canadian mining company, Pacific Rim, has filed a $77 million law suit against the government of El Salvador. That company is using the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) as a basis for its suit. Canada is not part of CAFTA. But the company is using a subsidiary in Nevada to file its suit.
As we try to stop the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, we have the example of El Salvador as one more reason. If the U.S. Congress ratifies the Colombia FTA, we can be sure that mining companies such as Muriel and Rio Tinto will use it to challenge attempts to protect Colombia’s environment.
In researching the Muriel Mining Company, I found a series of exchanges between the company and supporters of the Indigenous communities. In one of those exchanges, the Muriel Mining Company implied that groups accompanying the Indigenous communities are working with the farc guerrillas. This type of false accusation is often used by the right wing in Colombia, not only against Colombian human rights groups, but also against highly respected international organizations. Such accusations have been made at the highest levels in the government of President Uribe. They have been echoed by Mary O’Grady in the Wall Street Journal. (12-14-2009)
Similar spurious accusations have been made against opposition members of Colombia’s legislature. Colombian Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo recently announced his decision to fight back legally against false accusations of collaboration with the farc. The accusations were made by the “Procurador General,” Alejandro Ordóñez. A December 19, 2009 press release states that Senator Robledo will file formal charges against Ordóñez for misusing his authority to persecute the senator on transparently false charges.
Wishing for peace and justice in the New Year,
Pat
Topics: Politics |
