Guatemala Solidarity Network -

Guatemalan communities reject mining in local territory

MichaelF — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:44:59 -0800

As multinational companies continue to seek licences for mineral exploitation in Guatemala, time and again local communities reject these initiatives in popular consultas comunitarias. Not only do they site the environmental damage that will be done to their lands, and the lack of any real economic benefit to the local community (with subsistence level wages paid, while profits are taken straight out the country, with minimal tax paid on them), but more fundamentally, they reject the very idea that the government can sell off what they deem as their land.

The most recent rejection of multinational mining took place in the municipality of Cunén, in the department of Quiché. For more, please see the press bulletin below:

CUNEN REJECTS MINING IN LOCAL TERRITORY

Press Bulletin

Waqib’ Kej

29 October 2009

Seventy-one communities [out of seventy-two] in the municipality of Cunén, department of Quiché, gathered in the center of each community to define the immediate future of the population now facing mineral exploration and exploitation licenses granted within their territory.

Both urban and rural communities were summoned for October 27 to define their official position regarding four mining exploration and exploitation licenses granted within the municipality. Projects approved for the area include “La Abundante” mine, as well as mineral extraction projects Yexub, ADD Minera and Chepenal.

The referendum was organized by the Cunén Community Council, the Community Development Councils, community and religious leaders, and local mayors, acting with the backing of a municipal agreement issued on September 23, 2009.

Community members started gathering in the center of each town early on [October 27] to declare their position before local authorities… national and international observers, social organizations and representatives of various indigenous communities in the country.

After the vote in rural areas, the urban population gathered in the central park for the announcement: 18,924 people [57.5% of the population] voted ‘No’ to the presence of national and transnational companies seeking to appropriate and extract the natural resources of the communities of Cunén.

Diego Us, president of the Community Development Council of Llano Largo, a community located 13 km from the urban center, described the community vote as an excellent affirmation that the people, not governments, own the territory. Us also said that the referendum was a blessing in providing protection for the communities resisting the government and congressional representatives that, when they assume power, sell off the people and all human beings, using the population as a political toy.

Osmundo Oxlaj, member of the Cunén Community Council, announced the results and pointed out that, “the number of participants [in the referendum] has surpassed the number of voters in the last municipal elections…”

Domingo Hernández, of the Board of the National Maya Waqib’ Kej Coordinating Committee and Convergence, said, “The referendum is the first phase of organizing communities in defense of Mother Earth, the woods, water, fields; everything in danger due to the presence of transnational companies.” Hernández emphasized, “The communities are the direct actors in a positive exercise of their rights as citizens to show that the population rejects the presence of transnational companies, the destruction of Mother Earth and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few who own indigenous territories”…

Pablo Zeto, of FUNDAMAYA, participated, along with the indigenous authorities of the Ixil region, as an observer…[he] mentioned that the process in Cunén and other communities throughout the country represents the application of their rights under Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “This exercise is to recuperate and protect natural resources, for the good of all humanity, so that policies are not applied by the political parties that have become workers for the transnational companies.”

Members of the Xinka communities from Santa María Xalapán, Jalapa also observed the referendum process. Juan Antonio Jiménez, one of the spokespersons, underlined the unity demonstrated during the referendum, the wide participation, and the resounding ‘No’ emitted by the population facing mining activity in the municipality.

…the Cunén Community Council also announced that the next step is to hand the results in to the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government, including each political party, the Energy and Mines Commission. The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Ministry of Energy and Mines will also receive official copies of the results…

Spokesperson Pedro Sica also mentioned that community referenda will be held in the neighboring municipalities of Sacapulas and Uspantán, in the department of Quiché, where there are also megaprojects and mining licenses under way that pose risks for the life and security of the population of Quiché…

Mexican Human Rights Defender in London

Gillian H — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:03:51 -0700

Peace Brigades International have organised a visit to London of the Mexican human rights defender Tita Radilla. She is the vice-president of the Mexican Association of Relatives of the Detained, Disappeared and Victims of Human Rights Violations (AFADEM). Her visit will take place in early November, and more details can be found below.

