10/06/13, A Colombia guerilla group is trying to draw Ottawa into its battle with a Toronto-based mining company which is quietl
Colombian Guerilla Group Holding Canadian Mining Executive Hostage Takes Aim at Ottawa
10/06/13, A Colombia guerilla group is trying to draw Ottawa into its battle with a Toronto-based mining company which is quietly trying to secure the release of one of its executives who has been held hostage since January.
The Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN) kidnapped Gernot Wober, 47, on Jan. 18, during an attack on the Snow Mine camp in Bolivar state, which sits in the northern part of the country. The guerilla group kidnapped five other people, including three Colombians and two Peruvians, who have all since been released.
The guerilla group says that Wober, the vice-president of Toronto-based Braeval Mining Corp, won’t be released until the company gives up gold mining concessions in the San Lucas mountain range which the ELN claims were initially given to local miners who live in the area.
In a statement issued Wednesday and posted on the guerilla group’s website, the ELN took aim at the Canadian government.
“The Canadian government should at least be concerned about whether its anti-corruption laws are being followed by Canadian companies in their foreign operations,” said the ELN. “Neither the Colombian nor Canadian governments have bothered to investigate our accusations about the dispossession of four mining concessions held by communities in the southern part of Boliver (state) by the Northern American company Braeval Mining Corporation.”
The ELN claimed the Colombian government was increasing military operations against the group to secure Wober’s release.
The ELN is the smaller of Colombia’s main guerilla groups. It’s estimated the ELN has between 2,000 to 3,000 guerilla fighters.
A spokesperson for Braeval said the company has been advised not to comment on the kidnapping.
Foreign Affairs emailed a statement to APTN National News saying federal government “officials continue to work closely with our partners on the ground.” The statement said officials are also in contact with Wober’s family.
“The government of Canada will not comment on efforts to secure the hostage’s release,” said the statement. “Due to privacy considerations, we cannot provide additional information about the situation.”
According to his on-line work history, Wober has extensive experience in the mining sector, including involvement in projects in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Manitoba.
The activities of foreign mining companies, including those based in Canada, have long been a point of contention among Indigenous and local communities in Colombia.
Under Canada’s free trade agreement with Colombia, Ottawa is required to present an annual report on human rights in Colombia every year. Last year’s report failed to report on human rights in the country.
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (NIOC) has called on Canada to pressure the Colombian government to respect Indigenous rights in its mining laws.
In a recent interview with Maria Patricia Tobon Yagari, a lawyer with the NIOC said that mining companies present a bigger threat than the armed groups because the firms fuel the violence.
“The presence of these miners have reinforced (the violence) because they have benefited from it. By using private security they have forced these Indigenous groups and Colombian campesinos to resist and it has increased the violence in the territories,” said Tobon Yagari.
Tobon Yagari was scheduled to appear on Parliament Hill on May 22 but her visa was initially denied by Ottawa.
Tobon Yagari said foreign mining firms have put pressure on the Colombian government to pass mining laws tailored in the interest of development.
“Of course Canadian miners have a large interest in getting legislation in their favour,” she said. “That is what is happening without our mining code and our situation in Colombia.”
Many Indigenous communities in Colombia are clinging precariously on the edge of extinction.
Of the 102 documented Indigenous nations in Colombia, 32 have populations under 500, 18 have populations of 200, while 10 have less than 100.
Tens of thousands of Indigenous people have been displaced from their territories which are often rich in minerals and hydrocarbons eyed by foreign mining firms.
Amnesty International has said it’s concerned about deepening ties between Canada and Colombia’s military as a result of the free trade deal.
“And recent changes to export controls in Canada to allow for the sale of automatic firearms to Colombia,” have added to list of problematic issues, said the international human rights organization.
The situation of Indigenous peoples in Colombia is so dire that the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples James Anaya has called for the UN special advisor on genocide to visit Colombia.
The Horrific Extent of Police Brutality in Turkey
8/6/13.
