Organizaciones indígenas guatemaltecas denuncian al estado por la ley minera ante la CIDH

Fuente: Consejo del Pueblo Maya de Occidente (CPO) – Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala (NISGUA) – Alerta Minera Canadá – Centro para el Derecho Ambiental Internacional (CIEL)



(Ciudad de Guatemala/Ottawa/Washington) Martes, el Consejo del Pueblo Maya de Occidente (CPO) de Guatemala presentó una demanda ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH), alegando que se aprobó la ley minera sin consulta previa tal como se requiere bajo la ley nacional e internacional. El CPO recurre a la CIDH debido a que ha agotado todos los canales disponibles a nivel nacional para poner alto a las violaciones resultando a raíz de la actual ley minera.

El CPO cuestionó la constitucionalidad de la ley minera de 1997 por primera vez en una demanda interpuesta ante la Corte de Constitucionalidad de Guatemala en julio de 2012. Sin embargo, en marzo de 2013, la Corte de Constitucionalidad falló a favor de la vigencia de la ley minera, contraviniendo las obligaciones legales que tiene Guatemala de consultar la población indígena antes de aprobar políticas que podrían afectar sus territorios de forma significativa.

“Creemos que la decisión de la Corte de Constitucionalidad es ilegal y contradictoria, dado que la misma corte decretó en 2011 que la consulta es un derecho constitucional de los pueblos indígenas de Guatemala. La ley de minería no fue consultado con los pueblos indígenas a pesar que es una medida legislativa susceptible de afectar nuestra forma de vida y que el estado de Guatemala se comprometió de cumplir al ratificar instrumentos internacional de derechos colectivos de pueblos indígenas como el convenio 169”, dijo Lucia Xiloj, abogada y miembro del equipo legal del CPO.


Con más de 360 licencias otorgadas y más de 600 pendientes, el sector minero en Guatemala ha dado lugar al aumento del conflicto y la violencia en diversas partes del país. Al raíz de estos conflictos está la falta de respeto para el consentimiento libre, previo e informado de las comunidades afectadas por los proyectos y las políticas mineras.

Desde 2005, casi un millón de personas han votado en contra de la minería en sus territorios en 78 consultas comunitarias realizadas en el país. Además, una encuesta libre publicada en enero de 2013 demostró que 66% de guatemaltecos rechazan la actividad minera. Sin embargo, ni el gobierno ni las empresas mineras han respetado las decisiones comunitarias; al contrario, se ha intensificado la represión contra quienes se oponen a la minería.

“El conflicto, que tiene a su raíz la violación del derecho a la consulta, ha resultado en ataques violentos y muertos, y la criminalización y persecución de líderes comunitarios”,  dijo Lolita Chávez, miembro del CPO y firmante de la denuncia ante la CIDH.



Bajo el Acuerdo Sobre Identidad y Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas en los Acuerdos de Paz de Guatemala, la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos, el Convenio No. 169 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo, y la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, Guatemala está obligada a respetar el derecho de los pueblos indígenas al consentimiento libre, previo e informado sobre cualquier proyecto que podría impactarles de una forma adversa, y de consultarlos antes de aprobar leyes o iniciativas administrativas que afectarían sus derechos. 

“Una respuesta favorable de la Comisión Interamericana a este caso es de gran importancia, dado que la actual ley minera ha permitido que empresas mineras, de los Estados Unidos y Canadá en particular, explotan los territorios indígenas con una falta de consideración total para la toma de decisiones de los pueblos indígenas sobre sus territorios y recursos naturales”, dijo Kris Genovese, abogada del Centro para el Derecho Ambiental Internacional en Washington D.C.

El Consejo del Pueblo Maya del Occidente es una coalición de autoridades indígenas e instituciones de siete departamentos de Guatemala. La denuncia puesto ante la CIDH tiene 32 firmantes en representación de 8 pueblos indígenas que conforman el Consejo del Pueblo Maya del Occidente. Cada firmante fue elegido durante asambleas comunitarias llevado a cabo antes de sentar la denuncia.

Contactos
Ellen Moore, NISGUA, ellen(at)nisgua.org, (510) 868-0612
Jen Moore, MiningWatch Canada, jen(at)miningwatch.ca, (613) 569-3439
Amanda Kistler, Centro para el Derecho Ambiental Internacional, akistler(at)ciel.org, (202) 742-5832

Antecedentes

En mayo, se mandó el ejército a las comunidades indígenas y no-indígenas por el proyecto Escobal de Tahoe Resources, un proyecto minero de plata al sur de la Ciudad de Guatemala, después de un aumento en la violencia en la zona, lo que incluyó el disparar por parte del equipo de seguridad de la mina en contra de un grupo manifestando de forma pacífica en frente del proyecto. El gerente de seguridad de la empresa y su asesor están actualmente enjuiciados y esperando una audiencia sobre su presunto involucramiento en ordenar y después encubrir evidencia sobre el ataque.

Tahoe Resources es un empresa estrechamente relacionado a la Goldcorp, la cual vendió el proyecto Escobal a Tahoe en 2010 y que actualmente posee 40% de sus acciones y con múltiples puestos en su junta directiva. La mina Marlin de Goldcorp en el noroeste de Guatemala ha sido una fuente de tensiones continuas por falta de respeto a los derechos y las tierras indígenas, y por impactos sobre las fuentes de agua y la salud pública.

Durante casi un año y medio, los pobladores en La Puya, inmediatamente al norte de la Ciudad de Guatemala, han sostenido un bloqueo pacífico en la entrada del proyecto minero Tambor. Este proyecto se encuentra actualmente en manos de Kappes Cassidy & Associates, que adquirió el proyecto de Radius Gold, con sede en Vancouver, en agosto de 2012, después del atento contra de Yolanda Oquelí. Quienes se oponen al proyecto han sufrido amenazas repetidas por parte de los empleados de la empresa durante los últimos diez meses, a pesar de haber entrado en un diálogo de alto nivel con el gobierno en junio.

En agosto, Derechos en Acción reportó que un grupo de mujeres en la municipalidad de El Estor están enfrentando intimidación y hostigamiento por su participación en llevar tres demandas en contra de Hudbay Minerals, con sede en Toronto. Las demandas refieren a la violación sexual de un grupo de once mujeres durante un desalojo forzoso en 2007, y el asesinato a tiros en 2009 de Adolfo Ich Chamán y paralisis de German Choc. Se está litigando el caso en una corte de la provincia de Ontario, Canadá y marcan la primera vez que las cortes canadienses admiten un caso en contra de una empresa matriz por presuntos abusos por parte de su empresa filial en la extranjera.

Comunicado del CPO: El Consejo de los Pueblos Mayas y Xinca, denuncian al estado de Guatemala ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos


Porque la Corte de Constitucionalidad, mediante sentencia emitida el 28 de febrero de 2013, resolvió sin lugar la acción de inconstitucionalidad planteada en contra de la Ley de Minería el 12 de marzo de 2012.



Dicha sentencia incurrió al Estado de Guatemala en responsabilidad internacional al dejar vigente la Ley de Minería; no obstante la obligación internacional del Estado de garantizar el ejercicio efectivo de nuestros derechos políticos de participación, consulta y consentimiento en materia legislativa.



