Three things you can do to halt Tahoe Resources' expansion in Guatemala!

For the past five years, communities impacted by Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala have stood up to peacefully defend their lands and livelihoods. The Diocesan Committee in the Defense of Nature (CODIDENA) has led this movement – organizing and carrying out community referenda in which more than 55,000 people in seven municipalities voted against the silver mine. Despite this clear message, Tahoe and the Guatemalan government have pushed the project forward, using violent repression, criminalization and militarization in an attempt silence the resistance.

But the resistance didn’t go away. Today, thousands of brave women and men continue to seek out new, creative and resilient ways to express their opposition to Tahoe’s Escobal project and to halt the company’s plans to develop more mines in the region.

This October, CODIDENA and NISGUA will visit seven states across the US to call attention to Tahoe's human rights violations in Guatemala and to build solidarity across borders. Upon return, we will meet with the US Embassy in Guatemala to demand accountability for US – Canadian companies operating in Guatemala with impunity but without the consent of impacted communities.

Here are three things you can do to support communities in resistance to Tahoe Resources:

Step 1: Call and Email Your Elected Representatives

Tell the US government: Tahoe Resources contributes to human rights violations in Guatemala!

*Find contact information for your representative by visiting opencongress.org

Hello, my name is ____________________, and I am deeply concerned that North American mining companies are contributing to human rights violations in Guatemala. There is mounting evidence that Tahoe Resources, a company operating in Guatemala with headquarters in Nevada and Vancouver, collaborated with the Guatemalan military and a US private security company to suppress local opposition to their Escobal silver mine through the criminalization of protest and violent repression. Today, military outposts line the highway on either side of the mine, intimidating communities who have consistently and democratically voted against mining in their territory.

The abusive actions of US companies abroad is a US problem and requires US government response. I ask that you share this information and concern with Roberta Jacobson, head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the US State Department and Todd Robinson, US Ambassador to Guatemala.

Step 2: Join our Thunderclap

Upon return from the tour, we will meet with the US Embassy to raise concerns about human rights violations around the Escobal mine. Show that you stand with CODIDENA in opposing Tahoe Resources in Guatemala by adding your voice to our Thunderclap. The day before the meeting, this messages will be posted from your Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr account along with messages from hundreds of others!

Continue the conversation! During the month of October, directly ask the US Embassy some hard questions about Tahoe’s operations in Guatemala. Here are some samples: 

• #TahoeResources boasts popular support. So why hire a US company with operations in Iraq to develop its security strategy? @usembassyguate
• How can #TahoeResources be allowed to ignore 55,000+ votes against mining by communities neighboring the #Escobal mine? @usembassyguate

Step 3: Show Your Solidarity - a picture is worth 1000 words

Mine-impacted communities want us to know that despite repression and militarization, they are still resisting Tahoe's operations and expansion. Let them know that you stand with them by taking a picture of yourself with a sign expressing your solidarity. Use the hashtag #StillHereWithYou or #SeguimosConUstedes and #TahoeOnTrial. Tag NISGUA on Facebook or Twitter!

Erick Fernando Castillo, one of the men who was
shot outside the Escobal mine, poses in front of the
resistance camp. Photo credit: Giles Clarke 

NISGUA's 2015 summer of grassroots organizing kicks off in Los Angeles

Last month, Los Angeles communities kicked off our summer of grassroots organizing and celebration with the first “house party” of the season hosted by the inspiring collective and cultural space, Eastside Cáfe in El Sereno. Local organizers came together with LA cultural performers and families to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the community consultation movement in Guatemala to defend land and life against resource extraction. Together with music, dance, poetry and ritual, we celebrated the ancestral decision-making practices that have been honored and held at the center of the movements for self-determination across Guatemala.

Lead organizer, Natasha Kerr, expressed her involvement with June’s event: 

“Volunteering with NISGUA allows me to reconnect with my Guatemalan roots. I feel energized to build community and defend our Mother Earth along with our brothers and sisters in Guatemala. I feel part of a movement that transcends borders and is creating a new path for future generations.”

Women from Grupo Folklorico Mi Bella Guatemala perform a
ceremonial dance at the event in Los Angeles.
Photo credit: Claudia Hernandez

Between performances, NISGUA was honored to teleconference with community leader and former political prisoner, Rubén Herrera, who helped to organize the community consultation in Barillas, Huehuetenango. Rubén Herrera spoke about the current situation of criminalization and detention of leaders in the region and called for international solidarity with their struggle. The LA community responded with messages of encouragement to the eight political prisoners from Huehuetenango who have been unjustly imprisoned because of their leadership in defending their land, culture, and communities. 

One supporter writes, “We are at an event in Los Angeles, California, educating our North American community about your struggle and commitment. Together, we call for your freedom and for justice in Guatemala.” 

Special thanks to Grupo Folklorico Mi Bella Guatemala, Trés Generaciones, Fidél Sanchez, and Jóvenes en Resistencia for your beautiful contributions to the event. For some photos please visit our FB album here.

Just two days after the kick-off to our summer of house parties, one of our participants on the 2015 Rivers For Life delegation also held an intimate gathering of family and friends for a report back just outside of LA. Accompanied by beautiful photos and an engaging conversation on how the history of imperialism and U.S. policy continues to shape the current realities for Guatemala, the event answered calls by our partners at ACODET that delegates return to their homes and communities to share their experiences visiting and learning with the communities in resistance to the Xalalá Dam.

The next community event is planned for tomorrow, Friday July 11, 4:30pm-7:30pm, at Sun Rise Restaurant in San Francisco, CA. Please see the event page on FB for more details or email megan@nisgua.org. We are still hoping more U.S. cities will participate in this season of grassroots community building. For support in planning your event, please email megan[AT]nisgua.org, and we will provide you with all the tools you may need for a successful and meaningful house party this summer!

Second solidarity festival for political prisoners in Huehuetenango

"This is all of our struggle. Who doesn't breathe this air? Who doesn't drink this water? Who doesn't feel the rays of the shining sun on their face? Standing up for life - this is my husband's crime. How many of our brothers and sisters have given their lives for life? For more than 500 years, people have tried to instill fear into us. We need to join together in this struggle....it's all of our struggle." - Juana Mendez, wife of political prisoner Rigoberto Juarez.

Photo credit: NISGUA

Saturday, people gathered in Huehuetenango for the second Solidarity Festival with political prisoners. Since the first festival last December, six more land defenders from Huehuetenango have been arrested on trumped-up charges, as part of a state and corporate strategy to silence opposition to resource extraction projects in Guatemala. This brings the total to eight.

Those in attendance sign letters of support to those imprisoned.
Photo credit: NISGUA

For more information on community consultations in Guatemala and the pattern of criminalizing leaders, read NISGUA's latest report: Commemorating 10 years of community consultations in defense of life. The report is also available in Spanish.

Musician Tito Medina performed in the square, and then went
to the prison to sing to several of the political prisoners.
Photo credit: NISGUA

The messages of the day were simple: Stop criminalizing legitimate struggles for the defense of land and freedom for political prisoners. Musicians came to show their support and unite struggles, including from La Puya who know first hand what it is like to have their movements criminalized by the heavy hand of an unjust legal system manipulated by corporate power.

Families of Huehue political prisoners light candles to bring strength to their loved ones in dark times. pic.twitter.com/k10tO8It54

— NISGUA (@NISGUA_Guate) June 21, 2015

Rubén Herrera, who has spent the last several years either in jail or battling arrest warrants was present. "I know what it's like to be in prison," he said. "These courts won't give us justice. These arrests are supported by the companies, but I'm here to tell you what those who are in prison would tell you if they could be here. We won't accept this - not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. The struggle we're in is to change our country. That's why we're here."

Rubén Herrera, together with his partner Cecilia Mérida.
Photo credit: NISGUA

Over the next few months, we invite you to participate in NISGUA's summer of base-building and host a house party. Those gathered will be invited to send a letter of encouragement to the political prisoners and one to the U.S. Embassy, expressing concern for the growing manipulation and corruption of the Guatemalan justice system in order to persecute human rights defenders. Gather together to celebrate, find inspiration, and draw connections from community-based movements for self-determination occurring throughout Guatemala, and strengthen our home network for justice and social change.

