Police evict 600 protesters to clear land for hydro-electric dam
Police evict 600 protesters to clear land for hydro-electric dam
Wednesday, 15 February 2012 12:09
Mary Cecelia Bittner
Three protesters were injured Tuesday when police broke up a demonstration against a multi-national company plans to destroy five villages to build a dam.
One man was reported to have lost an eye in the clash, sparked by plans by energy company Quimbo Emgesa, backed by the Colombian government, to flood five villages in order to build a hydroelectric plant.
150 police approached by land and water, surrounding the camp and barricading the area to prevent media access. According to locals, together with "Emgesa's men" they used tear gas to forcibly evict more than 600 demonstrators from their camp on the banks of the Magdalena River, in the southwestern Huilo department.
The proposed $837 million El Quimbo hydroelectric plant requires a dam that will divert the Magdalena River, flooding at least five towns and forcing the relocation of over 458 families, many of them peasants and poor farmers. The displacement has been sanctioned by the Colombian government because of the plant's strategic potential -- it will provide an estimated 8% of the country's electricity and allow the export of energy to neighboring countries.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/22223-police-evict-600-protesters-to-clear-land-for-hydro-electric-dam.html