Los derechos humanos colectivos e individuales que han sido violentados por el Estado de Guatemala incluyen:



a. Derechos políticos ―derechos de participación, consulta y consentimiento―, reconocidos en el artículo 23.1.a de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos (la Convención).


b. Derecho de igualdad ante la ley, reconocido en el artículo 24 de la Convención.


c. Derecho a las garantías judiciales y protección judicial ―derecho de acceso a la justicia―, reconocido en los artículos 8.1 y 25.1 de la Convención. En relación con los artículos 1.1 y 2 de la Convención.



Con base en la descripción de hechos y la enunciación de los derechos violentados, ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos solicitamos:



a. Que proceda al análisis de nuestro caso y que requiera al Estado de Guatemala las observaciones pertinentes.


b. Que emita el respectivo informe de admisibilidad.


c. Que determine la responsabilidad del Estado de Guatemala como violador de los artículos 23.1.a, 24, 8.1 y 25.1, en relación con los artículos 1.1 y 2 de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos, a través de la emisión de un informe de fondo.

Guatemalan Indigenous Organizations File Complaint over Mining Law with Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Sources: Western Peoples' Council (CPO) - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) - MiningWatch Canada – Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

(Guatemala City/Ottawa/Washington) Tuesday, Guatemala's Western Peoples' Council of Mayan organizations (CPO) filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alleging that the country’s mining law was approved without their prior consultation as required under both national and international law. The IACHR is the last resort for the CPO, which has exhausted all domestic recourse to halt violations as a result of current mining legislation.



The CPO first challenged the constitutionality of the 1997 Mining Law in a July 2012 suit filed with Guatemala’s Constitutional Court. In March 2013, however, the Constitutional Court upheld the mining law, contradicting Guatemala's legal obligations to consult with indigenous peoples before the approval of policies that will significantly impact their territories.

“We believe that Constitutional Court’s decision is illegal and contradictory, given that the same court ruled in 2011 that consultation is a constitutional right of indigenous peoples in Guatemala. Indigenous peoples were not consulted on the Mining Law despite its implications for our way of life and the state’s commitment to respect the collective rights of indigenous people under international legal instruments such as the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169,” said Lucia Xiloj, attorney and member of the CPO legal team.



With over 360 mining licenses issued and more than 600 pending, Guatemala’s mining sector has been in the spotlight for increasing conflict and violence across the country. At the root of these conflicts is the lack of respect for free, prior and informed consent of affected communities at the project and policy level.



Nearly a million people have voted against mining on their territories in 78 community referenda held throughout Guatemala since 2005. A public opinion survey published in January 2013 further demonstrated that some 66% of Guatemalans are opposed to mining. Nonetheless, neither the government nor the mining companies have respected community decisions; instead repression against those opposed to mining has intensified.

“The conflict, which has at its root the violation of the right to consultation, has resulted in targeted attacks and death, as well as the criminalization and persecution of community leaders,” said Lolita Chavez, member of the CPO and a signatory on the IACHR complaint.



According to the Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala’s Peace Accords, the American Convention on Human Rights, the International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Guatemala is obliged to respect the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent for any project that could adversely impact them, and to consult with them before passing laws or administrative initiatives that would affect their rights.
 


“A favorable response from the Inter-American Commission on this case is vitally important, given that the current mining law has allowed Canadian and U.S. mining companies in particular to exploit indigenous territories with complete disregard for indigenous peoples' decision-making processes regarding their lands and resources,” said Kris Genovese, Senior Attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law in Washington D.C.



The Western People’s Council is a coalition of indigenous authorities and institutions from seven departments of Guatemala. The complaint filed in the IACHR has 32 signatories representing 8 indigenous groups that make up the Western Peoples’ Council. Each signatory was elected during community assemblies carried out during the weeks leading up to the filing.
 


Contacts

• Ellen Moore, NISGUA, ellen(at)nisgua.org, (510) 868-0612
• Jen Moore, MiningWatch Canada, jen(at)miningwatch.ca, (613) 569-3439 
• Amanda Kistler, Center for International Environmental Law, akistler(at)ciel.org, (202) 742-5832

Background 



In May, the military was sent into indigenous and non-indigenous communities in the area of Tahoe Resources’ Escobal silver project south of Guatemala City, following increased violence in the region, including a shooting against protesters demonstrating peacefully outside the mine site. The company’s head of security and his advisor are currently awaiting trial for their alleged involvement in ordering and then covering up evidence of the attack.



Tahoe Resources is a spin-off from Goldcorp, which sold the Escobal project to Tahoe in 2010 and which now holds 40% of Tahoe’s shares and multiple positions on its board of directors. Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala has been the source of continuing tensions over lack of respect for indigenous rights and land, and impacts on water supplies and public health.



For nearly a year and a half, community members in La Puya, just north of Guatemala City, have been peacefully blocking entry to the Tambor mine project currently in the hands of Kappes Cassidy & Associates, which took over the project from Vancouver-based Radius Gold in August 2012 following the shooting of Yolanda Oquelí. Community members opposing the project have faced repeated threats from company workers during the last ten months, despite entering into a high-level dialogue with the government in June.



In August, Rights Action reported that female plaintiffs are facing intimidation and harassment for having brought three lawsuits against Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals regarding the gang rape of a group of women during a forced eviction in 2007 and shootings in 2009 in the eastern municipality of El Estor. The lawsuits are taking place in an Ontario court and mark the first time that alleged human rights abuses regarding a foreign-owned subsidiary have been admitted against a parent company in Canada.


CPO Communiqué: The Council of Maya and Xinca Peoples Denounces the Guatemala State in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

On February 28, 2013, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court dismissed the Council’s challenge of unconstitutionality filed against the mining law on March 12, 2012. 

As a result of leaving the current Mining Law in force, the State of Guatemala violates its responsibilities under international law, under which it is obliged to guarantee the effective exercise of our rights to political participation, consultation and consent regarding such legislation.

The collective and individual human rights that have been violated by the State of Guatemala are:

a.    Political Rights – the rights to participation, consultation and consent as recognized in article 23.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights (The Convention).
b.    Right to equality under the law as recognized in article 24 of the Convention.
c.    Right to legal guarantees and judicial protection – right to access to justice – as per articles 8.1 and 25.1 of the Convention, in relation to articles 1.1 and 2 of the Convention.

Based on the description of the facts and declaration of the rights that have been violated; we request that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:

a.    Proceed with the analysis of our case and request the relevant observations from the state of Guatemala;
b.    Emit the pertinent report regarding admissibility of the case;
c.    Determine the responsibility of the state of Guatemala for violation of articles 23.1.a., 24, 8.1, and 25.1, related to articles 1.1 y 2 of the Convention through the elaboration of an in-depth report.

The Council of Maya and Xinca Peoples denounces the Guatemalan State in the IACHR

The Council presents their demand on September 3, 2013. Photo: CPO

THE COUNCIL OF MAYA AND XINCA PEOPLES DENOUNCES THE GUATEMALAN STATE IN THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

On February 28, 2013, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court dismissed the Council’s challenge of unconstitutionality filed against the mining law on March 12, 2012. 