URGENT ACTION: COMMUNITY LEADER KILLED BY PRIVATE SECURITY AGENTS

Kevin D — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:11:02 -0700

URGENT ACTION from ACOGUATE:

A break-down in negotiations and a series of illegal eviction/removal attempts in the dispute between Guatemalan Nickel Company and neighbouring communities has led to an attack by armed groups, among them security agents of the company, against community members. The attack in the municipality of El Estor, in the department of Izabal (Guatemala), resulted in the murder of community leader Adolfo Ich Chaman and the injury of several other community members.
Context:
The Fenix mine project is operated in the department of Izabal, Guatemala by Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (Guatemala Nickel Company)-(CGN).   CGN is a subsidiary of Canadian transnational company HudBay and has a long history of conflictivity and involvement in human rights violations in Guatemala.
After its first explorations in the 1960s, it restarted its exploration and mining operations through the company EXMIBAL, in conditions that were made favourable by the military regimes of the 1970s and 1980s.   It is worth highlighting that in its report the Commission for Historical Clarification (la Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH)) documented various cases of serious human rights violations, in which employees of the subsidiary company EXMIBAL were implicated.
In recent years, a series of conflicts have been registered with the communities that are situated adjacent to the territory which the Guatemalan state gave to CGN. The company has been disputing the title to the land of families who live in the territory.   This has led to a series of violent evictions carried out by private security forces.   These evictions have been carried out even though the company has never shown property titles for the disputed lands. In this way, recent events represent another example of the lack of attention given by the governing authorities to the land/agrarian problem.
Recent Events:
The latest developments in the tensions/disputes occurred near the community of Las Nubes, one of the communities that adjoins the territory granted to the CGN Company. The case of Las Nubes has previously led to the creation of a negotiation table, in which the Governor of the Department negotiated the relocation of the Las Nubes families to another location. Some families accepted the negotiation when they were promised, among other things, Q25.000 for each family, as well as lands, roads, schools and a medical centre. But after having been moved to the new location, they realized that these promises weren’t going to be kept, so they returned to the community of Las Nubes.

On the 23 of September, a CGN representative, CGN’s head of Security, and representatives of the government of the department and of the Ministry of Agricultural Issues presented themselves in the community.   They warned some women who were present that they would need to move to other terrains and warned that if they failed to do so they would be removed. They also threatened to kill their husbands if they did not resettle. In addition, they entered various houses without permission, taking photos before leaving.

On the 25 of September, the security personnel of CGN returned to the community, this time accompanied by members of the PNC (National Police) and fired shots into the air. Later, they began to destroy the community center, an act that they stopped only when some community members approached to try to prevent the destruction of the community hall.   Right after that, the private security forces threw tear gas and pepper spray, shot at people with rubber bullets and attacked various community members. During the entire episode the Police who were present in the area did not intervene.
On the 27 of September, the Governor of the Department of Izabal arrived, accompanied by approximately 150 members of the security corps of CGN. She accepted the complaints of the community that the promises made to them in negotiations had not been fulfilled, but maintained that if they did not move to another location, there would be no help or projects. On the other hand, she told them that if they moved that same day she would send them assistance immediately. After hearing this, the community voiced criticisms that the Governor had arrived without the accompaniment of state officials and responded that they did not require any assistance.   They also questioned the Governor about whether she had made deals with the company.   The Governor left the area soon after, visibly upset by these criticisms.

Meanwhile, representatives of the various neighbouring communities who were informed of the intimidations and threats suffered by the community members were assembling on the road near the company. When representatives of Las Nubes joined in, the company’s security started to shoot at the community members so they would disperse. At the same time, another paramilitary group started to shoot at the villagers from another spot nearby.

Adolfo Ich Chaman, teacher and community leader from the community of La Unión, was in a meeting near where these events were taking place. When he heard the shots, he went to rescue the children in the houses close to the malla of the company.   According to information received, CGN’s chief of security then called him over, claiming to want to talk with him. When Mr. Chaman approached, he was hit and macheted by agents of the company, and then was dragged into the company’s grounds, where he was killed by firearm by CGN’s security agents. At the same time, four community members were detained by agents and brought to a room from which they were subsequently able to escape. In addition, about ten people were injured by the impact of bullets, some of whom find themselves in serious condition.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: Send appeals in Spanish and in your own language to Guatemalan authorities, with copies to your respective embassies and to the Canadian transnational company Hudbay (see attached for addresses and sample letters in both English and Spanish).
-       Demanding the undertaking of an immediate and exhaustive investigation into the armed attack on community members that resulted in the murder of Adolfo Ich Chaman and left more than 10 people with firearm injuries.
-       Demanding the immediate issuance of arrest warrants against those responsible for these acts.
-       Demanding that immediate measures be taken by the governmental authorities to guarantee the security of the communities affected by the conflict with the CGN and calling for disarmament and control of armed groups circulating in the region.
-       Urging that a solution to land title and ownership in the communities be found, ensuring the legalization of the communities land titles and guaranteeing a space for sustainable living.
-       Calling for the cancellation of CGN’s license and urging that they leave the country immediately, given their direct involvement in serious human rights violations, through contracting private security and paramilitaries and their impact on the increased tensions in the region.
-       Calling for exhaustive investigations into the role and the actions of the Governor of the Department in particular in the negotiation process undertaken with the communities