House parties are already being organized in San Francisco, Madison, Portland, Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, and Toronto, Canada. Don't see your city on the list? Write to megan[at]nisgua.org to host an event or find other ways to get connected. Stay tuned for an online version of our action to support political prisoners in Huehuetenango.

Accompanier Perspectives: Huehuetenango

Dear Family and Friends,

Thanks to those of you who’ve responded to my recent call for action in solidarity with political prisoners in Huehuetenango and for financial support in NISGUA’s successful May Match campaign! Those of you who’ve signed in support of the release of Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velasquez will have your voices heard in the coming weeks as NISGUA’s partners in Madrid coordinate the presentation of the petition to Guatemalan embassies in North American and Europe.

It has been a while since I’ve reached out to you all with more substantive updates and reflections on my work as a human rights accompanier in Guatemala, but I’ve been thinking of you. Firstly, with the (bittersweet) excitement of knowing that I’ll be seeing many of you soon as I conclude my six-month contract this week and start to make my way back north. And secondly, with curiosity and hope in the histories converging in the current moment in both the U.S. and Guatemala that have provoked diverse forms of protest and commentary in response to the specific violences of institutionalized racism and corruption. 

Throughout the unfolding of what many are calling a “black spring” in the United States, I have been doing my best to stay well-informed and vocal from afar, but have learned that while social media helps me keep my anger current, it also affirms distance and lends itself to feelings of powerlessness. For this reason, I am especially looking forward to opportunities for shared, in-real-life reflection (and action) with those of you who’ve been directly engaging (as listeners, as actors) in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Even from where I stand in Guatemala, it is clear that the questions we need to ask ourselves are difficult, the answers complex, and the stakes as high as they have always been.

Right now in Guatemala, the same is true. This spring, in the largest wave of popular protests since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, the population has demanded the resignation of public figures (including the president) believed to be linked to the crime syndicate “La Linea,” which compromised customs revenue by waiving import tariffs in exchange for bribes. The protests (connected by their shared usage of #RenunciaYa or #StepDownAlready) have led to the resignation of the vice-president last month (which analysts have also linked to the influence of the U.S. embassy and American economic interests) and have energized similar investigations aimed at undermining impunity. In a country where an indigenous majority experiences some of the deepest poverty in the region and where the current regime frequently cites a deficit for the deplorable conditions of its education and health systems, it is not surprising that the abuse of public funds has been met with unrest. 

#BlackLivesMatter and #RenunicaYa have emerged from distinct contexts and reflect varied objectives, but they have something important in common: a dawning recognition that the creation of a just present requires deep and critical engagement with the past. Beyond expressing just rage in response to specific instances of extreme police violence, #BlackLivesMatter protests address the pervasive reality of institutionalized anti-black racism as a direct legacy of African slavery in North America. Similarly, the diverse perspectives represented in #RenunciaYa question the meaning of democracy and peace since the signing of the Peace Accords and reflect a shared acknowledgement that today, as they have long been, terror and impunity are the rule in Guatemala, while justice is the illusive exception. 

So, what does all of this have to do with human rights accompaniment? 

While the theft of public funds by La Linea may seem petty in comparison to the genocidal violence exercised by the state against poor and indigenous Guatemalans for decades (and centuries), the scandal is emblematic of the institutional precarity that permits human rights abuses to thrive in Guatemala. Weak courts, racist police, and highly corruptible public officials are easily utilized by transnational companies to repress movements that challenge their extractive, exploitative logic. In the midst of #RenunciaYa’s unfolding, three more leaders of the resistance to hydroelectric development in Huehuetenango have been incarcerated, and over a dozen more have had warrants issued for their arrest. The most recent arrests bring the total number of political prisoners in the north of Huehuetenango to 9, with every organization that I’ve accompanied experiencing the threat of the incarceration of its leaders. 

While criminalization has intensified in my time as an accompanier (six new prisoners in six months), it is not a new phenomenon in Huehuetenango. In May 2012, five years after the people of Santa Cruz Barillas had unanimously refused the presence of extractive mega-projects in their territory in a consulta comunitaria, an activist who had vocally opposed the installation of two hydroelectric dams on the Cambalam River was murdered by the company’s private security. In the days following his murder, anticipating impunity, the people of Barillas rose up to demand justice for his death. The state responded with a state of siege, militarizing the city and its outlying villages, suspending civil liberties, and making massive arrests alleging destruction of company property and threats to its employees. For survivors of the internal armed conflict, the presence of the military was traumatizing; many took refuge in the forest, convinced that the war had started again, and some still suffer effects of post-traumatic stress. 

While military intervention in Barillas sought to terrorize a public in unrest, the justice system has sent clear messages about its take on the value of rural Guatemalan life and transnational private property. The employees of Hidro Santa Cruz who murdered Andrés Francisco Miguel have yet to be successfully sentenced three years after his death, while community leaders have spent months and years in pretrial detention accusations based on their leadership, and not in their proved participation in criminal activity. Often, it has taken years to close their cases even after they have been released for lack of proof or faulty investigations. 

In my last update, I introduced criminalization as a strategy for repressing and neutralizing social movements. In simple terms, criminalization literally makes activist leadership a crime. In the cases I’ve witnessed in my time as an accompanier, leaders have been charged as the intellectual authors of spontaneous protests that have demanded justice and accountability for state sanctioned violence. But many have actually played mediating roles in conflictive situations, attempting to minimize the risks that protesters take in expressing their desire for justice while maximizing the possibilities for dialogue. But the character of their participation is not of interest to prosecutors; their mere presence has made them the subject of criminal investigations. In some cases, being present isn’t even requisite for being charged.

The repressive impact of incarcerating leaders is made more effective by the issuing of arrest warrants against entire organizations and communities. While an arrest warrant does not guarantee an arrest, the threat of arrest may be even more debilitating to the capacity of movements to demand justice. The most recent arrests have been made in the capital, where leaders have traveled between 8 and 13 hours to attend hearings for their peers or file police reports against violent public officials. An arrest in the capital, as opposed to in rural Huehuetenago, sends a strong message: Leaving home means increasing risk of arrest, and the police knows when you leave home.

What’s more, these arrests have been highly public and visible to movements based in other regions, where the impact of criminalization is felt as well. Where I work in Huehuetenango, the impacts are palpable: Those with warrants live in fear of arrest and must navigate the need to limit their movement and participation as movement becomes more necessary than ever. The families of those incarcerated adapt to long, frequent, and expensive trips to capital cities to visit their loved ones, while living the consequences of a lost income, all while movements require their collaboration to build broad support for political prisoners. For indigenous campesinos especially, navigating legal spaces and processes is an uphill battle, and language barriers and ethnic discrimination often mean total exclusion. On the periphery, some still talk about seeking refuge. 

These are the kinds of conditions of abuse and threat that make human rights accompaniment a necessary and valued solidarity strategy in Guatemala, especially in Huehuetenango. As criminalization intensifies, the people I accompany have asked that we maintain our presence in the region and expand it into new spaces — to court rooms and prisons, and in activities where potentially criminalized activists risk arrest. More than anything, this has meant that my team and I have been present to observe the legal processes starting at the moment of incarceration, and that we’ve heightened our attention to factors of security that threaten the capacity of the people we accompany to live, work, and organize for their communities safely. 

In this context, it is clear that international accompaniment alone does not wield sufficient dissuasive power to prevent the unjust imprisonment of activists. Rather, as our presence continues to be felt and valued by the people who request it, we must think of ways in which accompaniment can support a variety of strategies for reducing harm while working to undermine exploitation and abuse.

On my last day as an accompanier, I observed the first hearing for the case of three leaders from Barillas who were arrested almost exactly three months before. The outcome of the hearing wasn’t positive; the judge denied the defense’s request to revise the charges in consideration of various irregularities in the investigation, and it remained unclear how long they’d have to wait for their next hearing. But as we left the courtroom, things got worse: another community leader who’d traveled from Barillas in support of his three compañeros was presented with a photocopy of a warrant for his arrest. Nearly two hours passed before he was presented with a legal version of the warrant, and we accompanied him as he was handcuffed and taken to the basement holding cells to await his arraignment. 