As a result of leaving the current Mining Law in force, the State of Guatemala violates its responsibilities under international law, under which it is obliged to guarantee the effective exercise of our rights to political participation, consultation and consent regarding such legislation.

The collective and individual human rights that have been violated by the State of Guatemala are:

a.    Political Rights – the rights to participation, consultation and consent as recognized in article 23.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights (The Convention).

b.    Right to equality under the law as recognized in article 24 of the Convention.

c.    Right to legal guarantees and judicial protection – right to access to justice – as per articles 8.1 and 25.1 of the Convention, in relation to articles 1.1 and 2 of the Convention.

Based on the description of the facts and declaration of the rights that have been violated; we request that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:

a.    Proceed with the analysis of our case and request the relevant observations from the state of Guatemala;

b.    Emit the pertinent report regarding admissibility of the case;

c.    Determine the responsibility of the state of Guatemala for violation of articles 23.1.a., 24, 8.1, and 25.1, related to articles 1.1 y 2 of the Convention through the elaboration of an in-depth report.

Guatemala City, September 3, 2013

Querellantes guatemaltecos celebran la efectiva suspensión de la licencia otorgada a Tahoe Resources

(Ottawa/Ciudad de Guatemala) El martes pasado, la Sala Primera de la Corte de Apelaciones del Ramo Civil y Mercantil notificó al Centro de Acción Legal Ambiental y Social (calas) su aceptación del recurso relacionado con la licencia de producción de Tahoe Resources para el proyecto Escobal de esta empresa.

El pasado mes de mayo, Quelvin Jiménez, del Parlamento Xinka, presentó una apelación con el apoyo legal de calas, en la que alegaba la falta de proceso debido en torno a una queja que había interpuesto en contra de la licencia de la empresa, antes de que la misma fuese concedida el 3 de abril de 2013. El Parlamento xinca, el Comité en Defensa de la Vida y la Paz San Rafael Las Flores y el Consejo Diocesano para la Defensa de la Naturaleza de Santa Rosa respaldaron el proceso de apelación.

La Corte de Apelaciones dictaminó a favor de Jiménez, ordenando al Ministerio de Energía y Minas que atendiera adecuadamente su queja, basada en la preocupación existente respecto a los impactos negativos que la mina de plata de Tahoe, actualmente en construcción, tendría en los recursos de agua del área de Escobal, cercana a este proyecto.

Rafael Maldonado, abogado de calas, comentó: “Es una sentencia histórica a favor de los derechos de los guatemaltecos. Esta decisión significa la suspensión de la licencia de explotación de Tahoe Resources, lo cual evitará que la empresa ponga la mina en operación.”

Desde noviembre de 2011, Jiménez y más de 200 habitantes de las comunidades afectadas presentaron objeciones formales frente a la solicitud de licencia que Tahoe realizara al Ministerio de Energía y Minas. Menos de una hora antes de que el Ministerio anunciara que había otorgado la licencia a Tahoe, Jiménez y las demás personas fueron notificados de que sus objeciones habían sido desestimadas.

Jiménez considera que la decisión más reciente constituye una señal de esperanza para las comunidades afectadas, en las que las tensiones se habían agudizado durante los últimos  meses. Durante una conferencia de prensa llevada a cabo el pasado miércoles, Jiménez comentó, “Lo único que la mina de Escobal está produciendo actualmente es conflicto en el área.”

La mina Escobal de Tahoe Resources ha estado sumergida en controversias, debido a la significativa oposición comunitaria y al surgimiento de brotes de violencia, el más reciente de los cuales fue vinculado a personal de la empresa. El gerente de Seguridad de la mina, Alberto Rotondo, se encuentra bajo arresto domiciliario hasta la realización del juicio en torno a su supuesta participación en los tiroteos del 27 de abril contra las personas que protestaban en las afueras de la mina, los cuales dejaron a seis personas heridas.

Hasta 2010, Goldcorp era propietaria de la mina de plata Escobal y, actualmente, retiene 40% de las acciones comunes de Tahoe Resources. La mayoría de los directivos de Tahoe tiene vínculos actuales o anteriores con la productora de oro Goldcorp, cuya mina Marlin, localizada en el noroeste de Guatemala, ha sido el motivo de constantes conflictos en base de su falta de respeto para el consentimiento libre, previo e informado de las comunidades indígenas, así como por las continuas preocupaciones en relación a los impactos negativos de la mina sobre los recursos de agua y la salud de las comunidades afectadas.

25 de julio de 2013

Traducción hecho por MiningWatch. Lea el comunicado de prensa en inglés aquí.

Guatemalan complainants celebrate effective suspension of Tahoe Resources license

CALAS and the Xinca Parliament announce the suspension of
Tahoe Resources' mining license on Wednesday morning. Photo: Prensa Libre

(Ottawa/Guatemala City) On Tuesday, the Civil and Mercantile Division of Guatemala’s First Court of Appeals notified the Centre for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS) that it is upholding an appeal associated with Tahoe Resources' production license for the Escobal project.

Quelvin Jimenez of the indigenous Xinka Parliament presented the appeal in May with legal support from CALAS, claiming lack of due process regarding a complaint he filed against the company's license prior to it being granted on April 3, 2013. The Xinca Parliament, the San Rafael Las Flores Committee in Defense of Life and Peace, and the Santa Rosa Diocese Council for the Defence of Nature (CODIDENA) supported the appeal process.

The Appeals Court found in favour of Jimenez and ordered the Ministry of Energy and Mines to adequately attend to his complaint, which was based on concerns over negative impacts on water supplies in the area of Tahoe’s Escobal silver project, currently under construction.

CALAS lawyer Rafael Maldonaldo remarked, “This is a historic sentence for the rights of all Guatemalans. The decision means the suspension of Tahoe Resources’ exploitation licence, preventing the company from putting the mine into production.”

Since November 2011, Jimenez and more than 200 other affected community members presented formal objections to Tahoe’s request for a licence from the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Less than an hour before the Ministry announced that it had granted Tahoe its license, Jimenez and others were notified that their objections would not be heard.

Jimenez regards the decision as a sign of hope for the affected communities where tensions have run high in recent months. During a press conference Wednesday morning he remarked, “The only thing the Escobal mine is currently producing in the area is conflict.”

Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine has been mired in controversy given broad community opposition and incidents of violence, the most recent of which has been linked to company personnel. Then Security Manager of the Escobal mine, Alberto Rotondo, is under house arrest awaiting trial for alleged participation in an April 27 shooting against people protesting outside the mine that left six wounded.

Goldcorp owned the Escobal silver project until 2010 and currently holds 40% of Tahoe Resources’ common shares. Most of Tahoe’s directors have prior or current connections back to the gold producer whose Marlin mine in northwestern Guatemala has been a site of permanent conflict, given lack of respect for community consent and ongoing concerns over impacts on water supplies and the health of indigenous communities.