8/6/13. What you will read below is extremely disturbing. It is the firsthand impressions of a Boğaziçi (Bosphorus) University student who was detained by police in connection with the Gezi Park incidents in Istanbul.
Erkan Yolalan first thanks everybody who has assisted him, especially to those who fetched him a lawyer.
Here is his story:
“I am at home, I’m fine. I want to write what I went through. My only aim is that everybody knows what is being experienced while in detention. I have no other aim; I want to say that at the beginning. I will write all of the events that happened to me from the beginning and with all swear words and insults included. With all its openness…
“Last night (June 3, 2013) around 9 p.m. I was detained in Beşiktaş, at traffic lights on Barbaros Avenue. I was not involved in any action like swearing or throwing stones. They took me in bending my arm the moment they saw me. Some friends of mine saw on TV how I was taken into custody. Then hell began.
“After crossing the lights in the direction of the seaside, while I was at the edge of the platform where the IETT bus stops are at the seaside, any policeman who was there and any riot police squad member (çevik kuvvet) who saw me started kicking and punching me. For about 100-150 meters, in other words, all the way to the Kadıköy ferry station, whoever was present there was kicking and punching. Insults and curses such as ‘Are you the ones to save this country, mother f***, sons of ****,’ never ended. I could not count how many people hit me before I reached the detention bus.
“Just as I was taken near the buses, a few policemen called from behind a bus, ‘Bring him here.’ They took me behind the bus and started kicking and punching me there. I learned later that because of the cameras they took me behind the bus to beat me.
“When I was inside the detention bus (İETT) the lights were out, and I heard a girl’s voice begging inside the bus: ‘I did not do anything, sir.’ I could not even see who was hitting me as I was taken inside the bus and after I was in the bus. The only thing I was able to do in the dark was to cover my head. Curses and insults continued. I sat. Everyone who was passing near me was hitting me. I got up and went to a corner. They wanted me to take a seat again. I told them everyone who passed by was hitting me when I was seated.
They again swore, slapped and punched me and made me sit.
“They were hitting the girl and throttling her. A civilian policeman whose name is İsmail said exactly this to the girl, ‘I will bend you over and f*** you right now.’ [He – Erkan Yolalan- later added that this policeman İsmail also said, “Now that it is dark and the lights are off I will ****”]
“And the response of the girl was heartbreaking. With a low voice, she could only say ‘Yes, sir.’
“And next, we, the three people present at the bus, were forced to shout: ‘I love the Turkish police. I love my country.’ They made us yell this again and again ordered us to make it ‘louder, louder.’ The insults and beating did not come to an end.
“The atmosphere seemed a bit calmer, but this time they brought another young person. The guy’s nose was broken. When I asked him why he didn’t protect his face, he told me ‘Two people held me by force and a third person punched my nose three times.’ From time to time there were others brought in.
“A young person named Mustafa from Bahçeşehir University was brought then. Twenty policemen from the riot squad had attacked him, and he looked too weak even to stand up. Slapping and punching him near the detention bus was not enough for them, they hit his head with a helmet. That was not enough either, they hit his head on the bus window. They took him inside the bus while continuously hitting him. His hands were cuffed from behind; his head was bleeding; they made him sit on the floor.
“We saw his head bleeding. I went near him and held a cloth (the bloody t-shirt of the guy whose nose was broken) to his wound to stop the bleeding. This police named Süleyman cursed at me and told me to ‘f*** off’ to my seat. I told him, ‘He is bleeding.’ He said, ‘He can bleed.’ He did not care at all. They were holding the guy in handcuffs with all his injuries. We pointed that out to a couple of policemen. Finally, one of them opened the cuffs.
“Actually the second heartbreaking incident happened when we were at the police station for statements. Mustafa asked me this: ‘Did they hit me at the bus? What happened?’ The guy could not remember. He was not fully conscious while he was on the bus.
“As a last point, we could not go to the toilet while we were at the bus. They only gave us a bottle of water. Then we were taken to the hospital for doctor’s reports and then to the police station.