SOLIDARIDAD CON GUATEMALA DE AUSTRIA
COLLECTIF FRANCIA
LA RED DE SOLIDARIDAD CON EL PUEBLO DE GUATEMALA (NISGUA-EE.UU)

--
Human Rights Accompaniment Program
Maritimes- Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network
13183 Hwy #7
Ship Harbour, NS
B0J 1Y0
Tel.: 902-845-2750
Email: btsaccompaniment@gmail.com

--
Human Rights Accompaniment Program
Maritimes- Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network
13183 Hwy #7
Ship Harbour, NS
B0J 1Y0
Tel.: 902-845-2750
Email: btsaccompaniment@gmail.com

Recent killings linked to Canadian-owned nickel mine in Guatemala

Kevin D — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:56:07 -0700

Dawn Paley writes in The Dominion that two Qeqchi leaders were shot and killed and over a dozen wounded this week near the site of a shuttered nickel mine in Guatemala. This article appeared on Upside Down World.

The first shooting took place on Sunday, September 27 on land claimed by the community of Las Nubes, which Compañia Guatemalteca de Niquel (CGN), a subsidiary of Manitoba's HudBay Minerals, also claims to own.

Early reports indicated CGN's private security guards opened fire while attempting to remove families from their land. Adolfo Ichi Chamán, a teacher and community leader, was killed by gunshot, at least eight more wounded by bullets fired from an AK-47.

Prensa Libre, Guatemala's leading newspaper, reported that during Chamán's funeral service yesterday, thousands of people marched through the streets of El Estor, demanding that the company and the local police chief withdraw from the area within 24 hours.

HudBay released a lengthy statement yesterday claiming that there were no evictions, but instead that "protestors" went on a rampage, attacking government vehicles, a local police station (where they allegedly stole automatic weapons), destroying a hospital built by a coalition of US NGOs, and wounding five employees.

Hudbay goes on to make the absurd claim that the protesters proceeded to open fire on each other.

Liezel Hill of Mining Weekly went on to parrot the company's version of events, as did the Canadian Press and Reuters.

One day after the murder of Chamán, men armed with machine guns opened fire on a mini-bus carrying Indigenous educators and leaders from the El Estor region to Cobán. One man, Martin Choc, was killed, and at least nine more wounded.

These killings are a flare up in a tense area, where the track record of Canadian mining companies includes forced displacement over multiple generations, co-operation with the army, and the burning of homes belonging to Indigenous people.

Shortly after a series of violent evictions that took place on nearby lands in 2007, Skye Resources (later acquired by Hudbay) representatives went on the record and lied through their teeth to defend their actions.

The English-language corporate media has repeatedly turned a blind eye to recent and past events unfolding in El Estor. This kind of reporting facilitates corporate lies and deceit, plain and simple.

Lies and deceit are just what HudBay needs, not only to avoid an international outcry over the recent killings, but also to spin a mining project that is not likely to produce any nickel at all.

There’s more on this on James Rodríguez’s MiMundo.

Urgent Action: Children of Human Right's Defender Threatened

paddaniels — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

We've just received the following message from Kathy Dill - more info in taking part in this urgent action.

On the afternoon of September 14th, 2009, human rights defender Jesus Tecú Osorio received a telephone call on his personal cell phone from an unidentified extortionist who threatened to kidnap, torture and dismember each of Jesus' children, one-by-one, if his demands are not met.

The caller demonstrated that he knows where Jesus lives with his wife and children, as well as the location of the school where his eldest son studies. Like most human rights defenders in Guatemala, Jesus has received many death threats over the years, none of which have been properly investigated. But Jesus has never let intimidation tactics deter him from continuing his human rights work.

This latest threat of barbarism against Jesus' children is an especially heinous act. It is clear that the perpetrator is counting on Guatemala's legendary culture of impunity to shield him from prosecution. Please join us in urging Guatemalan authorities to identify and prosecute the person(s) responsible.