Contacts:

• Rafael Maldonado, Centre for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS), (502) 5307 4250
• Jen Moore, Latin America Program Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada, (613) 569-3439
• Lisa Rankin, Coordinator, Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network, (502) 5071 4164

Communities of Santa Rosa and Jalapa denounce criminalization of leaders opposing Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine

Since the May 2 declaration of a state of siege in four municipalities surrounding Tahoe Resources' mine, 12 members of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael had their homes raided by police and military forces, five community members have been arrested and charged, and at least 18 more have pending arrest warrants against them.

During the last year, there have been more than 70 legal processes against individuals peacefully opposing Tahoe's Escobal mine. Many of those singled out have participated in the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace and have been leaders in the organization of the 12 community consultations carried out in the region since 2011. In each of the consultations, the population voted overwhelmingly against mining projects in their territory.

Criminalization continued during the May state of siege when Judge Carol Patricia Flores, who attempted to annul the historic genocide trial before the Constituional Court did so officially on May 20, issued at least 18 arrest warrants in a legal process filled with anomalies. Among the five arrested was Guillermo Carrera, community leader and member of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace. After almost two months in prison, a judge in Jalapa has only just been assigned to hear Carrera's case. All of the accused are implicated in crimes related to the robbery of mine explosives in November 2012 and the detention of police officers in Santa Maria Xalapán in April 2013.

Supporter calls for due process at the peaceful protest outside the Public Prosecutor's office. A photo of Guillermo Carrera, unjustly imprisoned for almost 2 months, hangs around his neck. (Photo: NISGUA)

President of the Xinca Parliament, Roberto González, and prominent leader of the Committee for the Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael las Flores, Rudy Pivaral, are among those with arrest warrants pending. González was one of the Xinca leaders kidnapped after leaving a community consultation on the Tahoe project in March, 2013. Rudy Pivaral has been instrumental is the organization of the eight consultations to date in the municipality of San Rafael las Flores.

On June 19, the Campesino Unity Committee (CUC) and the Xinca Parliament filed an appeal against High Risk Court “A” judge, Carol Patricia Flores. The legal action denounced the loss of the court audio, considered to be critical pretrial evidence. According to Sergio Beltetón, legal counsel for CUC, “It is a violation of the Penal Process, which requires that all judicial hearings be electronically recorded... the judge's excuse is that the audio was lost, and that it wasn't recorded on a CD or a hard drive on the computer.” 

Today, families, friends and supporters of the criminalized and jailed gathered outside Guatemala's Public Prosecutor's office to demand an end to criminalization and respect for due process. NISGUA joins our Guatemalan partners in denouncing the persecution of community and indigenous leaders legitimately defending their territory, self-determination and the right to live in a healthy environment. 

Rudy Pivaral's mother calls for due process in the case against her son. (Photo: NISGUA)

Despite the ongoing persecution of mine opposition, important steps have been made in the search for justice for victims of the violent attack carried out against peaceful protesters outside the mine site on April 27. Two Tahoe Resources employees have been arrested and charged in connection to the attack against community members in which six men were seriously injured. Former Tahoe head of security, Alberto Rotondo, and security advisor Juan Pablo Oliva Trejo are under house arrest awaiting trial.

NISGUA has been accompanying the consultation processes in the communities surrounding the Tahoe Resources mine site since 2011. 

Complaint asks for investigation into Tahoe Resources after wiretap evidence implicates employees in violence at Escobal mine

On Saturday April 27, mine security at Tahoe Resources' Escobal project opened fire on community members peacefully gathered outside the mine site. Six men were shot and seriously injured. This incident set of a chain of events, eventually resulting in the declaration of a state of siege in four municipalities surrounding the Escobal mine. 

On April 30, Alberto Rotondo, Security Manager for Tahoe Resources was arrested and on May 7 Rotondo was charged with obstruction of justice and assault. On May 4, another Tahoe employee, Juan Pablo Oliva Trejo, was arrested and later charged with concealment of evidence for his role in helping Rotondo mobilize during the days following the attack. Wire tap evidence gathered by Guatemala's Public Prosecutor's office implicates both men in the crimes.

According to Canadian law, Tahoe Resources is obligated to inform their shareholders and the public in general of any events that may impact the project. Tahoe has only released one statement regarding the concerning events on April 27, downplaying the seriousness of the incident and criminal implications for their employees. On May 31, the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, in coordination with local partners, submitted a complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission regarding Tahoe's lack of disclosure. Please see the press release below.

For further background on Tahoe's dangerous investment, see our May 8 Investor Alert here. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 3, 2013

COMPLAINT ASKS ONTARIO SECURITIES COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE TAHOE RESOURCES AFTER WIRETAP EVIDENCE IMPLICATES EMPLOYEES IN VIOLENCE AT GUATEMALA MINE

(Toronto/Ottawa) Friday, the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) submitted a complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission regarding Tahoe Resources’ (TSX: THO; NYSE: TAHO) poor disclosure about violence in connection with the company’s only mine project in southeast Guatemala.

On April 27, security personnel shot and wounded six people gathered outside of the Escobal mine site. Wiretap evidence gathered under orders of the Guatemalan public prosecutor’s office has implicated company employees.

According to the wiretap evidence, Tahoe’s Security Manager Alberto Rotondo ordered the mine security to attack the protestors. Mr. Rotondo has been charged with causing serious and minor injuries and obstructing justice, which included tampering with evidence at the site of the crime. He is currently under house arrest and awaiting an evidentiary hearing in July 2013.

The security advisor for the company, Juan Pablo Oliva Trejo, has also been apprehended in connection to the attack and charged with concealing a crime. According to wiretap evidence, he helped Mr. Rotondo mobilize in the days following the attack, warning him to leave the country to avoid facing legal problems. 

According to Securities Commission requirements, Tahoe Resources must file material changes “forthwith”. Company disclosure, however, has been both insufficient and inaccurate.

“We are concerned that Tahoe Resources has downplayed the serious crimes for which its employees have been accused in comments to the press and that it has not issued an official statement since the wiretap evidence came to light that would correct earlier errors,” stated lawyer Shin Imai of JCAP at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

JCAP has requested that the Commission undertake an investigation based on section 75(1) of the Securities Act. JCAP filed the complaint on behalf of MiningWatch Canada and its Guatemalan partner, the Committee for the Defence of Peace and Life of San Rafael Las Flores.

“As the company’s only mine project, investors, and the public in general, need to know about the implication of its employees in such an egregious attack, as well as widespread and ongoing opposition to the mine,” remarked Jen Moore for MiningWatch Canada.

Local communities have resoundingly rejected the Escobal mining project in 12 community consultations to date and have sustained a peaceful resistance to the mine for three years. Goldcorp Inc. owned the Escobal project until 2010 and currently owns 40% of the shares in Tahoe Resources. As of March 2012, the Canadian Pension Plan held $9 million CDN worth of shares in the company. 

A copy of the letter submitted to the Ontario Securities Commission on May 30 can be accessed here. Refer to an Investor Alert from May 8 for further background here.

Contact:

Shin Imai, Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, (tel) 647-524-2312

Jennifer Moore, Latin America Program Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada, (tel) 613-569-3439, jen(@)miningwatch.ca

The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) is made up of volunteer lawyers and law students who provide research and advice on corporate accountability in Latin America.