As I observed his entrance into the jail, I heard my name being called from a nearby cell, “Don Davíd! Aquí! Don Davíd”! The three men who’d had the hearing earlier that day were waiting to be transferred back to their long-term cell assignment in a nearby prison. They called me over to ask me questions about the arrest of their compañero, to advocate for the safest placement possible for him in the prison where’d they’d been held previously in Huehuetenango, and reached their hands up out of the dark cell to touch mine through the narrow bars. They smiled as I said goodbye.

While I reciprocated the joy of seeing them, the feeling was hard to sustain. I’ve never seen places so ugly and hopeless, so unapologetically violent, as the prisons where I’ve made visits in the last six months. It isn’t possible to witness the horror of mass incarceration without feeling some level of powerlessness and rage, without feeling exasperation with common sense notions of justice that rationalize such contempt for human life. I’ve been holding these feelings for several months now, perhaps longer, and I think those feelings are important, but I am so grateful for those smiling hands in the darkness reminding me that joy is necessary in survival.

There are lots of ways that I will remember my work as an accompanier, and there are many ways in which I intend to continue in its spirit in other contexts. I'll be transitioning back to my "normal" life in the next few weeks, but I feel more aware than ever that while working as a human rights accompanier has been a unique experience in my life, the ongoing work of shared survival is everyone's. That work didn't start six months ago and it doesn't end now. 

As always, thanks for sticking with me throughout my experience. 

In Solidarity,

David

Take action to support political prisoners from Barillas!

UPDATE: On May 15 a court in Huehuetenango unanimously resolved not to ratify the 33-years and 4-month sentence against Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez. The decision is the result of a special appealed filed on behalf of the community leaders from Santa Cruz Barillas. Their case will be re-tried in a Quetzaltenango court. The decision is seen as the first step in correcting a legal process filled with errors and irregularities.

Saúl and Rogelio still need your support! Click here to sign the online petition demanding their freedom!

An English translation of the petition text is below.

Photo credit: Gustavo Illescas (CMI-Guatemala)

In the northern region of Guatemala, the Spanish transnational company HIDRALIA has dug its claws into the department of Huehuetenango. Exercising internationally and nationally guaranteed rights, the populations of the three municipalities in the north of Huehuetenango have carried out massive consultas (consultations) in which the citizens have have expressed their rejection of the exploitation of their natural resources by foreign companies. 

Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez of Santa Cruz Barillas are prisoners unjustly. They have been persecuted by the company for years: In 2012, before being freed for lack of evidence, they spent eight months in preventative prison despite the fact the the legal maximum is three months. In a new case plagued with irregularities, they are currently in prison and sentenced to more than 33 years. 

Led by ex-military Otto Pérez Molina, the Guatemalan government has ordered a multitude of detentions and arrest warrants that have been declared arbitrary by the UN, and has used all of its state power to the favor of transnational companies, using judicial and police power to incarcerate and persecute community leaders, reopening military bases, and ordering states of siege. 

On April 29, 2015, another public hearing was held to resolve the appeals issued by the defense of Saúl and Rogelio. The result should be nothing less than complete absolution and reparations for damages suffered. We likewise demand that all prisoners who are unjustly held in preventive prison as a consequence of their opposition to the company's planned projects be granted freedom.

Today more than ever, solidarity between peoples should be more than endearment. It should be consciousness, commitment, and struggle. 

Sign in solidarity with the political prisoners of Barillas. In solidarity with their families. In solidarity with the people that raise their voices to say "ENOUGH."

Petition: 

We demand freedom for Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velazques, political prisoners from Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, community leaders in the defense of land and territory. In a case plagued with irregularities, Mendez y Velázques have been condemned to 33 years and four months in prison for opposing the projects of the hydroelectric company Hidro Santa Cruz S.A., subsidiary of the Spanish Hidralia Energía S.A. 

We likewise demand that all prisoners who are unjustly held in preventive prison as a consequence of their opposition to the company's planned projects be granted freedom. Guatemalan state institutions are acting in favor of Hidro Santa Cruz S.A.

Name:
*National ID number (Passport, SSN, etc):
Locale: (City, State, United States)
Signature: Just your name again


*ID number not required
 

Community leader from Huehuetenango testifies at the World Bank

Last month, Cecilia Mérida testified at the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. about the damage being inflicted by the Bank's financing of the Cambalam hydroelectric dam in the municipality of Barillas, Huehuetenango. She testified to the strategies of criminalization being employed by the Guatemalan government and the dam's Spanish owner - Hidro Santa Cruz - in an attempt to silence local opposition. She spoke first hand about the impacts on families and communities when leaders are illegally detained and imprisoned for months, or even years on end.

The World Bank continues to be a major funder of resource extraction companies around the world, loaning hundreds of millions of dollars each year to companies working in the global South who are unable to guarantee that these investments are not contributing to human rights violations. A recent investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealed the hypocrisy of the World Bank's motto to "do no harm." The investigation showed that mega-development projects financed by the World Bank have pushed at least 3.4 million people out of their homes around the world. The tragic situation in Santa Cruz Barillas is an example of this systemic problem: the Inter-American Infrastructure Finance Corporation (CIFI), a US-based private sector lender funded in part by the World Bank, loaned Hidro Santa Cruz more than $8 million for the construction of dam.

Click here to read more about the struggle to defend territory in the department of Huehuetenango, and the leaders who have been criminalized while speaking out against hydroelectric dams being imposed without their consent. 

Below is Cecilia's statement before the World Bank. To read the original statement in Spanish, click here.

Cecilia Mérida: Statement before the World Bank

I am Cecilia Mérida. I come from the department of Huehuetenango in Guatemala, from the municipality of Santa Cruz Barillas, which is where the Spanish company Hidralia Ecoener has been operating without consent since 2008. Their goal is to construct a hydroelectric dam on the Cambalan River, situated on the periphery of the urban center of the municipality. This company has received financing that flows from the World Bank to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and its Inter-American Infrastructure Finance Corporation (CIFI).

I come in the name of each person affected by this hydroelectric project, to answer many of the questions put forward by OXFAM. What are the consequences for the people who are affected by the projects financed with money that comes from so far away?

Hidralia Ecoener, registered in Guatemala as Hidro Santa Cruz, Sociedad Anónima, insisted on the development of this project despite the fact that in 2007, the people of Barillas held a community consultation to protect their natural resources, under the framework of the Collective Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The company hired local people as technicians gaining political control over community organizing. In November 2009, the company pressed charges against eight community leaders, among who was my life partner - Rubén Herrera - along with Pablo Antonio Pablo and Saúl Mendez. Thus began the practice of charging community leaders in the municipality with crimes of breaking and entering, coercion, threats, aggravated arson, activity against the security of the nation, detention, kidnapping, and terrorism.

This led to the beginning of the social conflict in the municipality, and the permanent violation of the human rights of the population. What transpired were incidents of intimidation, persecution and criminalization against all of those who spoke out against the interests of Hidro Santa Cruz. In 2011, Rúben Herrera was forced to leave the municipality, abandoning his work providing social support to youth.

Towards the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, social tension worsened to such a level that the Guatemalan government declared a State of Siege in the municipality of Santa Cruz Barillas, repressing the opposition to the hydroelectric project and allowing Hidro Santa Cruz to continue its operations. On May 1, 2012, campesino leader Andrés Francisco Miguel was killed during an assassination attempt against Pablo Antonio Pablo, who was left seriously injured in the attack. One year later, company private security guards who participated in this armed attack, were absolved of all crimes by the Guatemalan justice system.

Based on what transpired on May 1, 2012, 17 community leaders were illegally detained, including Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez. Nine were unjustly imprisoned for nine months, and were never found guilty of any crime. On March 15, 2013, Rubén Herrera was arrested at the request of Hidro Santa Cruz. After spending three months in prison, he finally had all charges dropped on February 26, 2014, after a judge ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to keep the investigation open.