“Once we were at the police station, an army of lawyers was waiting for us. And the policemen now were talking to us on polite terms.
“I want to thank all the lawyers, all our friends who called the lawyers and everybody who was worried about us. There is not a bit of an exaggeration in this piece. Everything that has been experienced is true and my only aim is for everybody to hear it firsthand.
Revolt against brutality is continuing. This fascist order will be destroyed.”
Mi’kmaq, Maliseet Continue Anti-Fracking Protests in New Brunswick
8/6/13
It was another day of protest in New Brunswick as Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and their supporters voiced their opposition to shale gas exploration in Kent County.
8/6/13
It was another day of protest in New Brunswick as Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and their supporters voiced their opposition to shale gas exploration in Kent County.
About 100 people have gathered near the town of Birch Ridge, NB, where SWN Resources Canada and their subcontractors have equipment and vehicles used for shale gas exploration stored.
SWN Resources Canada is one of the largest companies involved in shale gas exploration in the province. Many Mi’kmaq and Maliseet are opposed to the exploration, saying that it will eventually lead to ‘fracking’ and cause serious harm to the environment, especially water.
First Nations also say there was insufficient consultation done by the province.
Amateur video and photos show a heavy RCMP presence at the site of today’s protest, although the situation remains peaceful.
This is the fourth day of protests in New Brunswick, sparked when members of the Elsipogtog First Nation seized a vehicle belonging to Stantec, which is a Fredericton-based company subcontracted to SWN Resources Canada.
One of the protesters is Susan Levi-Peters, once Chief of Elsipogtog and former candidate for the provincial NDP. She says frustration is building with shale gas exploration and with the RCMP.
Levi-Peters says with tensions running so high, the province’s Premier David Alward should halt further shale gas exploration until all sides can come together and discuss the path forward.
But she and others warn that with opposition against shale gas exploration so high, it’s unlikely First Nations will agree to allow the industry to develop.
Here’s a brief timeline of events:
Tuesday, June 4
Members of Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick surrounded a vehicle owned by Stantec that was parked at a restaurant near the community. RCMP intervened and brought the vehicle to the local station. Community members followed and refused to allow the vehicle to leave. The vehicle was eventually returned to the company and no arrests were made. Following the incident, New Brunswick’s Energy Minister issued a call for protests to remain peaceful.
Wednesday, June 5
Around 100 people from Elsipogtog and surrounding communities gather on provincial route 126, at the SWN Resources Canada site. Witnesses say although the protest was peaceful, a large contingent of RCMP moved in and arrested 3, including a 16-year-old. The Chief of Elsipogtog, Arren Sock, issued a statement saying that the community is opposed to shale gas exploration and that Mi’kmaq voices must be heard. He also issued a call for calm among protesters, urging them to remain peaceful and lawful.
Thursday, June 6
Another afternoon of protests on route 126. Around 100 gather again and there was a heavy RCMP presence but no arrests are made.
Friday, June 7
Over 100 are gathered at the site on route 126, including St. Mary’s First Nation Chief Candice Paul. Chief Paul has been opposed to the shale gas industry since the province announced exploration would begin over the winter.
Indigenous Peruvians Protest State Oil Company Taking Over Their Land
Members of the Achuar indigenous people in the northern Peruvian Amazon have been protesting against Peru’s state oil company’s plans to enter their territory and exploit an estimated 42 million barrels of light oil.
Members of the Achuar indigenous people in the northern Peruvian Amazon have been protesting against Peru’s state oil company’s plans to enter their territory and exploit an estimated 42 million barrels of light oil.
A protest was held against Petroperu last month in an Achuar community called Wisum near the border with Ecuador, just 12 days after it was confirmed the company would take over operations in a concession called “Lot 64.”
Petroperu’s involvement in this region follows the decision announced last September by Canadian company Talisman to withdraw from “Lot 64″, after discovering oil but meeting opposition from Achuar living within the concession.
The recent protest could be considered extremely embarrassing for Petroperu since its acquisition of “Lot 64″ constitutes a return to upstream operations after a break of 17 years, according to Lima-based newspaper La Republica, which called the move “historic.”