MiningWatch Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative supported by environmental, social justice, Aboriginal and labour organisations from across the country. It addresses the urgent need for a co-ordinated public interest response to the threats to public health, water and air quality, fish and wildlife habitat and community interests posed by irresponsible mineral policies and practices in Canada and around the world.

Se solicita a Comisión de Valores en Canadá investigar a Minera Tahoe luego de que escuchas telefónicas vincluan a sus empleados en hecho violentos en Guatemala

PARA DIFUSIÓN INMEDIATA
3 de junio 2013


(Toronto/Ottawa) El Proyecto Justicia y Responsabilidad Corporativa (Justice and Corporate Accountability Project - JCAP) en Canadá entregó el día viernes una queja a la Comisión de Valores de la provincia de Ontario en relación a la empresa Tahoe Resources (TSX: THO; NYSE: TAHO) por su deficiente divulgación de información sobre los casos de violencia vinculados a su único proyecto minero en el suroriente de Guatemala. 

El 27 de abril, empleados de seguridad dispararon e hirieron a seis personas que se encontraban en frente del proyecto minero Escobal. Las escuchas telefónicas encargadas por el Ministerio Público de Guatemala implican a empleados de la empresa minera en los hechos.

Según la evidencia de las escuchas telefónicas, Alberto Rotondo, gerente de seguridad de la empresa Tahoe, ordenó a las fuerzas de seguridad de la mina atacar a los manifestantes. Rotondo ha sido ligado a proceso por obstaculización de la investigación penal, y por lesiones leves y graves. Se encuentra bajo medida sustitutiva de arresto domiciliario, a la espera de una audiencia probatoria en julio de este año.

El asesor de seguridad de la empresa, Juan Pablo Oliva Trejo, también fue detenido en conexión con el ataque y ligado a proceso por el delito de encubrimiento propio. Según las escuchas telefónicas, Trejo ayudó a Rotondo a movilizarse durante los días siguientes al ataque y le advirtió a Rotondo que saliera del país para evitar conflictos legales.

Según las directrices de la Comisión de Valores, Tahoe Resources debe presentar cambios materiales “de inmediato”. Sin embargo, la divulgación de información por parte de la empresa ha sido insuficiente e inexacta.

“Nos preocupa que Tahoe Resources minimice la gravedad de los serios crímenes por los que se acusa a sus empleados en sus comentarios a la prensa y que no haya emitido una declaración oficial para corregir los errores en la información emitida anteriormente a que surgiera la evidencia de las escuchas telefónicas”, indicó el abogado Shin Imai, del JCAP, Facultad de Derecho Osgoode Hall en Toronto.

JCAP solicitó que la Comisión de Valores inicie una investigación basándose en la sección 75(1) de la Ley de Valores (Securities Act) de la provincia de Ontario. JCAP presentó la demanda en nombre de Alerta Minera Canadá y su contraparte en Guatemala, el Comité en Defensa de la Vida y la Paz de San Rafael Las Flores.

“Dado a que este es el único proyecto minero de la empresa, es importante que los accionistas y el público en general sepan que los empleados están implicados en ataques de esta magnitud, además de la constante y extensa oposición a la mina,” comentó Jen Moore de Alerta Minera Canadá.

Las comunidades locales han rechazado rotundamente el proyecto minero Escobal en las 12 consultas comunitarias llevadas a cabo hasta la fecha, y durante tres años se han mantenido en resistencia pacífica a la mina. El proyecto minero Escobal perteneció a Goldcorp Inc. hasta el 2010 y actualmente esta empresa posee 40% de las acciones de Tahoe Resources. En marzo de 2012, el Plan de Pensiones de Canadá (Canada Pension Plan) poseía el equivalente de US$8.7 millones en acciones de la empresa.

Se puede acceder a una copia de la carta entregada a la Comisión de Valores de la provincia de Ontario aquí (en inglés). Para más detalle, descargar esta Alerta para Inversionstas aquí (español). 

Contactos:

Shin Imai, Proyecto Justicia y Responsabilidad Corporativa (Justice and Corporate Accountability Project - JCAP), Facultad de Derecho Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, (tel) 647-524-2312, simai@justice-project.org

Jennifer Moore, Coordinadora del Programa de Latinoamérica, Alerta Minera Canadá, (tel) 613-569-3439, jen@miningwatch.ca

Proyecto Justicia y Responsabilidad Corporativa (JCAP) es una agrupación de abogadas/os y estudiantes de derecho dedicada a la investigación y asesoramiento sobre responsabilidad empresarial en América Latina.

Alerta Minera Canadá es una iniciativa pan-canadiense que cuenta con el apoyo de organizaciones ambientales, de justicia social, sindicales e indígenas, de todo el país. Su objetivo es responder de manera coordinada y en relación al interés público a los temas de salud pública, calidad del agua y aire, hábitat acuático y vida silvestre, e intereses de las comunidades, frente a las amenazas que imponen en estos temas las prácticas y políticas irresponsables sobre minerales en Canadá y en el resto del mundo..

Tahoe Resources Investor Alert calls Guatemala project a Dangerous Investment

(Ottawa/Guatemala City) – Yesterday, the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) and MiningWatch Canada warned Tahoe Resources investors against further investment in the Escobal silver project, given lack of community support and increasing violence and repression in the area. Risks identified include:

1. Tahoe Resources does not have the social license to operate the Escobal project;
2. It is likely that conflict and violence will persist if the mining project continues to be imposed without community consent, given recent violence attributed to public armed forces, an illegal armed group and the company’s private security;
3. Implication of company private security in recent acts of violence could lead to civil lawsuits as has taken place in relation to other mining conflicts in which Canadian companies are involved;
4. Tahoe Resources is already under investigation in Guatemala for industrial contamination of water supplies near the Escobal mine site;
5. Failure of Guatemalan regulators to address residents’ complaints prior to granting company’s exploitation license is under appeal, which could put Tahoe’s exploitation license in jeopardy;
6. By repeating patterns seen in Guatemala’s mining sector in connection with Goldcorp’s Marlin mine, including lack of respect for prior community consultation, targeting of peaceful protesters through the judicial system and putting the project into production in the midst of violence and repression, the company is likely to be the object of further protests.

The project is located in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores in the department of Santa Rosa where for over three years local communities have been peacefully demonstrating their opposition to the mining project given concerns over potential social and environmental impacts. Twelve municipal and community level plebiscites have been carried out in which over 90% of participants voted against the mine.



Tahoe Resources’ received its license to put the Escobal silver mine project into operation in early April despite widespread social opposition to the project and unaddressed complaints against the granting of the permit.



Tahoe’s project has provoked an increase in conflict in the region, which recently escalated on April 27 when the company’s private security shot at community members, injuring six men, two of them seriously. Contrary to company statements, a spokesperson for the Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City indicated that live ammunition was used. Alberto Rotondo, security manager for Minera San Rafael, Tahoe Resources’ wholly owned Guatemalan subsidiary, has been arrested and charged with with causing mild and serious bodily harm, and for obstructing the investigation by tampering with the crime scene. Two more supposed mine employees have been arrested in connection with the recent violence, including the killing of a police officer.