In August 2013, Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez were arrested again, and accused of murder, feminicide and lynching. Those of us who are at their defense are convinced that this case was brought forward by employees of Hidro Santa Cruz as a part of their strategy to criminalize community leadership. After a flawed trial, they were convicted of 33 years in prison. Today, they are going through a Special Appeals process.

In September 2013, another community member, Mynor López was illegally arrested. At the end of the month, the Guatemalan Army and National Civil Police practically launched a military offensive against the civilian population of Santa Cruz Barillas, the likes of which have never been seen before in this municipality - not even during the armed conflict.

In February 2015, three more community leaders were detained and illegally imprisoned. Adalberto Villatoro, Francisco Juan and Arturo Pablo (Pablo Antonio Pablo's son). They, like all of the others previously mentioned, believed that the presence of Hidro Santa Cruz seriously impacts the natural, environmental and cultural aspects of the municipality.

After seven years of persecution, the ways the Spanish company Hidro Santa Cruz operates provide some answers to the questions posed by OXFAM's recent report. What are the human costs of the loans, given the social and environmental safeguards are not working? The human costs are extremely high and very harmful. They translate into persecution, killings, imprisonment, and criminalization. During this time, the communities have not seen any benefits. Instead, they have gone from living in tranquility to living in a state of fear and terror. Our human potential and energy has not been dedicated towards local development from our own perspectives and aspirations, but instead, has been spent defending ourselves against the abuses of Hidro Santa Cruz.

The human costs [of these loans for mega-development projects] translate into the suffering of families, wives, sons and daughters, into illnesses and precariousness. We are prevented from being with our husbands. Instead, we spend our lives and the little we have traveling to the prison that is located more than 400 kilometers away. In this conflict, every community member [incarcerated] is innocent. We are the people who are suffering the consequences of bank loans that are thought to be "producing development." The pain and suffering for us "is the human face of these projects." Day to day, we live out these tangible consequences, in addition to being (as OXFAM's report indicates) "the most poor and vulnerable people of the developing countries."

We, too, have questions. Who is going to pay for all of the costs that we have had to suffer from "development," for a project that we never asked for in our community? Is it the World Bank? The International Finance Corporation? The CIFI? Or is it Hidro Santa Cruz that is going to pay for all of the economic, social and organizational harms they have caused in our community? Who will return to the families all the years taken from the men who have been incarcerated? We know that no one will give back to us those who have been killed.

Member of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace in San Rafael Las Flores Detained

UPDATED May 1, 2015
Last night, Roberto de Jesus Pivaral y Pivaral was release from police custody due to lack of evidence, and all charges against him were dropped. Pivaral was charged with murder on April 21 (see information below). He was held for 10 days after being arrested by the National Civil Police accompanied by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Pivaral is a founding member of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores.


On April 21 at approximately 7:30pm, Roberto de Jesus Pivaral, founding member and part of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa, was detained by members of the Guatemalan Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office at his home. According to his family, a judge’s order for his capture was not presented before he was taken to the court house in San Rafael Las Flores. The Public Prosecutor’s twitter page states that Mr. Pivaral is accused of the murder of Wosbeli Gómez Sandoval in 2014, a candidate for the Unidad de Nueva Esperanza (UNE) political party.

The Committee in Defense of Life and Peace was created as a form of resistance to Tahoe Resources’ silver mine, which began extracting silver in 2014, and has organized good-faith community referenda regarding metal extraction in communities throughout municipality since 2011. Though the Committee had presented the required number of signatures to request such a vote at a municipal level, the Municipal Mayor and his council has denied the request on several occasions.

Roberto Pivaral leading a march in San Rafael Las Flores asking the
mayor of the municipality to hold a community consultation about metal
mining in the area. Photo: CPR Urbana

In April 2013, 16 out of 23 local development councils (COCODES) from the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores presented an open letter callingon the President of Guatemala to cancel the exploitation license that had recently be granted to Minera San Rafael. Last year, when Mr. Pivaral made his intention to run for mayor of San Rafael Las Flores known, he vowed to represent the more than half of the communities from the municipality that have publically shown their opposition to the mining project, in addition to those who had repeatedly asked the current administration for the right to hold a community referendum. He has also played a lead role in organizing the consultations that have taken place at a local level. Mr. Pivaral was anticipating running with the Lider political party in September’s elections.

Over 90 people have been criminalized in the municipalities around Tahoe’s Escobal mine for their opposition to the project. The Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores has been especially targeted and the trial against Oscar Morales, another founding member and coordinator of the Committee, began last Thursday. Mr. Morales has been accused of uttering threats against the Manager of External Relations for Minera San Rafael. According to his lawyer from the Centre for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS), this is the company’s third attempt to criminalize Mr. Morales.

Roberto de Jesus Pivaral is currently being held in the El Boqueron detention centre waiting to hear when his first audience before a judge will take place.

One more political prisoner: Rigoberto Juárez, land defender

Written by Nelton Rivera
Translated by NISGUA

Read original piece in Spanish here.

[Yesterday] Rigoberto Juárez Mateo was arbitrarily detained and became another political prisoner held by the state of Guatemala. Rigoberto Juárez is a representative of the Plurinational Government (Gobierno Plurinacional) of the Q'anjob'al, Chuj, Akateka, Popti and Mestiza peoples, from the 16 municipalities of Huehuetenango. Juárez is criminalized for defending land and water. 

A warrant signed by a competent judge was not presented at the moment of arrest, carried out by officers of the National Civil Police. Domingo Baltazar was detained together with Rigoberto, both of whom are members of the Community Authority of Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango. During the violent arrest, lawyer Ricardo Cajas was physically assaulted when he asked the officers to identify themselves and a legal arrest warrant for Rigoberto Juárez be presented.

The detained community representatives had traveled to the capital to lodge an official complaint for rights violations committed against the ancestral authorities and various journalists on March 19 of this year, committed by Diego Marcos Pedro, members of the municipal government, and others with ties to the authorities.

The Q'anjob'al ancestral authorities were assaulted by members of the municipal government on Thursday, March 19 during a public activity to re-open the Community Radio Snuq' Jolom Konob. For four hours, they were verbally and psychologically assaulted and threatened, leading them to travel to the capital to lodge complaints with the Attorney General's Office through its Crimes Against Human Rights Defenders section, as well as with the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala.

On multiple occasions since 2011, representatives of the Plurinational Government have traveled to the capital to denounce atrocities committed by hydroelectric companies operating throughout maya Q'anjob'al territory. Specifically, [they have denounced] the hydroelectric company Hidro San Luis in Santa Eulalia, who together with municipal leaders, are threatening the rights of the communities in opposition to the hydroelectric project.

This arbitrary arrest adds to a long list that has been growing since 2012, as the Government and the companies increasingly use arbitrary arrest as a strategy to break up the peaceful and organized opposition that exists to this model of extraction and displacement.

Red del Proyecto de Acompañamiento de NISGUA denuncia intento de expulsar observadores internacionales

Toma acción inmediata para expresar su apoyo para el acompañamiento internacional en derechos humanos y los defensores de derechos humanos en Guatemala!

Favor de remitir la siguiente carta a las autoridades guatemaltecas y estadounidenses hoy! Descarga la carta aquí y mandarla con un mensaje personalizado a los embajadas, consulados y autoridades guatemaltecas. Se puede encontrar la lista de contactos aquí. También, favor de mandar la carta a sus representantes elegidos y no olvide pedirles seguimiento y una respuesta.