The protest was held on Wisum’s landing strip and involved men, women and children from more than 20 Achuar communities, some of whom held signs reading “We reject Petroperu” and “No Petroperu: no to the sale of our Achuar territory.”
A statement by the Peruvian Federation of Achuar Nationalities (FENAP) reads:
Petroperu should not operate in Lot 64. As the owners of our territory, we are opposed to oil activities. We are informing the Peruvian state that the position of the Achuar people in the Pastaza region has not changed since the creation, without consultation, of Lot 64 in 1995. We will continue actively resisting any kind of oil operation on our ancestral territory which covers the large majority of the concession.
That followed a statement by another Achuar organization, Achuarti Iruntramo (ATI), which is based in Wisum and affiliated to FENAP, addressed to Peru’s president Ollanta Humala, Petroperu, various ministries and Congress expressing “our rejection of any kind of entrance of oil companies, even Petroperu, in the Achuar people’s ancestral territory”:
We’re aware of the Supreme Decree transferring Lot 64 from Talisman to Petroperu. We don’t want another buyer, even if it’s Petroperu. Ever since the creation of the concession in 1995, we have opposed all the companies here, beginning with Arco, then Occidental and most recently Talisman. Like we did for all of those, we will make it impossible for Petroperu to enter.
Both statements express concerns about the potential social and environmental impacts of oil operations.
“We’ve seen that the River Corrientes is very contaminated and know that Lot 1-AB has been declared a Zone of Environmental Emergency after years of complaints from our Achuar and Quechua brothers,” states FENAP, referring to a nearby oil concession. “We don’t want history to be repeated and so we don’t want any more companies coming here – whether national or international ones.”
“Our protest has many meanings,” says FENAP’s president, Peas Peas Ayui, speaking from San Lorenzo in the Amazon where FENAP has an office. “We’re not going to let any company enter. We are the owners. We are the original inhabitants. We want to live in peace. We have the right to stand up for ourselves and if Petroperu tries to enter we will fight very hard against it.”
However, according to Petroperu’s Juan José Beteta Herrera, the company will start operating as soon as it has met the environmental requirements stipulated by Peruvian law, which will include preparing an “Environmental Impact Assessment” of its planned operations.
“This will provide light crude for Petroperu’s refineries in Talara and Iquitos and return the company to upstream activities, which forms part of our strategy,” he says. “At the same time, it will bring social benefits to the communities currently involved in the area.”
Asked how Petroperu will respond to the Achuar’s protest, Beteta Herrera says the company will “continue with the community relations policy it has been implementing for the last 40 years along the route of the North Peruvian Pipeline.”
“Part of that policy is to maintain constant communication with the communities in the areas of our operations,” he says.
But Peas Peas Ayui says he has heard nothing from Petroperu since the protest in Wisum, and ATI’s recent statement claims the pipeline – an extension of which passes through “Lot 64″ – is contaminating their territory and threatening fish stocks.
US-based NGO Amazon Watch’s Executive Director Atossa Soltani says:
As a cornerstone of their strategy to strengthen Petroperu, Peru’s government has chosen Block 64 as a pilot project to showcase the company’s potential. But the overwhelming majority of the block is territory of Achuar communities that have repeatedly rejected any oil activity and have effectively expelled multiple transnational companies since 1995. How does Petroperu think they are going to be successful where Arco, Oxy, and finally Talisman have failed?
Having announced its discovery of oil in “Lot 64″ in early 2006, Talisman revealed it was pulling out on 12 September last year. Amazon Watch described it as a “major victory for indigenous rights” following “increased pressure by human rights groups and shareholders for operating without Achuar consent.”
But Talisman’s Phoebe Buckland calls it a “business decision.”
“Peru was part of our exploration portfolio and we have significantly reduced the exploration budget to focus on opportunities near our core areas,” she says now. “We are currently winding down operations in Peru.”
