Accompanier Perspectives: Ixcán

Since the mid-1990s, members of the NISGUA network have provided a physical international presence to threatened human rights defenders and communities in the Ixcán.

We invite you to read the following reflection piece from one of our current accompaniers, Kayla Myers, about the violence of the past and the ongoing imposition of megadevelopment projects in the area. For more information about accompaniment, please read "The Power of Presence."

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The river Chixoy, which runs from the south of Guatemala all the way up into Mexico, is the life that runs through both the geography of the region and the continued struggles that define our work there. The Cobán-Ixcán region is in the extreme north of Guatemala next to the Mexican border. Cobán is the municipality located on the East side of the river Chixoy. Uspantán. On the West side of the river and in the extreme Northern region is the Ixcán, which is where we will also be working. Surrounding these municipalities are many smaller communities connected often only by foot-trails through the jungle, pickups and small buses, or boats along the Chixoy. 

Many communities in this region were victimized by the Guatemalan military during the armed conflict. For example, in 1982, a pueblo in the north of the Ixcán suffered the largest massacre in the history of Guatemala. On March 14th of that year the army arrived in this pueblo corralling the people into the town marketplace with gunfire, and on the 15th the army burned the Evangelical Church with people trapped inside. On that day, 324 Guatemalans were mass murdered. This history is not a forgotten page, this particular massacre only occurred 33 years ago, and its repercussions still echo into the present and future of this region.

Burial of massacre victims in the Ixcán region, 1996.
Photo credit: S. José Rio Negro, © A. Huet,
Center for Independent Media 

The reason given for the massacre was that the towns-people "supported the guerrilla movement." This was often the reason given during the time of internal armed conflict, a reason masking genocidal and economic motives. It was considered a genocide as Mayan villages were targeted and 84% of those killed or disappeared during the conflict were Indigenous Mayan Peoples. Economic motives are seen in the fact that the government planned the Xalalá hydroelectric project, a dam that will stop the Chixoy river and be used to generate electricity, in the 1970's. Their plan was inhibited, in party, by the presence of communities along the river. The project was paused during the time of massacres and re-vamped in 2004 as a top national priority. After the conflict, the survivors in Cobán-Ixcán were vulnerable from the loss of family, community and land and this vulnerability is now being exploited to gain access to their land and the Chixoy River for the benefit of multi-national companies and the elite class of Guatemala.

Yet, hydroelectric projects do mean clean energy and development in a place isolated and beneath the shadow of extreme poverty. Several questions arise:

"Question:" Why don't they want clean energy and development?
"Response:" If the Xalalá dam is built, over 50 communities around the Chixoy River will be either flooded or completely deprived access to water.

"Q:" What about relocation and compensation?
"R:" The Xalalá dam would be the second largest project in Guatemala next to the Chixoy hydroelectric project built in the 1980s. Those forcibly evicted from their homes and land at that time are still awaiting compensation.

"Q:" What about the trickle down affect of development projects, won't they benefit in the long run?
"R:" The Xalalá project will create energy to be exported, not to be used locally. Those who benefit will be the elite who partner with international companies.

These questions are usually the first to arrive in the minds of people from the Global North, but the implications of damming this river go far deeper than questions of logistics and money.

The Indigenous Mayan peoples are the majority of the population in Guatemala with a culture and tradition alive as the river. The languages spoken in Cobán-Ixcán are principally Q’eqchi, Quiche’, Mam, and Spanish. The Mayan Cosmovision, or view of the world, emphasizes real connection to the Earth and the resources that are life for the Mayan peoples. The river is life, a life under threat.

Indigenous Communities say NO to the Xalalá Hydroelectric
project. Photo credit: NISGUA

There has been no justice for the communities that survived massacres in this region during the armed conflict, instead there is continued tension and re-traumatization. This does not mean that they have given up, on the contrary, the tide for justice in Cobán-Ixcán flows strong. As an example, here is a time-line of their struggle against the Xalalá hydroelectric project:

• 2007 and 2010 – good-faith community consultations are held in Ixcán and Uspantán respectively. Over 18,000 community members, 90% of the population in the region, said NO to the project in these organized votes.

• 2008 - the community consultations, which are legal under International Laws of which Guatemala is a signatory, were ignored by the government and INDE started the project and began looking for investors.

• 2008-2013 – the Xalalá hydroelectric project is stalled by lack of investors due in part to the awareness raised by communities.

• November 2013 - a contract was signed by the Brazilian Company Intertechne Consultores SA to carry out the feasibility studies necessary for dam construction.

• April 2014 - the communities filed a injunction against contract in the Constitutional Court of Guatemala for illegality and irregularities.

• December 2014 – the National Electrification Institute (INDE) cancels the contract with Intertechne and declares that Xalalá is no longer a top national priority. The Constitutional Court has yet to give their decision on the legality of the contract and the people are suspicious of INDE's change in tactics.

INDE has been using any tactic available to weaken the resistance of the local peoples to the project. They attempt to buy out local leaders, seize land in any way they can, start community strife to divide peoples, and offer much needed resources only in return for support of the project. They are even suspected of flying helicopters over these post-conflict communities to scare them into submission.