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Estimado Sr. Julio Ligorría Carballido, Embajadador de Guatemala en los Estados Unidos,

Los abajo firmantes miembros de la Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala (NISGUA) estamos preocupados con respecto a la decisión del gobierno de Guatemala de cancelar los permisos de residencia temporal de dos acompañantes internacionales representando Brigadas de Paz Internacional (PBI). La medida fue el resultado de dos resoluciones emitidos el 1 de julio del 2014 por el Ministerio del Interior y la Dirección de Servicios Migratorios. Las resoluciones no declararon las razones o los eventos que indujeron a la revocación de las visas, ni proveyeron evidencia para justificar la decisión.  Diez días después de emitir las resoluciones, y el mismo día en que los voluntarios estaban requeridos salir del país, el Ministro del Interior Mauricio López Bonilla informó a PBI que la revocación de los permisos fue anulado y que los acompañantes serán permitidos quedarse en el país. 

Denunciamos el intento socavar el acompañamiento y la observación internacional, esfuerzos implementados por PBI a petición de individuales, comunidades, y organizaciones bajo amenaza por el trabajo que realizan. Expresamos nuestra preocupación grave sobre la persecución de observadores  internacionales quienes proveen el acompañamiento de protección a defensores de derechos humanos y el uso de esta estrategia como medio de perjudicar la seguridad de defensores de derechos humanos en Guatemala. Reiteramos nuestra solidaridad con PBI Guatemala, una organización hermana que realiza un trabajo impecable en defensa de los derechos humanos. 

Por más de treinta anos, NISGUA y el Proyecto de Acompañamiento Internacional en Guatemala han jugado un papel importante en la creación y protección de espacios políticos para que los Guatemaltecos puedan defender sus derechos civiles, políticos, económicos, sociales, culturales, medioambientales, e indígenas. Voluntarios de NISGUA, como los de PBI, proveen observación imparcial, no-intervencionista y no-violenta en la cual los defensores de derechos humanos dependen para llevar a cabo su trabajo afrontando amenazas y ataques, reales y potenciales, en contra de los  derechos humanos. Este trabajo es reconocido en la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Derecho y el Deber de los Individuos, los Grupos y las Instituciones de Promover y Proteger los Derechos Humanos y las Libertades Fundamentales Universalmente Reconocidos, la cual subraya el papel fundamental de la cooperación internacional para contribuir a la protección de los derechos humanos.

Solicitamos que usted exige al Presidente Otto Pérez Molina, el Ministerio del Interior y la Dirección de Servicios Migratorios que respectan los derechos de los guatemaltecos de llevar a cabo su trabajo en defensa de los derechos humanos y de solicitar la presencia de acompañamiento y observación internacional cuando ese trabajo está en riesgo. También pedimos que usted exige a la Dirección de Servicios Migratorios una aclaración sobre el proceso apresurado e irregular por el cual inicialmente se cancelaron los permisos. Finalmente, solicitamos que usted exige al Estado de Guatemala y sus instituciones correspondientes de cumplir con su obligación de proteger los defensores de derechos humanos, reconociendo que ellos tienen un papel fundamental a la construcción de una democracia participativa con respecto por el estado de derecho. Esperamos su respuesta y gracias por adelantado por su consideración de las solicitudes antedichas.

Atentamente,

Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala / NISGUA y la red del Proyecto de Acompañamiento Internacional en Guatemala:
Guatemala Accompaniment Project Council, USA
Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project, MI
Kickapoo Guatemala Accompaniment Project, WI
Lakes Area Group Organizing for Guatemala (LAGOS), MN
Needham Congregational Church/Guatemala Partnership, MA
New Hampshire-Vermont Guatemala Accompaniment Project, NH-VT
Santa Elena Project of Accompaniment, OH
Task Force on the Americas, CA
Wyoming Guatemala Accompaniment Project, WY
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington-Partners for Arlington and Guatemala, VA

CC:

Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Guatemala
Oficial de Asuntos Políticos Norman Galimba
GalimbaN@state.gov
Consulados guatemaltecos en los EE.UU.
Dirección de Servicios Migratorios de Guatemala
Director Manual Vicente Roca Menéndez
direccion@migracion.gob.gt
Presidente de la República de Guatemala
Otto Pérez Molina
informacion@secretariaprivada.gob.gt
ottoperezmolina@guatemala.gob.gt
Ministerio de Gobernación de Guatemala
Mauricio López Bonilla
fdeleon@mingob.gob.gt

Organizations in defense of territory denounce violence against their communities

Late Sunday night, around 10:30PM, father and daughter activists involved in the resistance against Tahoe Resources' Escobal Mine, Edwin Alex Reynoso and Merilyn Topacio Reynoso, were attacked by unknown suspects. Alex and Topacio were on their way home from Matequescuintla after attending an activity there. Topacio was shot and killed; Alex was severely wounded and remains in intensive care. While details of the attack against Alex and Topacio remain unclear, the incident forms part of a larger pattern of recent violent acts and intimidation against those who defend their right to life and territory. 

Out of the ongoing repression and criminalization of peaceful communities, resistances across Guatemala have united to denounce the reality in which they live and demand respect for their human rights.

Communities in Resistance from San Juan Sacatepéquez, San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc, San Rafael Las Flores and Mataquescuintala, the Xinca Parliament, Communities of Monte Olivo, the Coordination and National Convergence Maya Waqib’Kej and the Indigenous, Peasant and Popular March express that:

The current government headed by President of the Republic Otto Pérez Molina has increased violence in order to comply with commitments made with the oligarchy and transnational companies. The acts of terror, repression and criminalization during his administration can only be compared to the military violence enacted during the counterinsurgency war against our people. Said repression is directed toward pacific social struggles that indigenous peoples and social organizations maintain in defense of territory.

This policy serves the diverse interests of transnational companies behind the mining extractive industry, hydroelectric dams and monoculture crops. This past year, community leaders, women, men, youth, small children, and social leaders have been subject to many human rights violations, including states of siege, provocations, intimidations, threats, legal persecutions, illegal detentions, abductions and even assassinations of community leaders.

In order to carry out this repression, the government has made available all state agencies to protect the interests of transnational companies, ignoring the first principle of its mandate which is to protect and guarantee life to the people of Guatemala, with the common good being its supreme goal.

Communities like Monte Olivo in Cobán, Alta Verapaz; Sierra de las Minas in El Estor, Izabal; San José del Golfo; San Pedro Ayampuc; San Rafael las Flores; Mataquescuintla; San Juan Sacatepéquez; San Miguel Ixtahuacán; Sipacapa, San Marcos; Santa Cruz Quiché; and Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango represent some of the communities that are persecuted and attacked.

The 12 communities of San Juan Sacatepéquez, since 2006, continue their strong struggle in defense of territory against the arrival of the cement company in their communities without their consent, as indicated by law. The company, [Cementos Progresos], threatens to construct a highway to connect the cement factory to the InterAmerican Highway….

The Xinca People have been subject to all human rights violations described above. In 2013, a state of siege was established in the department of Jalapa, affecting the indigenous communities of Santa María Xalapan and Mataquescuintla, and the municipalities of Casillas and San Rafael las Flores in the department of Santa Rosa. This type of measure, similar to those in Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango and San Juan Sacatepéquez, demonstrates diverse human rights violations to men, women and children….

San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc, last March 2, commemorated the second anniversary of the “La Puya” peaceful opposition, an example of resistance, struggle and love in search of the defense of water, life and territory.

Recently, the La Puya peaceful resistance was subject to new attacks and confrontations by the mining company, with intimidations and under the protective arm of the National Civil Police (PNC).  The community members, who have exercised their legitimate right to pacific social protest in defense of territory, continue to fear eviction by the PNC….

The community “Ninth of February” in the region of Monte Olivo in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, this past April 8, was witness to a new attack on community leaders by large-scale farmer Sandino Ponce and his armed security guard, who wounded five men, one boy and a pregnant woman….

The Campesino Unity Committee (CUC) has suffered a series of attacks that total 44 assassinations amongst members of its organization between 2000 and 2014. Since 2011, assassinations, threats, forced evictions, criminalization, detentions and imprisonment have increased. Smear campaigns, defamation and slander join these techniques that try to delegitimize 36 years of struggle….

Before this reality of repression in which each of the above-mentioned communities lives, we DEMAND:

That the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, the High Commissioner’s Human Rights Office, CICIG, including the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, speak out and demand of the Guatemalan state that it fulfill its obligation to guarantee the right to life, physical integrity and other fundamental rights to the Guatemalan people, before this new repressive attack by clandestine groups and private security companies that generate abductions, death threats, assassinations, threats and intimidations against our communities.