Climate activists escape jail sentences for power station shut down
Posted Thu 6th Jun 2013 ‘No Dash for Gas’ campaigners given conditional discharges and community service orders for power station occupation
Posted Thu 6th Jun 2013 ‘No Dash for Gas’ campaigners given conditional discharges and community service orders for power station occupation
Twenty-one climate campaigners were sentenced today at Nottingham Magistrates court for taking part in a week-long occupation of EDF's West Burton Gas Fired Power Station last Autumn [1].
Despite fears that some of the protesters might be facing jail terms, they were given lesser – but still punitive – sentences ranging from 18 months conditional discharges for five of the protesters, to varying numbers of hours of community service. On sentencing, the judge remarked, “All of you are highly educated men and women, industrious committed individuals who wok and volunteer in your communities. Your motives were genuine… what you planned you executed to perfection.”
Speaking after the sentencing, Rachel Thompson said: “Although – thank goodness – none of us are going to jail, we are still facing penalties for simply standing up for clean, safe and affordable energy. Meanwhile, everyone in the country will be facing a disastrously destabilised climate and rocketing fuel bills if we don’t stop the Government's reckless dash for gas. The Government is putting the profits of the Big Six energy companies before the fundamental need for a safe and liveable climate for generations to come.”
More than 64,000 people signed a petition [2] in support of the No Dash For Gas protesters after EDF launched a £5 million damages claim against them. The lawsuit was quickly dropped in the face of this public outcry, and support for the campaigners seems to have remained strong. Over a thousand people have pledged to congregate outside EDF's London offices this evening in a solidarity vigil in support of the defendants [3].
Supporters of No Dash For Gas have also vowed to return to EDF's West Burton power station for a four day “Reclaim The Power” action camp in August [4]. The "Climate Camp-style" gathering is expected to attract a mixture of climate campaigners, pensioners facing fuel poverty and anti-austerity activists, and promises a "surprising and inspiring mass action".
Ewa Jasiewicz, one of the 21 defendants said after the sentencing: “Reclaim the Power is about just that – reclaiming the power to decide where our energy comes from, what we use it for and how we organise our society in the public interest, according to people's needs and not for corporate greed. A decentralised, renewable, publicly-owned energy system is both possible and necessary if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change and ever-worsening fuel poverty".
Eight minute documentary of the action and protesters is available at: http://youtu.be/HovQqw9jEJY
*** ENDS ***
[1] See http://www.nodashforgas.org.uk/
[2] www.change.org/edf21
[3] See https://www.facebook.com/events/549817328384415/ EDF Offices: Cardinal Place, 80 Victoria street, London. Members of Fuel Poverty Action, UKUncut, Disabled Peoples Against the Cuts and the Greater London Pensioners Association will be attending and available for interview
[4] See http://www.nodashforgas.org.uk/
Demonstration against UK Coal at High court
05.06.2013
Social Justice and Environmental Campaigners demonstrated at the High Court of Justice, London.
Today desperate Coal Company – UK Coal sought to over-rule the community, Durham Council and the Secretary of State’s Inspectors to be allowed to mine over half a million tonnes of coal from rural County Durham.
Today was the first of two days of a judicial review into the decisions made against the mine. The Coal Action Network and other groups including the London Mining Network, came to support the previous decision and show the coal companies that they still face fierce opposition to this and there other opencast mine applications.
The decision should be announced tomorrow, 6th June 2013. If the Judge finds that the public inquiry to be significantly unlawful then there will be another inquiry. It is likely that this would take 3 weeks like the first one. This causes members of the community stress and uncertainty. It is feared that if this mine is given the go ahead then extensions and further applications in the area will result.
UK Coal are in a difficult financial situation and local contractors are no longer supplying goods on credit at their Potland Burn site in Northumberland. UK Coal are trying to avoid their pension obligations with regards to Daw Mill Colliery and cannot be trusted to keep to planning stipulations or restore sites. Burning coal for power is unsustainable and causes local and global environmental issues.
