CHILE

CHILE

Worldwide Anti-Barrick Day in Santiago, Chile

by María José Martínez, Santiago, Chile

2nd May 2007

Some members of the Christian Democratic Party (DC), environmentalists and critics of the mining project Pascua Lama, in an act of denouncing the relations between Barrick Gold Corp. congregated in the DC location with protest signs and shouts. At the Eduardo Frei Montalva building of the political party, that presently is directed by the Senator Soledad Alvear, some thirty voices were heard singing accusing the three members of the DC that have relations with Barrick Gold Corp. Signs that read "Frei you sold the Mountain Range" of some 30 protesters were posted on the doors of Av. Alameda 1460 since they couldn't enter the building due to the fact that the doors were chained.

In that location, the declaration where it states that Jaime Mulet, 3rd Region´s deputy is "responsible for the usurpation of ancestral lands of the Diaguita-Huascoaltino People", where presently Pascua Lama is located, was read out loud. In addition, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle x-president of Chile is "responsible for signing the Chilean-Argentinian Mining Complement Treaty, handing over the common goods to the transnationals without consulting its citizens". The document also accuses Marcelo Trivelli, whom, as a "co-founder of the communications company Extend and x-mayor of the Metropolitan Region, is responsible for public relations and lobbying for the multinational Barrick with the government in favour of the company".

The protests for the Worldwide Anti-Barrick Day was carried out just at the moment that the shareholders of Barrick Gold Corp. had their annual financial meeting in the birth place of the mining company, Toronto, Canada.

In Santiago there were some representatives present from the Latin American Environmental Conflict Observatory (OLCA), members of the Colectivo Rexistencia, members of the Anti-Pascua Lama Citizen´s Movemement, FunaChile and other critics of the project.