That the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office monitor, accompany and protect the physical integrity and life of the families that find themselves threatened and persecuted, and also protect human rights defenders and those who defend Mother Earth.

That the government of Guatemala immediately withdraw National Army forces from the communities in resistance, we especially demand withdrawal from Santa Maria Xalapan and San Juan Sacatepéquez.

The closure of extractive industry companies and the termination of turning over national territory to the hands of transnational companies.

That international human rights organizations, indigenous organizations, peasant organizations, women’s organizations, unions and solidarity groups not be surprised by defamation campaigns and slander. These campaign principally aim to criminalize communities and organizations in order to delegitimize them and facilitate their criminal prosecution.

In these moments, in which we are once again living massacres, abductions, assassinations, states of prevention and states of siege, similar to wartime but with elements of criminalization and criminal prosecution, we demand launching a visibilization campaign of what happens in our country and more importantly, a campaign of permanent solidarity.

12 Communities in Resistance from San Juan Sacatepéquez

Communities in Resistance from San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc

Xinca Parliament

Indigenous, Peasant and Popular March

Coordination and National Convergence Maya Waqib’Kej

Stand in solidarity with the peaceful resistance at La Puya, which was threatened by heavy machinery and riot police last week and continues to fear eviction.

Urgent Action from La Puya: Call for an End to Police Intimidation and Eviction Threats

The National Police, at the service of US mining company Kappes Cassiday and Associates (KCA), have been carrying out acts of intimidation and threatening eviction against communities in resistance at La Puya, just north of Guatemala City. Early April 9, a local company contracted by KCA, Transmac S.A., arrived at the mine site with heavy machinery, and with a National Civil Police (PNC) escort as ordered by the Ministry of the Interior. By mid-day, Transmac was forced to remove the machinery from the area. However, two representatives of KCA’s local subsidiary, EXMINGUA, remained throughout the day. The police presence also stayed and increased. By 2 pm, there were roughly 300 agents, many of whom were women dressed in full riot gear, lined up outside the entrance to the peaceful encampment.

The massive police presence, particularly the presence of female agents, gave the impression that an eviction attempt was imminent. Hundreds of people gathered at La Puya spent the afternoon under intense pressure and fear. While an arrest warrant was never emitted and the PNC made no attempt to remove the encampment, there is a clear intent to intimidate and provoke confrontation with the population in peaceful resistance.

The communities opposing KCA's El Tambor gold mine have made clear that their actions are focused on stopping a project that will destroy their lives and livelihoods. They are not blocking the public road or impeding free transit. The communities maintain their willingness to dialogue with the government.

Excessive police presence continues in areas surrounding La Puya and there is concern that a violent eviction will be attempted in the near future.

Take Action!

Call and email Kappes Cassiday and Associates CEO, Dan Kappes, and the Ministry of the Interior in Guatemala now:

• Express your concern for the safety of the men, women and children in peaceful resistance;
• Demand an end to intimidation and harassment by police and private security, and respect for human rights;
• Urge respect for the ongoing dialogue and No to eviction of La Puya. 

Kappes Cassiday and Associates
Dan Kappes - kca@kcareno.com
Ryan Adams – radams@kcareno.com
US Phone (775) 972- 7575


Ministry of the Interior
Minister Mauricio López Bonilla - fdeleon@mingob.gob.gt
Guatemala Phone (011) 502-2413-8888

Peaceful blockade in Barillas celebrates one-year anniversary

Tired of being ignored and disrespected by the Guatemalan government, and determined to halt a hydroelectric project approved without their free, prior and informed consent, the men and women of Santa Cruz Barillas founded the peaceful blockade, Nuevo Amanecer on April 6, 2013. Nuevo Amanecer, or New Dawn, is a permanent encampment located on a communal road leading to the proposed project site where community members maintain a constant presence. The bold action has served to halt the construction of the Canbalam Dam, owned by Spanish company Hidralia Energia and its Guatemalan subsidiary Hidro Santa Cruz.

Nuevo Amanecer celebrates its one year anniversary. Photo: PrensaComunitaria

Last Sunday, members of the resistance celebrated the one-year anniversary of Nuevo Amanecer and reiterated their commitment to continuing the peaceful opposition to the project. 

“While 365 suns and moons, and 8,760 hours have gone by [since establishing the peaceful encampment], the People continue to remain hopeful and committed to the struggle, despite immense sacrifices and hardships.” - Press Release from the Plurinational Government and the Western Peoples' Council (CPO), April 2014

Communities and leaders at the forefront of the resistance movement have suffered an onslaught of criminalization, repression and violence at the hands of the Guatemalan state, which instead of protecting the interests of the people, has time and again acted in defense of the Spanish company.

The costs suffered by the communities and families that stand to be impacted by the project have been high. Two community leaders have been killed since May 1, 2012 and three others, Saúl Méndez, Rogelio Velásquez and Mynor López, remain in prison facing charges related to the opposition to the Canbalam Dam. Eleven additional members of the resistance have collectively spent more than one year in preventative prison on accusations filed against them by the company, which were later dismissed.

As the conflict caused by the imposition of mega-projects in Huehuetenango drags on, international solidarity with communities and individuals standing up for their right to self determination continues to be vitally important and appreciated. Last year, NISGUA and partners gathered nearly than 3,0000 signatures demanding the release of political prisoner, Rubén Herrera. Spanish solidarity organization and members of the International Accompaniment Project in Guatemala (ACOGUATE), Plataforma de solidaridad con Chiapas y Guatemala de Madrid, launched an online popular consultation in support of communities in Northern Huehuetenango resisting the imposition of large-scale projects. Nearly 2,000 people echoed the results of local referenda saying NO to the instalation of mega-projects and YES to communities' right to self determination.

Plataforma submits their consultation results to the Guatemalan Embassy in Madrid.

"The Q'anjob'al and Mestizo People of Barillas infinitely thank the national and international solidarity of many individuals and organizations that have unconditionally reached out to us in this struggle. We also believe that this struggle affects us all and for this reason we say WE ARE ALL BARILLAS."
- Press Release from the Plurinational Government and the Western Peoples' Council (CPO), April 2014

NISGUA and ACOGUATE work closely with partners in Huehuetango in their efforts to defend the right to consultation, promote self-determination and stand up for human rights in the region.

Sipakapa is still not for sale...

Neither are San Rafael Las Flores, Nueva Santa Rosa, Mataquescuintla, Jalapa nor Santa Rosa de Lima.

In 2005, the communities of Sipakapa carried out one of the first community consultations on mining in Guatemala, taking a stand against Canadian giant, Goldcorp Inc., and sparking a movement that has resulted in over 70 referenda throughout the country to date.

Communities opposing mining in their territory warn of environmental destruction, poisoned water sources and community division. Goldcorp's Marlin mine, which began extracting gold in 2005, has soundly delivered on all three of the concerns outlined by affected communities, while Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine, which began commercial production a month ago, seems poised to follow suite.

In addition to expanding the Marlin mine to include extraction from underground tunnels, Goldcorp and Guatemalan subsidiary EntreMares, have initiated development of a new open pit project named Los Chocoyos in neighboring Sipakapa. The Los Chocoyos license was granted in 2006 and renewed twice before the Environmental Impact Assessment was approved in February 2013, giving the go ahead for exploitation at the mining site. While Goldcorp lauds the municipal government of Sipakapa for its support of mining, the company fails to recognize that public opinion is divided and widespread opposition exists.

In May 2013, the Maya Sipakapense Council and over one thousand supporters gathered in front of the municipality to express their opposition to the municipal government's proposal to repeat the 2005 community consultation, which voted against mineral exploitation in their territory. In June, thousands marched to celebrate the eighth anniversary of their consultation. In September, hundreds of protesters temporarily blocked the Inter-American Highway to demand an end to Goldcorp's Marlin operations. A month later, community members gathered again to call on the mayor to respond to concerns previously presented by communities and to put an end to the municipal government's stigmatization of community leaders opposing mining. 