That is a part of the complex history of this region of Guatemala, so how does that translate to our work? As international human rights accompaniers in this region, my partner and I will provide moral support and a dissuasive presence to the communities and individuals who survived massacres as well as support individuals and organizations struggling against the Xalalá hydroelectric project.

Three of several of the organizations we partner with are:

1. AJR- the Association for Justice and Reconciliation- created by Guatemalan survivors and refugees to bring cases from the armed conflict to trial

2. ACODET - the Association of Communities for the Development of the Defense of Land and Natural Resources - communities in the area organized to resist the Xalalá hydroelectric project

3. Puentes de Paz- Bridges of Peace- they work in the region on several community support projects

They say that this region is the region of walking. From community to community we pack along our belongings and our notebooks, ready to listen to the voices of these powerful defenders and survivors, ready to share information globally to break the ugly silence and isolation in which oppression and violence thrive. I am so ready to learn from the undercurrent of strength that has sustained these people in their struggle, a struggle for the preservation of life, land, and water. In a world being drained of our human connection to nature, this is a struggle we all face together. The implications of their work and survival will be felt through Guatemala and through our global struggle for natural resources and human rights.

Thank you for reading this reflection, for taking time on your path to connect with me and with the people of Guatemala. Please check out www.nisgua.org for updates.

In Solidarity,

Kayla Myers

Ixil communities of Nebaj express opposition to US-led extraction in their territory

"Historically, we have never received the support of the state or the government for our development, which is why it seems fair that we be able to take advantage of our own natural resources in order to improve the living conditions of our people according to our own vision of development." 

Letter from communities of Nebaj to US-owned Double Crown Resources Inc.

In May 2014, US-owned natural resource exploration and development company, Double Crown Resources, Inc., bought the exclusive rights to all barite production from the Bilojom II mine site located near Salquil Grande, Vicalamá and Tzalbal, three Maya Ixil communities in the municipality of Santa Maria Nebaj. Despite having already presented their formal opposition to the imposition of large-scale projects on their territory to the Guatemalan Congress in 2010, plans to ramp up the extraction of barite, a non-metalic mineral used primarily for petroleum and natural gas drilling and extraction processes, continue.

In response, representatives from the affected communities submitted letters to Guatemalan and international authorities in which they reject the extraction of barite on their communally owned lands and demand respect for the right to consultation and self-determination.

Community representatives meet with the Guatemala Human Rights Ombudsman. Photo NISGUA

NISGUA joined the communities in submitting our own letter to Double Crown Resources (en español aquí) expressing our concern regarding the imposition of mining projects without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous population. Likewise, we are concerned by the participation of a US-owned company in the ongoing usurpation and exploitation of Ixil lands and peoples given the history of genocide and forced displacement in the region during the internal armed conflict.

While clandestine extraction of barite from the region known as Corralcub has been occurring illegally since the early 1990s, the involvement of Double Crown Resources, through their relationship with the Mexico-based Geominas de Guatemala S.A., indicates a concerning turning point for the imposition of large-scale extractive projects in the department of Quiché. Double Crown Resources plans to export an estimated 10 thousand metric tons of what they consider to be extremely high-quality barite to their soon-to-be completed processing plant in New Orleans, LA.

Widespread community opposition is focused on concerns regarding the impact on local water sources. During a previous phase of barite extraction beginning in 2003, Geominas utilized dynamite to remove the mineral, causing massive destruction of the natural environment that local communities depend on. Communities explain the impacts stating, "As a result of the constant explosions, the springs from Vijolom II that served the community of Salquil Grande dried up, and thousands of people in the surrounding  communities were left without drinking water."

In their letter, communities also call into question the legality of the mining licenses given that the land in question is communal property of the ejido of the municipality of Santa Maria Nebaj. "This land is the property, not only of the municipality of Nebaj, but also of each and every citizen of the municipality. This is to say that the land is communally owned and managed by the indigenous farming communities and is protected under the communal system by the communities and peoples, as well as by their municipal authorities."

NISGUA has provided on-the-ground human rights accompaniment to communities, witnesses and survivors in the municipality of Nebaj since 2001 when the legal case for genocide and crimes against humanity against former general Efraín Ríos Montt was filed. In May 2014, the witnesses and survivors of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation along with their legal team, achieved what many believed was impossible – Ríos Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 80 years in prison.

Over the years, we have heard stories from our partners in Nebaj about how the violence of the 1980s sought to eliminate their families and communities through massacres, extra-judicial executions and forced displacement. We have also heard about the ways in which that violent past has continued into the present – how the current attempts to remove the indigenous Ixil population from their ancestral, communal lands ring as alarming echoes of the past. 

Certainly the tactics have changed – communities are not attacked with tanks and bombs, but rather by an army of multi-national development firms that threaten their communities with the very same displacement and loss of culture. The opposition to Bilojom II mine is just one of many examples throughout Guatemala in which indigenous communities, in the midst of healing and seeking justice for the deep wounds of the armed conflict, have stood up in defense of their land, livelihoods and culture.

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..