On May 2, the Guatemalan government declared a state of siege in San Rafael Las Flores, where Tahoe’s Escobal project is located effectively making public protest and further community consultations illegal as long as the measure remains in place. Local activists have been among those targeted in raids and detentions. 



NISGUA and MiningWatch Canada will be sending their report to key analysts and shareholders in Tahoe Resources Ltd. including the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, which holds 439 thousand shares in Tahoe worth approximately $9 million CAD.



The investor alert can be downloaded here.

NISGUA has accompanied the consultation processes in the communities surrounding the Tahoe Resources mine site since 2011.

Guatemalan gov't declares state of siege in municipalities surrounding Tahoe Escobal mine

During the early hours of Thursday, May 2, one day after the first anniversary of the state of siege in Santa Cruz de Barillas, Huehuetenango, the Guatemalan government declared another state of siege in four municipalities surrounding Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine. The imposition of martial law comes less than one month after Minera San Rafael, Tahoe Resources wholly-owned Guatemala subsidiary, received its final permit for mineral exploitation. The permit was granted without the consent of the affected communities and in a context of escalating violence and criminalization against human rights defenders and their legal council.

Over the past three years, four municipalities, including two of those currently under a state of siege, carried out municipal level community referenda rejecting mining projects in their territory. During the past two months, eight villages in San Rafael Las Flores have carried out community referenda, given that attempts to organize a municipal level consultation were thwarted by legal appeals and injunctions filed by individuals who work for Minera San Rafael. In each of these referenda, the population voted overwhelmingly against the Escobal project.

"With the referedum we decide our future" Banner of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace (Photo: NISGUA)

In a press conference yesterday, President Otto Pérez Molina and Minister of the Interior Mauricio López Bonilla explained that the suspension of basic civil liberties is in effect for the municipalities of Casillas and San Rafael Las Flores, in the department of Santa Rosa, as well as Jalapa and Mataquescuintla, in the department of Jalapa.

State of siege in Santa Rosa and Jalapa (Photo: MiMundo.org)

While Pérez Molina and López Bonilla claim the state of siege is not in response to mine opposition, their actions suggest otherwise. Prominent community activists, members of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace, and leaders of the community referenda in San Rafael, had their homes raided by police early Thursday morning. The government has issued at least 18 arrest warrants for individuals allegedly involved in delinquent acts, including Roberto Gonzalez president of the Xinca Parliament and Rudy Pirvaral of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace.

In statements to the press Bonilla attempted to explain that mining opposition has been used as a pretext for the establishment of organized crime in the region. "There is a difference between legitimate conflict and pseudo-conflict...by saying that they are opposing [the mine] through delinquent acts, they are hiding behind the excuse of mining opposition. It favors them to make people believe that there is conflict over mining in all of the municipalities."

State of siege in Santa Rosa and Jalapa (Photo: MiMundo.org)

The past week has seen an increase in conflict and violence in the departments surrounding the mine site.

On Saturday, April 27 mine security shot at and injured six community members, as they walked on a public road located in front of the mine installations. One of the men remain in the hospital in critical condition. Alberto Rotondo, head of security for Tahoe Resources' subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, is being held responsible for the attack. Medical personnel confirmed the attack was carried out with live ammunition, as well as rubber bullets, despite initial declarations from the company and López Bonilla which claimed only non-lethal measures were used. On the morning of April 30, Guatemalan authorities arrested Rotondo in the airport as he attempted to flee the country. Rotondo has been formally charged with attempted homicide.

On Monday the 29th, as Minera San Rafael management and the Guatemalan government signed an agreement outlining the royalties to be paid to the state, more than 2,000 residents of San Rafael Las Flores took to the streets in a peaceful march in opposition to the mine project. Later that afternoon, community members intercepted and detained 23 members of the national police in Jalapa, believing that they were mobilizing to repress the march in San Rafael. An operation carried out by the national police the following day resulted in the release of the officers.

Later that same day, a member of the National Police was killed in an armed attack carried out by a group of masked men in Sabana Redonda, a community located near the mine site. While this incident is still under investigation by Guatemalan authorities, the attack matches the pattern previously denounced by human rights organizations, which is characterized by illegal clandestine groups intent on creating instability in the region and delegitimizing peaceful opposition to the mine.

These recent events highlight the need for an in-depth investigation into the attacks and violence being carried out in communities surrounding the mine site, as was called for in the petition of over 4,000 signatures delivered by NISGUA to Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s office in early April.

Despite government claims on Thursday that they are in dialogue with mine affected communities, the deployment of 8,500 military and police to the four municipalities suggests otherwise. Far from acting as a mediator, the Guatemalan government has instead chosen to respond to conflict with the repression of communities opposing large-scale development projects and the stigmatization of community leaders and human rights defenders.

NISGUA has been accompanying the consultation processes in the communities surrounding the Tahoe Resources mine site since 2011.

Mining license approved in wake of violence, investigation into murder pending

Today, NISGUA and the International Coalition against Unjust Mining in Guatemala (CAMIGUA), presented a petition with over 4,000 signatures to Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz asking her to launch an investigation into the murder of Xinca leader Exaltación Marcos Ucelo. Ucelo was abducted, together with three other Xinca leaders, while returning from a community consultation on mining in San Rafael Las Flores. Last week, despite ongoing violence against community leaders and their allies, the Guatemalan government granted Tahoe Resources an exploitation license for the Escobal project in San Rafael las Flores.

In the below press release, NISGUA, in coalition with CAMIGUA, denounces the granting of the license in this context of increasing violence. NISGUA has accompanied communities and organizations resisting Tahoe's Escobal project since 2011.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2013
Mining license approved in wake of violence, investigation into murder pending


(Washington DC, Ottawa, Guatemala City) – After more than two years of delay, the Guatemalan Minister of Energy and Mines (MEM) announced on Wednesday, April 3, that it had approved the exploitation license for Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine in San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala. The announcement comes less than two weeks after four indigenous Xinca leaders were abducted while returning from a community referendum in El Volcancito, in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores, in which more than 99 percent of people voted against the project. One of those abducted was found dead the next day.


“That MEM issued the license while the investigation of our friend Exaltación Marcos Ucelo’s murder is still pending is not only an affront to Exaltación’s memory, but it is also a violation of our right to consent,” said Roberto González, President of the Xinca Parliament, who was one of the four abducted, only to be released hours later. “If there is impunity for outright murder, how can we expect the Guatemalan government to protect us from harmful contamination generated by mining operations?”

More than 4,300 individuals from 42 countries have signed a letter to Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, requesting her office involve the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to carry out a robust investigation into the attack and murder. The letter also urges the government to protect human rights and environmental defenders as they exercise their rights to live in a safe and healthy environment and to free, prior and informed consent.

“That this license was issued at all is a miscarriage of justice,” said Kristen Genovese, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law. “The context of escalating violence only highlights what any impartial observer can see: the Escobal project does not have the social license to operate. Thus far the Guatemalan government has prioritized mining interests over justice and the protection of human rights, and it’s time for the CICIG to step in.”