Community members gather in the municipal hall to commemorate the 8th
anniversary of the community consultation in Sipakapa (Photo SaraGuate)

Communities opposed to Goldcorp's Los Chocoyos project
 march in Sipakapa (Photo SaraGuate)

In December, representatives from the Maya Sipakapense Council and the Western People's Council (CPO) presented a legal action against the Director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines for violation of the right to free, prior and informed consent as outlined in ILO Convention 169 regarding Indigenous Peoples and supported by a 2011 ruling in Guatemala's Constitutional Court. 

“The Maya Sipakapense People will not allow more abuse and displacement. It is for these reasons that on December 11, 2013, we presented a Constitutional complaint... in order to achieve, in a legal and peaceful way, the annulment of the Los Chocoyos license and the immediate departure of the mining company.” - Press release Maya Sipakapense Council, January 14, 2014

In a political action intended to draw attention to the December legal complaint, thousands of protesters gathered on January 14 to express their opposition to Goldcorp's newest project. Community members from surrounding departments and municipalities, many of whom also oppose Goldcorp projects in their territory, joined the Sipakapense people, to form a peaceful march of an estimated 5,000 people. During the course of the day, a worker was taken into custody by those gathered as a pressure tactic. The police responded by apprehending two protesters. Shortly after, those captured on both sides were released.

Protesters in Pie de la Cuesta demand the suspension
 of Goldcorp's Los Chocoyos mine (Photo CPO)

Protests and marches are often considered a “last resort” by communities that have attempted for years to express their opposition to projects through legal actions and community referenda without results. One reason why protest has become so costly in Guatemala is that community leaders and human rights defenders at the forefront of movements in defense of territory are often slapped with unfounded legal suites filed by companies or their associates with the purpose of undermining and criminalizing social movements.

Not surprisingly, less than a month after the January march, 13 legal cases were filed in San Marcos against community members from Sipakapa for alleged criminal activities carried out on they day of the January 14 protest. The 13 community members include seven people from Pie de la Cuesta, the location of the Los Chocoyos project, the January 14 protest, as well as home to numerous members of the Maya Sipakapense Council. For many, the accusations come as a complete surprise, as they were in the neighboring municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán holding a press conference on the day of the protest.

As Goldcorp continues to expand, so does community opposition and increased social conflict. Tahoe Resources, a company made up of 40% Goldcorp investment shares and that has structured its management team around ex-Goldcorp employees, most importantly former Glamis Gold CEO Kevin McArthur, is unsurprisingly following in Goldcorp's shameful footsteps. Since Tahoe began the development of its Escobal silver mine in the department of Santa Rosa in southeastern Guatemala, the communities surrounding the project have experienced conflict, violence and massive criminalization of peaceful protest.

Santa Rosa de Lima No se vende - protest on February 14
against Tahoe Resources voluntary royalties (Photo Parlamento Xinca)

Tahoe Resources has brushed off community opposition by claiming that protesters are shipped in from neighboring municipalities who are unaffected by the silver project. The case of Sipakapa and the fact that Tahoe and Goldcorp mining concessions extend into the nearby municipalities of Jalapa, Santa Rosa de Lima and Nueva Santa Rosa, Casillas, Jutiapa and Mataquesquintla, clearly demonstrate that Tahoe will not stop at the Escobal mine. Sipakapa serves as an example that community opposition, despite setback and division, will not stop either.

With information from Breaking the Silence Network

ADH statement in solidarity with Barillas political prisoners and the people of Sipakapa

On January 14, the people of Sipakapa joined together to take action in denouncing the granting of the Los Chocoyos mining exploration license to Goldcorp Inc. Earlier this month, the Sipakapa Maya Council, together with the Western People's Council (CPO), filed a legal complaint against the Ministry of Energy and Mines for authorizing the license to the Canadian company. In the following statement, the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH) express their solidarity with the people of Sipakapa, as well as Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez, political prisoners and members of the resistance to the Cambalam hydro-electric project.

The people of Sipakapa protest Los Chocoyos mining project on January 14. Photo: CPO

The Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango, ADH
Public Statement

The people's struggle in defense of territory, before the transnational attack and extractive model, reflect the aggressions and pillage that help to further the neoliberal model in the height of the 21st century.

In 2005, the community consultation in Sipakapa taught us a nonviolent form to defend our territory and life. The people of Sipakapa protested and demanded respect for their community decision. Today, once again, the people have organized and peacefully demanded respect for their consultation, expressing their dissatisfaction of the new invasion of their territory, as a result of the extended mining exploitation at the Marlin mine.

Neither the companies nor the current government understand that our territories are not for sale and they will be defended in different forms in the past, present and always, as the people of Sipakapa demonstrate.

Today, we also denounce the continued persecution and criminalization of our leaders carried out by transnational companies with the support of Otto Pérez Molina's government. The case of Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez, members of the ADH and leaders of the resistance to the Spanish hydro-electric project Hidro Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz Barillas, is a clear example of such criminalization. Méndez and Velásquez are being persecuted through the Guatemalan legal system, such that the meaning of justice is corrupted. We, along with their families, affirm that this is a political persecution.

As the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango, we denounce nationally and internationally the open and obscene invasion of our territories by foreign companies, with the approval of the current government, as is demonstrated once again with the case of Sipakapa. We express our solidarity with the struggle and demands by the people of Sipakapa.

We express our solidarity with Rogelio Velásquez and Saúl Méndez, along with their families and communities, and we demand their freedom. We express our solidarity with the communities and organizations that defend their rights, life and Mother Earth.

We demand respect from Otto Pérez Molina's government toward the community consultations, our community's decisions, autonomy and self-determination.

We demand freedom for our political prisoners
For the autonomy and self-determination of our communities
The Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango (ADH), member of the Western People's Council (CPO)

Huehuetenango, January 17, 2014

Tens of Thousands Oppose Tahoe Resources' Escobal Project in Guatemala

Please show your support for mining-affected communities in the area of Tahoe's Escobal project! Take action with this online petition directed at President, CEO and Director of Tahoe Resources, Kevin McArthur.

(Versión original en español abajo)

(Guatemala City/Ottawa) Contrary to Tahoe Resources’ recent claims, tens of thousands of people oppose its Escobal project in southeastern Guatemala. Repression and violence have been the outcome of company and government efforts to install the project without social support. A recent high-court decision in Guatemala reinforces the legitimacy and importance of local decision-making processes.   



More than half of the communities in the municipality of San Rafael las Flores, where the Escobal project is located, have declared opposition to mine. In five neighbouring municipalities, in the departments of Santa Rosa and Jalapa, a majority have voted against the mine in municipal referenda, in which tens of thousands of people participated. The most recent vote took place on November 10th in the municipality of Jalapa, department of Jalapa. Over 23,000 people participated with 98.3% voting against mining and 1.7% in favour.



“It is grossly misleading for Tahoe’s CEO Kevin McArthur to claim that the Escobal project enjoys strong community support when so many people have democratically expressed their opposition. The Constitutional Court has clearly stated that local plebiscites are an important measure of community sentiment near the mine site and they should be respected,” stated Jackie McVicar, Coordinator of the Maritimes Guatemala Breaking the Silence Solidarity Network.



In early December, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court decided in support of a municipal referendum in the municipality of Mataquescuintla, Jalapa and against a suit that an individual had brought to challege its constitutionality. The decision acknowledges the responsibility that municipal authorities have to convene such votes and to make decisions according to their results, affirming their value as “adequate means by which peoples may exercise their right to give their opinion and be consulted on topics of interest.”



Community members organizing local votes have faced repression and baseless legal actions in an attempt to quash their opposition to the project. During the past fourteen months, dozens of community members have had to endure more than 70 stressful legal processes, of which nearly all have been absolved of any charges.



The most recent crackdown against opposition to the Escobal project took place in late April mere weeks after the company received its exploitation license. Security guards fired on peaceful protestors outside of company property, injuring six, including two seriously. The company’s then head of security remains under arrest awaiting trial. Alberto Rotondo is charged with assault causing bodily harm and obstruction of justice.