At appeal the Inspector for the Secretary of State said that the plan had an unacceptable impact on the environment and amenity of local communities and that the community benefit did not outweigh the damage. At the planning hearing the councillors voted unanimously against the decision and councillors called UK Coal ‘thugs’ and ‘vandals’ saying they were trying to bribe them with road improvements.
The site at Bradley is of high landscape value, currently there are newts, bats, red kites, historic mines and wagonways. The area is well used for walking and playing by locals and tourists. There is a strong campaign in favour off the valley and against the UK Coal application see http://pontvalley.net
The Coal Action Network took this action today to support the inspector’s decision and to support the communities fighting opencast.
For more information see coalaction.org.uk or look up The Coal Action Network’ on Facebook.
EARTH FIRST! SUMMER GATHERING 2013
EARTH FIRST! SUMMER GATHERING 2013 website all information is now up at http://efgathering.weebly.com.
Gathering Dates 7th-11th August,
Location – SE England (nearest station Bexhill)
EARTH FIRST! SUMMER GATHERING 2013 website all information is now up at http://efgathering.weebly.com.
Gathering Dates 7th-11th August,
Location – SE England (nearest station Bexhill)
June 11: International Day of Solidarity with Marie Mason and Eric McDavid
June 11th began as an international day of solidarity with long-term eco-prisoner Jeff “Free” Luers in 2004. At the time, Jeff was serving 22+ years. Infuriated by the environmental devastation he saw occurring on a global scale, Jeff torched three SUVs at a car dealership in Eugene, OR. The sentence imposed on him was meant to send a clear message to others who were angered by capitalism’s continued war on the Earth’s ecosystems – and to those who were willing to take action to put a stop to it. Jeff is, after all, not alone in his concerns about climate change, fossil fuels, pollution and genetically modified organisms.
After years of struggle, Jeff and his legal team won a reduction in his sentence and he was released from prison in December 2009. But in the years intervening Jeff’s arrest and release, the FBI had carried out a series of indictments and arrests in an attempt to devastate the radical environmental and anarchist communities. Two of the people caught up in this maelstrom of repression were Eric McDavid and Marie Mason.
Eric McDavid was arrested in January 2006 after being entrapped by a paid government informant – “Anna” – and was charged with a single count of conspiracy. Eric – who never carried out any actions and was accused of what amounts to “thought crime” – refused to cooperate with the state and took his case to trial. After a trial fraught with errors, the jury convicted Eric. He was subsequently sentenced to almost 20 years in prison. More information on Eric’s case can be found at www.supporteric.org
Marie Mason was arrested in March 2008 after her former partner – Frank Ambrose – turned informant for the FBI. Facing a life sentence if she went to trial, Marie accepted a plea bargain in September 2008, admitting her involvement in the burning of an office connected to GMO research and the destruction of a piece of logging equipment. At her sentencing in February the following year, she received a sentence of almost 22 years. More information on Marie’s case can be found at www.supportmariemason.org
Marie Mason and Eric McDavid share the unfortunate distinction of having the longest standing sentences of any environmental prisoners in the United States. Please join us in an international day of solidarity with Marie Mason, Eric McDavid, and other long-term anarchist prisoners on every June 11th. This is a time to remember our friends who are in prison – who are continuing their struggles on the inside. This is a time to continue and strengthen the very work for which Eric and Marie are now serving so much time – to struggle against capitalism, ecological devastation, and the ever more diffuse forms of control in this prison society.
Free Marie and Eric! Free all prisoners!
Shale Gas Truck Seized By Elsipogtog First Nation Warriors
A shale gas exploration company’s service vehicle was surrounded and seized by a group of self-described native warriors near Elsipogtog First Nation in so called “New Brunswick” on Tuesday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police say.
A shale gas exploration company’s service vehicle was surrounded and seized by a group of self-described native warriors near Elsipogtog First Nation in so called “New Brunswick” on Tuesday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police say.
The truck driver was confronted at a gas bar along Route 116 during the lunch hour, police said, referring to it as a peaceful incident.
