Peru: new confrontation at Conga mine site
Peru: new confrontation at Conga mine site
Submitted by WW4 Report on Sat, 01/18/2014 - 22:16 Andean Theater
In a new mobilization on the contested Conga mine site in Peru's northern region of Cajamarca, hundreds of local campesinos on Jan. 16 again marched to the shores of the alpine lakes that would be destroyed by the project. National daily La Republica, citing unnamed sources, said the marchers pushed past security guards, and caused "disturbances" and "material damage" to equipment of the Yanacocha mining company. One protester was reported arrested by National Police troops. However, Cajamarca-baed popular organization Tierra y Libertad in a statement on Facebook said only that some 2,000 ronderos (members of the peasant self-defense patrols) from the local provinces of Bambamarca and Celendín marched on the site, taking a six-hour roundabout way through mountain paths to avoid the roadblocks "illegally maintained" by National Police and Yanacocha security.
The regional governor of Cajamarca, Ever Hernández, defended the right of protesters to mobilize, and said he had no power to prohibit or interfere with it. But he added that his administration would cooperate with the National Police to protect public and private property. (RPP, Jan. 15) Days earlier, he expressed support for President Ollanta Humala's plans for an expansion of mineral development in Cajamarca, charging that the region experienced negative economic growth last year. (America Economia, Dec. 30)
However, this was immediately refuted by Cajamarca's left-wing regional president, Gregorio Santos, who said, "There is no economic recession in Cajamarca." (RPP, Jan. 3) The regional president is an elected position, while governors are appointed by the national executive to coordinate security concerns. Santos, an outspoken opponent of the Conga project, recently launched a Social Affirmation Movement (MAS), as a platform to oppose President Humala from the left on the national stage. (RPP, Jan. 6)
http://ww4report.com/node/12936
(Short article, no more at link.)
[center]~ ~ ~
[/center]
The Conga Project: gold or water June 24, 2012 2:05 am
500 years ago, Pizarro arrived in Cajamarca, killed the Inca Atahualpa and took all the gold and silver. Today’s threat comes in the form of mega mining, which destroys the environment – or Mother Earth, as the Andeans would have called it – by replacing all the minerals with contaminated earth, environmental damage and increased poverty.
~snip~
The EIA has been strongly challenged by environmental organizations and independent researchers alike, such as Robert Moran, due to the serious environmental impact posed to the region following the destruction of an entire water system, consisting of four lakes, wetlands, springs, etc. Damage to agriculture and livestock in the area has been written off as an inevitable sacrifice. As such, towns have said yes to water and no to mines. The government has had to commission three international experts to amend the shortcomings of the company’s environmental impact study, proof that it lacks solid environmental standards, therein rendering it largely unworkable. Nonetheless, beyond the Conga project lies the feasibility, or lack thereof, of a neoliberal economic model based on the extraction of raw materials. It should be noted that mining makes up over 60% of Peruvian exports, resulting in a huge environmental impact and deadly consequences for entire populations.
More:
http://www.theprisma.co.uk/2012/06/24/the-conga-project-gold-or-water/#sthash.UlDKNMdj.dpuf