Days after the attack, on May 2, 2013, the Guatemalan State declared a state of siege in four municipalities surrounding the mine project and issued multiple arrest warrants. Among the accused and imprisoned were key community leaders. In late November, a Guatemalan judge ruled that the police arrest and detention of five individuals for nearly seven months was illegal. Shortly later, arrest warrants were dropped against seven others accused in the same case.



“The President has accused of us being a few crazy people that are opposed to the mine, but we represent numerous departments, including the Xinca indigenous people, as well as people from all across Guatemala. I ask the company to please leave Guatemala because it is seriously hurting our families,” stated Teresa Muñoz a community leader from Jalapa during a press conference in early December.



Communities oppose the Escobal project given concerns over actual and potential impacts on water supplies and community wellbeing. The Ministry of Energy and Mines approved the company’s final license right after dismissing outright more than 250 individual complaints against the company’s project.



In July, a Guatemalan Appeals Court found that the Ministry of Energy and Mines did not follow due process in considering one of these oppositions. Lawyers for affected communities believe the appeals court decision puts Tahoe's license in limbo. Hearings on this case continued in November at which hundreds demonstrated their opposition to the project.



Tahoe is already under investigation for industrial contamination of water supplies near the Escobal mine.



“It is devastating to see the way that Tahoe is repeating the patterns of its top shareholder, Goldcorp, whose Marlin mine was built despite opposition and without community consent, leading to conflict and giving rise to broad-based opposition to mining throughout Guatemala. Instead of storming ahead and generating further upheaval, Tahoe should pack its bags and leave these communities in peace,” remarked Jen Moore, Latin America Program Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada.



Contacts:

• Jen Moore, MiningWatch Canada, (613) 569-3439, jen(at)miningwatch.com  
• Jackie McVicar, Breaking the Silence, 011 (502) 4824-0637, btsguatemala(at)gmail.com

SOURCE: http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/tens-thousands-oppose-tahoe-resource-s-escobal-project-guatemala

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Decenas de miles se oponen al proyecto de la minera Tahoe Resources en Guatemala

Jueves, Diciembre 19, 2013
(Guatemala City/Ottawa) Contrariamente a las afirmaciones de la empresa Tahoe Resources, decenas de miles de personas se oponen al proyecto Escobal, perteneciente a esta compañía, en el suroriente de Guatemala. Los intentos, tanto de la compañía como del gobierno, de instalar el proyecto sin apoyo social han resultado en represión y violencia. Una reciente decisión del alto tribunal en Guatemala reafirma la legitimidad e importancia de los procesos locales de toma de decisión.

Más de la mitad de las comunidades en el municipio de San Rafael las Flores, donde se ubica el proyecto Escobal, se han declarado en oposición a la mina. En cinco municipios aledaños en los departamentos de Santa Rosa y Jalapa, la mayoría de las decenas de miles de votos registrados en consultas comunitarias rechazan la mina. La votación más reciente se efectuó el 10 de noviembre en el municipio de Jalapa, departamento de Jalapa. Más de 23.000 personas votaron – el 98,3 por ciento votó en contra de la minería, mientras que el 1,7 por ciento votó a favor.

“Es altamente engañoso que el presidente de Tahoe Resources, Kevin McArthur, indique que el proyecto Escobal goza del apoyo de la comunidad, cuando tanta gente ha manifestado democráticamente su oposición. La Corte de Constitucionalidad ha indicado claramente que los plebiscitos son un importante indicador del sentir de las comunidades próximas a donde se ubica la mina y se deben respetar”, indicó Jackie McVicar, Coordinadora de la Red de Solidaridad Rompiendo el Silencio.

A principios de diciembre, la Corte de Constitucionalidad avaló la consulta comunitaria en el municipio de Mataquescuintla, Jalapa y negó la acción cuestionando la constitucionalidad de la consulta que había presentado una persona particular. La decisión reconoce la responsabilidad con que cuentan las autoridades municipales de convocar este tipo de votación y tomar decisiones de acuerdo a los resultados que éstas arrojen, y afirma su valor como “una adecuada forma de posibilitar el derecho de los pueblos a opinar y ser consultados sobre asuntos de su interés".

Pobladores que organizaron las consultas comunitarias se han enfrentado a represión y a acciones legales infundadas, en un intento de invalidar la oposición al proyecto. Durante los últimos catorce meses, decenas de comuneros se han visto involucrados en más de setenta tensos procesos legales, en los cuales la gran mayoría quedó absuelta de todo cargo.

La más reciente ofensiva hacia la oposición del proyecto Escobal ocurrió a fines de abril, unas pocas semanas luego de que se le otorgara a la empresa la licencia de explotación. Guardias de seguridad abrieron fuego en contra de un grupo que se manifestaba pacíficamente fuera de la propiedad de la empresa, dejando seis personas heridas, dos de ellas de gravedad. Quien fuera en ese momento jefe de seguridad permanece detenido a la espera del juicio. Alberto Rotondo ha sido ligado a proceso por lesiones leves y graves y por obstaculización de la investigación penal.

El 2 de mayo de 2013, pocos días después del ataque, el Estado de Guatemala declaró estado de sitio en cuatro municipios aledaños al proyecto minero y giró varias órdenes de captura. Entre los acusados y detenidos se encontraban dirigentes comunitarios clave. A fines de noviembre, un juez guatemalteco declaró que fue ilegal la captura de cinco personas y su privación de libertad durante casi siete meses. Poco después, las órdenes de captura que se habían girado para siete otras personas acusadas en el mismo caso quedaron sin efecto.

“No somos unos cuantos locos, como ha dicho el presidente, que se oponen a la mina, somos muchos departamentos; Xincas somos todos, es todo Guatemala... Pido a la mina San Rafael [la subsidiaria guatemalteca de Tahoe] de que por favor se retire de Guatemala, que nos está haciendo un gran daño a nuestras familias.” indicó Teresa Muñoz, dirigente comunitaria de Jalapa en rueda de prensa a principios de diciembre.

Las comunidades se oponen al proyecto Escobal debido a los impactos existentes y potenciales en las fuentes hídricas y en el bienestar de la comunidad. El Ministerio de Energía y Minas aprobó la licencia final de la empresa inmediatamente después de rechazar categóricamente los más de 250 recursos presentados en contra del proyecto de la empresa.

En julio, la Sala Primera de Apelaciones de Guatemala halló que el Ministerio de Energía y Minas no procedió correctamente en relación a uno de estos recursos. Los abogados de las comunidades afectadas estiman que la decisión de la Sala de Apelaciones pone la licencia de Tahoe en limbo. En noviembre continuaron las audiencias sobre este caso, durante las cuales se manifestaron cientos en oposición al proyecto.

En este momento, Tahoe es objeto de investigación por contaminación industrial de las fuentes hídricas próximas a la mina Escobal.

“Es devastador ver hasta qué punto Tahoe repite el patrón de comportamiento de su mayor inversionista, Goldcorp, cuya mina Marlin se construyó a pesar de la oposición y sin el consentimiento de las comunidades, llevando a conflictos y a una amplia oposición a la minería en todo Guatemala. En vez de avanzar a toda marcha y generar mayores disturbios, Tahoe debería empacar sus maletas y dejar a estas comunidades en paz”, indicó Jen Moore, Coordinadora del Programa de América Latina de Alerta Minera Canadá.

Contactos:

Jen Moore, Alerta Minera Canadá, (613) 569-3439, jen(@)miningwatch.ca
Jackie McVicar, Red de Solidaridad 'Rompiendo el Silencio', 011 (502) 4824-0637, btsguatemala(@)gmail.com
Por favor, mostrar su solidaridad con las comunidades afectadas por el proyecto Escobal de Tahoe y tomar acción con esta petición en línea acá (disponible solamente en inglés).

Fuente: http://www.miningwatch.ca/es/news/decenas-de-miles-se-oponen-al-proyecto-de-la-minera-tahoe-resources-en-guatemala