RCMP would not confirm who owns the truck, but it has a Stantec logo on its doors. Stantec is a Fredericton-based engineering firm doing work for SWN Resources Canada, a major industry player in the province.
RCMP described the incident as peaceful.
Elsipogtog Chief Aaron Sock had said earlier in the day his council does not welcome SWN’s seismic testing in New Brunswick.
SWN spokeswoman Tracey Stephenson described the incident as a “security event” involving one of the company’s subcontractors.
The protest in Elsipogtog continued into the evening Tuesday at the local RCMP detachment, where the truck containing seismic testing equipment was taken after protesters had seized it at a gas station along Route 116 during the lunch hour.
About 65 people, including children, gathered around the truck in a bid to keep it from being moved from the RCMP parking lot.
“I think [SWN] should pack up their gear and go,” said John Levi, who led the protest.
“This is not going to end until they do that,” he said. “That’s our goal.”
Levi said he is not affiliated with the band chief and council, but was appointed a few days ago as a warrior chief for his traditional native territory.
He said he represents about 5,000 people in Elsipogtog and the surrounding area, including non-native groups who oppose the development of a shale gas industry.
“They broke the law a long time ago when they started this fracking in our traditional hunting grounds, medicine grounds, contaminating our waters,” Levi said.
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as hydro-fracking, is a process where exploration companies inject a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into the ground, creating cracks in shale rock formations.
That process allows companies to extract natural gas from areas that would otherwise go untapped.
Opponents of the process say it could have a negative effect on local water supplies and many of them have held protests across the province.
Fracking secrecy questioned
The Opposition Liberals argued Tuesday there will be too much secrecy surrounding shale gas development in the province.
They noted sections of the Oil and Gas Act will remain off-limits from the Right to Information law.
But the energy minister contends the exempt sections apply to the geophysical data companies will collect and it’s unreasonable to expect it would be made public.
“That information, the companies that are putting the investment into that research, they should have the opportunity to utilize that information to their advantage, for a reasonable amount of time, and that’s what the Oil and Gas Act says,” Leonard said.
The Liberals argue they want to make sure the public knows what chemicals are used by shale gas companies. The government says the list of chemicals will be released publicly.
Mine Security Chief Ordered Assassination of Indigenous Protesters 4th June
Alberto Rotondo, executive of Tahoe Mine, San Rafael in Guatemala, gave direct orders to assassinate members of the community San Rafael Las Flores.
Alberto Rotondo, executive of Tahoe Mine, San Rafael in Guatemala, gave direct orders to assassinate members of the community San Rafael Las Flores.
The investigation of the mining conflicts in San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa, took a 180 degrees turn, after the Public Ministry submitted audio from wiretapping as evidence. In the audio it can be clearly heard how Alberto Rotondo, head of the San Rafael Mining Security outfit ordered to assassinate opponents of the mine.
The newspaper Siglo.21 published today a report titled “Rotondo ordered: Kill those sons of B..”, the report documents how the Security Chief gave direct orders to assassinate mining protesters and opponents of the mining project.
“The preliminary investigations found that Rotondo gave the order to attack the community, he also ordered the crime scene to be cleaned up and change the police report.”
The information reveals Rotondo making several statements: “God dam dogs, they do not understand that the mine generates jobs”. “We must eliminate these animals’ pieces of shit”. “We can not allow people to establish resistance, another Puya no”. “Kill house sons of Bitches”
Despite this situation, Rotondo is benefited by a benevolent surrogate measure of only house arrest by officials of the justice department of Guatemala. The prosecution has asked to revoke that proxy measure.
On the other hand, opponents of the mine are still detained without being brought before a judge, because their warranties were restricted by a state of siege.
Rortondo was apprehended at the airport La Aurora, when he trying to flee the country. Wire tapping of conversations between him and his son reveal that he planned to leave Guatemala for a while, because “I ordered to kill some of these sons of Bitches.”
Sources: La Hora Guatemala, Siglo XXI.
For more extensive information on the background of the conflict see: State of Siege: Mining Conflict Escalates in Guatemala, May 2, 2013