According to declarations by Rafael Maldonado of the Center for Legal, Social and Environmental Action in Guatemala at a press conference on Thursday, the process to approve the license was “illegal, arbitrary and obscure.” He added that the license approval comes amidst ongoing reports of intimidation, violence, and provocation perpetrated by armed, clandestine groups allegedly linked to the mine private security and the State security apparatus.

“The attack against the Xinca leaders is one of a growing number of acts of intimidation and violence against communities and their allies resisting the Tahoe project,” said Ellen Moore, staff at the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. “Indeed, since the license was issued on Wednesday, there has been a spike in threats against vocal mine opponents. The more than 4,300 signatures from around the world echo the call by Guatemalan communities for an end to the impunity that continues to benefit transnational companies at the expense of local communities.”

Local and national human rights and environmental organizations have already announced their intention to challenge the legality of the mining license (SEXT-015-11). There is also an open criminal complaint against the mine for industrial contamination of the Los Esclavos River.

-//-

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) is committed to strengthening and using international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. CIEL is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocacy in the global public interest, including through legal counsel, policy research, analysis, education, training and capacity building.


The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) links people in the U.S. and Guatemala in the grassroots global struggle for justice, human dignity and respect for the Earth.

Licencia minera aprobada en contexto de violencia, pendiente investigación sobre asesinato

Hoy NISGUA y La Coalición internacional contra la minería injusta en Guatemala  (CAMIGUA) presentaron una petición con más de 4000 firmas a la Fiscal General Claudia Paz y Paz pidiendo que ella se realice una investigación sobre la muerte del líder Xinca, Exaltación Marcos Ucelo. Ucelo regresaba de una consulta comunitaria sobre la minería en San Rafael Las Flores cuando fue secuestrado, junto con tres otros lideres Xincas. 

La semana pasada, a pesar de estos hechos violentos contra lideres comunitarios y sus aliados, el gobierno guatemalteco aprobó una licencia de explotación para el proyecto minero Escobal de Tahoe Resources en San Rafael Las Flores.



En el siguiente comunicado de prensa, NISGUA, en coalición con CAMIGUA, denuncia la aprobación de la licencia en un contexto de violencia creciente. 

NISGUA ha acompañado a las comunidades y organizaciones que resisten al proyecto minero Escobal de Tahoe Resources desde el 2011.



PARA DIFUSIÓN INMEDIATA:

8 de abril, 2013

Licencia minera aprobada en contexto de violencia, pendiente investigación sobre asesinato

(Washington DC, Ottawa, Ciudad de Guatemala) – Después de más de dos años de retraso, el Ministro de Energía y Minas de Guatemala anunció el miércoles, 3 de abril, la aprobación de la licencia de explotación para el proyecto minero Escobal de Tahoe Resources en San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala. La aprobación ocurre a menos de dos semanas después del secuestro de cuatro líderes indígenas del pueblo Xinca mientras que regresaban de la consulta comunitaria en el Volcancito, San Rafael Las Flores, en la cual más de 99% de la población votó en contra del proyecto. El próximo día, uno de los secuestrados fue hallado muerto.

“Mientras que el Ministro de Energía y Minas otorga la licencia minera, la investigación sobre la muerte de nuestro compañero Exaltación Marcos Ucelo sigue pendiente. Eso, no solo es una ofensa a la memoria de Exaltación, sino también es una violación de nuestro derecho a ser consultados,” dijo Roberto Gonzáles Presidente del Parlamento Xinca, que también fue secuestrado y liberado horas después. “Si prevalece la impunidad de un asesinato, ¿qué podemos esperar del gobierno guatemalteco cuando la mina contamina nuestros territorios?”

Más de 4,300 individuos de 42 países han firmado una carta a la Fiscal General, Claudia Paz y Paz, pidiendo que su oficina involucre a la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), para llevar a cabo una investigación robusta sobre este ataque y el asesinato. La carta también exige al gobierno proteger los derechos humanos y a los defensores del ambiente, mientras que ejercen sus derechos de vivir en un medio ambiente seguro y saludable, tanto como el derecho a la consulta libre, previa e informada.

“La aprobación de esta licencia es injusta,” dijo Kristen Genovese, abogada del Centro para el Derecho Internacional Ambiental. “La intensificación de la violencia solo resalta lo que a cualquier observador imparcial puede percibir: que el proyecto Escobal no tiene la licencia social para operar. Hasta ahora el gobierno de Guatemala prioriza las licencias mineras encima de la justicia y la protección de los derechos humanos, y ya es hora que la CICIG intervenga.”

En una conferencia de prensa el jueves 4 de abril, Rafael Maldonado del Centro de Acción Legal Ambiental y Social de Guatemala (CALAS), explicó que el proceso de aprobación de la licencia era “ilegal, arbitrario e oscuro.” Agregó que, la otorgación de la licencia viene en medio de reportes de intimidación, violencia y provocación perpetuado por grupos armados clandestinos que presuntamente se les asocia a la seguridad privada de la mina y al aparato de seguridad del Estado.

“El ataque contra los lideres Xinca es uno de varios actos de intimidación y violencia contra las comunidades y sus aliados que están en resistencia al proyecto de Tahoe,” dijo Ellen Moore de la Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala. “Por cierto, desde que se otorgó la licencia el pasado miércoles, han aumentado las amenazas contra opositores visibles a la mina. Las más de 4,300 firmas de la comunidad internacional se suman al llamado de las comunidades en Guatemala de poner fin a la impunidad que continua beneficiando a las empresas transaccionales a costa de las comunidades de dicha localidad.”

Organizaciones locales y nacionales de derechos humanos y ambientales ya han anunciado su intención de recurrir a acciones legales para cuestionar la legalidad de la licencia minera (SEXT-015-11). Ya que existe una demanda penal abierta contra la mina por contaminación industrial del río Los Esclavos.

-//-

Centro para el Derecho Internacional Ambiental (CIEL) se ha comprometido a fortalecer y aprovechar las leyes e instituciones internacionales para proteger el medio ambiente, promover la salud humana y garantizar una sociedad justa y sostenible. CIEL es una organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a la incidencia para el bien común global proporcionando asesoramiento jurídico,  investigación política, análisis, educación y construcción de capacidad.

La Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala (NISGUA) conecta gente de los Estados Unidos y Guatemala en la lucha global para la justicia, dignidad humana y respeto para la Tierra.

Exploitation License Granted for Tahoe Resources Escobal Project in Context of Escalating Violence

Communities in the departments of Santa Rosa and Jalapa have been peacefully resisting the proposed Escobal silver mine, operated by Minera San Rafael, Guatemalan Subsidiary of Canada's Tahoe Resources for more than three years. Since 2011, residents have carried out eight community consultations in which more than 35,000 people have rejected chemical mineral mining on their territory. "The Minera San Rafael does not have the social license to operate and they are never going to have the social license to operate," stated Oscar Morales from the Committe in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores. 

Despite this ongoing community opposition, on April 3 the Guatemalan authorities granted Tahoe Resources the final permit necessary to begin mineral exploitation.

