New Confrontations In Cajamarca Against Yanacocha

Published by MAC on 2006-08-23
Source: Observatory of Conflicts GRUFIDES

New Confrontations in Cajamarca Against Yanacocha

Cajamarca, Perú

23rd August 2006

Observatory of Conflicts GRUFIDES

Today at 2 in the morning, more than 300 residents of Combayo, seeking to bring attention on the part of the State and mining company, began again direct acion against Minera Yanacocha and blocked the right-hand lane of the Bambamarca highway at kilometer 04. The blockade of the highway was only against vehicles of the mining company - no public or private vehicles were blockaded.

At approximately 6:40am, police officers and members of Forza, Yanachocha`s private sec -urity, began repressive actions against the campesinos, firing tear gas bombs at them.

As a result of this first confrontation, there were various injuries of people who were taken to the Medical Post of Huambocancha and to the Regional Hospital in Cajamarca. Still unknown are the amount of injured and the magnitude of their injuries.

The dialogue between the company and the population of Combayo was interrupted after a breakdown in the meeting of August 16. Yesterday, the Public Ombudspersons Office nform- ed the community that the next dialogue meeting would be this Thursday. The residents, left waiting outdoors for more than two days in the region of the Carachugo II project, and tired that promises had not been carried out by Yanacocha, declared before the Ombudsperson's office that there is a great urgency to solve the problems and asked that the company set the meeting for today in the morning. The residents of Combayo, waiting for the meeting, rec-eived notice that Minera Yanacocha was trying to divide the population, having scheduled separate meetings with the communities of El Pabellón, San Luis and officials of San Pedro. The residents, frustrated and tired about the lack of respect and transparency on the part of a mining company which wants to sow div -isions between the people, decided to march to the Bambamarca highway to initiate more visible methods of protest.

At this moment the campesino population is still posted along the highway, the repression has not ceased, and it is known that local communities are marching towards the zone of conflict in order to support the demonstrators.