Bio

Jesus Tecú Osorio is the recipient of multiple awards including the 1998 Reebok Human Rights Award, and an honorary law degree from Saint Francis Xavier University, Jesus Tecú Osorio is an extraordinary community organizer, civic leader and internationally recognized human rights defender. Jesus was born in 1971 in the village of Rio Negro and is a member of the Achí-Maya indigenous community located in the northern highland municipality of Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala.

On March 18th 1982, during the height of Guatemala's genocidal counterinsurgency campaign, state agents surrounded the village of Río Negro and massacred 177 women and children. Jesus and 17 other children were held aside so that they could serves as household labor in the homes of local paramilitary collaborators. After two years the municipality finally allowed Jesus' older sister to claim him.

Ten years later, Jesus heard a radio news story about forensic anthropologists conducting an exhumation of a clandestine grave in the neighboring province of El Quiche. He soon became the driving force behind the campaign to compel the public ministry to authorize the exhumation of the Rio Negro massacre site. Since 1993, Jesus has dedicated his life to the defense of human rights.

His work has led to the exhumation of dozens of mass graves in Rabinal and the community's dignified reburial of the remains. Jesus' testimony led to the conviction of local collaborators and he is currently a prime witness in the case against the intellectual authors of the Guatemalan genocide. Jesus is a founding member and past president of the Association for the Integral Development of the Victims of Violence in the Verapaces, Maya Achi (ADIVIMA),[1] founder of The New Hope Foundation, Río Negro,[2] and current director of Rabinal's Legal Clinic.

Public meeting in London - Latin American women to speak about mining issues

MichaelF — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:55:12 -0700

LAMMP (Latin American Mining Monitoring Programme), a member group of London Mining Network, is hosting a public meeting on Tuesday 13th
October with rural and indigenous women activists from Latin America.

The meeting will be at Amnesty International UK's Human Rights Action
Centre,17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA, between 2.30 and 5 pm.

Women from Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala will be speaking at the meeting, which is part of a EUROPEAN SPEAKERS’ TOUR for rural and indigenous women affected by mining projects.

A common thread among women participating in the tour is that as a
result of their peaceful work in defence of the environment and human
rights they face multiple and complex criminal investigations which
their governments are using to set examples. As a result of their
environmental work they fear imprisonment for themselves, and the
intimidation of their families.

At this critical moment when - for the first time - the women's
newly-formed groups are able to voice their concerns about the vision of sustainable development put forward by mining corporations, their
governments' response is to single them out for “crimes against the
state”. Anti-mining activism is an emerging area for rural and
indigenous women, and little is known about the multiple levels of
discrimination they experience. Their newly formed groups (with LAMMP
support) have little political weight. They need the support of the
international community.

Organised by LAMMP, the tour is the first international opportunity for
these rural and indigenous women defenders living in communities
affected by mining developments to raise awareness of gender issues such as the severe impact of mining on the social structure of the community which - among others - manifests itself through an increase in violence against women who speak against mining. Women often feel that life in the community is so transformed by the mining conflict that "peace is gone, there is no more happiness". Another worrying development for women is that abuses against them become "normal" and unworthy of police attention.

Finally, their stories illustrate the (undocumented) rise of poverty
among rural and indigenous women who find themselves in a dire
situation: unable to carry on with traditional income-generating work
due to loss of land to mining and access to natural resources , and
simultaneously unable to find work in the mine.

The objectives of the tour are:

(1) To help reduce women defenders' vulnerability and fear of
imprisonment through greater mobilisation of international support and
encouragement of political support

(2) To lobby European governments and civil society to ensure a deeper, shared understanding into the extent and impact of persecution on women activists, as well as the specific safety issues which the women in the tour face.

(3) To raise the profile and legitimacy of the work women activists do,
and facilitate effective alliances and links between them and European
organisations.

(4) To expose a range of corporate and state practices that are gaining
ground across Latin America, and their impact on women activists and
their families.

Historic conviction in forced disappearance case

MichaelF — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:25:06 -0700

On the 31st August, 2009, former military commissioner Felipe Cusanero Coj was sentenced to 150 years of prison for the forced disappearance of six members of the community of Choatalum in the department of Chimaltenango, between 1982 and 1984. Although the crime of forced disappearance was defined in Guatemala in 1996, this case is the first to be sentenced in the courts in the country for this crime. The sentence therefore sets a vital precedent in a country in which over 45,000 people were forcibly disappeared during the 36-year internal armed conflict.