This morning community, human rights and environmental organizations held a press conference to highlight the numerous illegalities of the Escobal exploitation license and to denounce the context of escalating violence, specifically the recent abduction of four Xinca leaders. Representatives from communities surrounding the mine site called for an investigation of the attack against the Xinca leadership, which resulted in one death, and demanded respect for their rights to free, prior and informed consent over the mine project.

Press conference to denounce granting of license (Photo: C.P.R.Urbana)

Yuri Melini and Rafael Maldonado of the Center for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS), the legal team supporting the peaceful community resistance to the project, also denounced the multiple attacks perpetrated against them on the same day that the Tahoe license was granted. Three gun shots were fired at the CALAS office, while Maldonado's home was ransacked for the second time in two weeks. In a interview with Guatemala's Plaza Publica, Maldonado states, “It was a direct message from the mine because we have been accompanying the entire process of legal opposition, as well as in the community consultations.”

PRESS RELEASE

Translation by NISGUA

IN RESPONSE TO THE ILLEGAL APPROVAL OF THE MINERAL EXPLORATION LICENSE IDENTIFIED AS SEXT-015-11 ESCOBAL of

MINERA SAN RAFAEL, S.A.

WE EXPRESS

1. Our profound rejection of the illegal means by which the exploration license was granted to Minera San Rafael S. A., a company formally accused of the industrial contamination of the El Escobal ravine, a direct tributary of the Los Esclavos river. The criminal complaint, identified as file 1048-2012, is investigated by the Pollution Prosecution Unit of the Public Prosecutor's Office on Crimes Against the Environment and is subject to the judicial oversight of the Court specialized in Criminal, Narcotics and Crimes against the Environment in the department of Santa Rosa. On September 10, 2012 the aforementioned Court confirmed the denouncement of the blatant industrial contamination, a situation that makes the approval of the granted license totally invalid.

2. The serious violation of the Rule of Law committed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines in refusing to process the more than 250 administrative objections to the approved mining license, which were presented by citizens of the affected municipalities. The affected citizens were notified of the arbitrary and illegal decision to dismiss the objections in the exact same moment in which the license was granted. This administrative decision, in addition to being illegal, represents a series of violations of the fundamental rights of the affected citizens in accordance with articles 46, 47, 48 and 49, which regulate administrative objections. The aforementioned articles demonstrate that there are no legal means to dismiss the [administrative] process.

3. Our complete disappointment in the attitude assumed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines who, in clear violation of the prevalence of the common good over the individual, ignored the community consultations carried out in the municipalities of Casillas, Nueva Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa de Lima, as well as the community consultations held in the communities of San Rafael Las Flores, during which more than 98% of the population rejected the development of this illegally approved mining project.

4. Our complete condemnation of the violation of the right to access the file of the approved license, perpetrated by the office advisor of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Justina Solís, and the General Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, María Mercedes Bonilla, who denied Yuri Giovanni Melini Salguero, General Director of CALAS, Moisés Divas Santos and Quelvin Otoniel Jiménez access to the requested file. This situation raises suspicion that the license had not yet been legally granted and was immediately reported to the Human Rights Ombudsman.

5. Finally, considering the evidence and the glaring illegalities that the Ministry of Energy and Mines has committed in granting the license to Minera San Rafael, we commit to exhausting all constitutional, administrative and criminal legal actions in order to invalidate the approved license, and to request an immediate criminal investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, so that the government officials responsible for this violation of national judicial regulation are punished.

Center for Environmental and Social Legal Action (CALAS)

The Diocesan Commission in Defense of Nature (CODIDENA)

Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores

Xinca Peoples' Parliament of Guatemala (PAPXIGUA)

Guatemala City, April 4, 2013

NISGUA has been accompanying the consultation processes in the communities surrounding the Tahoe Resources mine site since 2011.

Genocide trial opens amidst attacks against community leaders

"The past is still present."
-- Independent journalist, commenting on recent attacks against activistson the eve of the Ríos Montt trial

On Sunday, March 17, the President of the Xinca Indigenous Parliament and three other Xinca leaders were abducted by a group of heavily armed men. While two of the kidnapped men escaped, Exaltación Marcos Ucelo was found dead early Monday morning. After more than 24 hours missing, Roberto Gonzalez Ucelo, President of the Xinca Parliament was found alive.

TAKE ACTION: Call for an investigation and the departure of Tahoe Resources in response to recurring violence

The four Xinca leaders were on their way home from observing a community consultation in El Volcancito, San Rafael Las Flores when they were attacked. The community consultation is the third in a series of 26 referenda planned in the municipality. Read more about the ongoing consultation process.

El Volcancito holds a community consultation on March 17 (credit: NISGUA)

In response, Interior Minister Mauricio López Bonilla made statements in the press conflating the non-violent community organizing in the municipalities of Mataquescuintla and San Rafael Las Flores with this and other recent violence. His comments are further evidence of ongoing stigmatization and criminalization of human rights defenders in Guatemala, an issue that was raised specifically with regard to the situation in San Rafael Las Flores in the UN’s report on Guatemala delivered this January.

On Friday, March 15, human rights defender and member of the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH), Rubén Herrera, was arrested for alleged crimes committed in relation to the Barillas case, a conflict stemming from the Guatemalan government's lack of respect for the community consultation process carried out in 2007. Despite a clear rejection of large-scale development projects in their territory, the government granted Hidro Santa Cruz S.A. permission for construction of the Cambalam hydroelectric dam.

In a hearing held on Tuesday, March 19, Herrera was denied bail and accused of 12 crimes, including kidnapping and terrorism. Despite arguments from the defense team and the Public Prosecutor's office demonstrating the lack of evidence linking him to these crimes, the judge denied Herrera's bail and ordered the case to move to pretrial proceedings on May 30. Read the ADH urgent communique here.

Rubén Herrera of the ADH (credit: James Rodríguez, mimundo.org)

NISGUA stands in solidarity with the Rubén Herrera and the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango in denouncing the systematic criminalization and persecution of community leaders and human rights defenders.

These incidents come on the heels of the Constitutional Court decision to uphold the 1997 Mining Law against a constitutional challenge presented by the Western Peoples’ Council (CPO) for lack of prior consultation with indigenous peoples. The current mining law fails to fulfill national and international mandates that require the State to consult with indigenous people regarding projects or policies that will significantly impact their territories.

NISGUA, together with the Coalition against Unjust Mining in Guatemala, submitted a press release critiquing the Guatemalan Government's denial of justice for indigenous peoples affected by mining.

“Not only is this ruling a negation of justice, it is a negation of the existence of indigenous peoples' right to participate as political actors,” said Francisco Mateo Rocael, representative of the Western Peoples' Council in response to the Court's ruling. Read NISGUA's full translation of the CPO statement.

NISGUA has accompanied communities and organizations resisting Tahoe's Escobal project since 2011. NISGUA also works closely with the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) in their efforts to promote self-determination and alternative visions of development in the highland department of Huehuetenango. The ADH receives international human rights accompaniment from NISGUA through the ACOGUATE project and participated in NISGUA's 2010 tour.