As an international accompanier in Guatemala, Nathalie attended the recent hearings for the trial and was in the audience as the sentence was read. She has written an article on the case and on being present at the hearings, which can be found on her blog (natyenguate.blogspot.com).

An injustice and abuse of the law

Kevin D — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:15:04 -0700

Raul Figueroa Sarti is a well known, and well respected, human rights-focused publisher in Guatemala. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of F&G Editores. Its publications examine sensitive and important human rights issues that are not frequently covered in mainstream Guatemalan media outlets. F&G Editors has published dozens of groundbreaking human rights texts, including the final report of the UN-backed truth commission which investigated Guatemala’s internal armed conflict and concluded that genocide had occurred.

On August 6, 2009, Figueroa was fined and sentenced to one year in prison (commutable on paying an additional fine) by a criminal court in Guatemala. The crime? – read on.

In 2006, Mardo Arturo Escobar, an officer of the Court, approached Figueroa to see if F&G Editors would publish some of his photos. According to his own testimony, he authorized Figueroa to use one of his photos for the cover of a book being published by F&G. In November 2006, the book was published, crediting Escobar for the photo. Escobar also received copies of the book and visited the F&G offices to have a copy of the book signed by the author. During his visit Escobar reportedly expressed his appreciation for the publication of the photo. Nearly one year later, in August 2007, Escobar filed a criminal complaint for copyright infringement alleging that Figueroa had published the photo without his authorization.

Urgent Actions have been launched by PEN and Human Rights First, and the Portuguese writer Jose Saramago has written about it in his website. GSN’s good friend, Iduvina Hernandez has also written an article about the case. All of these, and more, can be found on a temporary archive site from Kathy Dill.

Great news in a case of forced disappearance

nathalie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:30:00 -0700

It's exciting being here in Guatemala when there are advances in the trials we follow. Last week some great news came out about the case of forced disappearance in the village of Choatalum, the only case currently being tried for the crime of forced disappearance in the courts here. (i)

Felipe Cusanero Coj is accused of being responsible for the forced disappearance of six members of the community in 1982. The defense in the case had argued that as forced disappearance was only defined as a crime in Guatemala in 1996, after the events took place, the trial went against the Guatemalan constitution which states that laws can not be retroactive.

However the Constitutional Court has resolved that the crime of forced disappearance is permanent, as it continues to be committed while the victims continue to be disappeared. Therefore the argument of the "irretroactivity" of the law can not be used to prevent the court proceedings from continuing.

The Constitutional Court's decision is of pivotal importance in a country where, by many accounts, some 45,000 people were disappeared during the 36-year armed conflict. Those disappeared were kidnapped, taken to unknown locations, and it is assumed that they were tortured and then killed. Because of the secrecy within which the disappearances were veiled, the perpetrators were able to act in a state of complete impunity. The relatives of the victims never found out about the fate of their loved ones and to this day live with this uncertainty.

Forced disappearance is classified as a crime against humanity. The American Convention Against Forced Disappearances, in article 2 considers forced disappearance to be the negation of the liberty of one or more people by State agents or by people or groups who act with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the State, followed by a lack of information or the refusal to acknowledge the act of the disappearance, or to inform as to the whereabouts of the victim. This failure to provide information impedes the exercise of legal resources or due penal process. (ii)

It is seen as an assault on human dignity and concretely violates several of the basic human rights defined in the Univeral Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to life, liberty, and security (article 3); the right to not be subjected to torture (article 5); and the right to not be arbitrarily detained (article 9), amongst others. (iii)

Widely used in the past as a mechanism for state terror throughout Latin America, many trace the practice of forced disappearance back to the holocaust in Europe during World War Two, and to Hilter's decree of "night and fog". Let's hope that with the Guatemalan Constitutional Court's resolution in this precedent-setting case some of the fog that has settled over this amazing country can start to clear.

(i) To read the article from the Prensa Libre (in Spanish), click here.
(ii) Report by GAM / Oxfam: La desaparición forzada en Guatemala, March 2007
(iii) ibid.

Interamerican Commission of Human Rights concludes a visit to Guatemala

Gillian H — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:17:33 -0700

The Interamerican Commission on Human Rights recently concluded a visit to Guatemala. As one of the American bodies charged with oversight of the respect for human rights it periodically visits member states. These visits are part of its monitoring role, and form part of the input into its reports. The delegation's primary points of interest were the progress of cases against former high command in the civil war for human rights abuses, indigenous people and the safety of human rights defenders.