40 DAYS OF PROTEST AGAINST GLAMIS GOLD'S GUATEMALAN MINE END IN BLOODSHED AND DEATH

40 DAYS OF PROTEST AGAINST GLAMIS GOLD'S GUATEMALAN MINE END IN BLOODSHED AND DEATH

Daniel Vogt - Asociación Estoreña Para el Desarrollo Integral, AEPDI
El Estor, Izabal, Guatemala

Monday, January 10 marked the fortieth day that platform trailers carrying milling cylinders for Glamis Gold's Marlin mine in the western department of San Marcos had been blocked from passing along the Panamerican Highway to the mine. Since December 3, the convoy which could not pass under a metal pedestrian crossing bridge 130 km northwest of Guatemala City, is the object of a growing opposition to metal mining in the largely indigenous populated highlands.

When the equipment reached the bridge, workmen from the transport company tried to cut away part of the bridge so that the trailer could pass. When the local population discovered that the equipment was for mining, they initially feared that it was to be used in their communities 100 km from the mine, and organized to protect the bridge and prevent the mine equipment from passing further. On the first day of protest more than 2000 indigenous farmers and villagers gathered, and tried to dissuade the convoy from traveling further. When their demands were not met, one small vehicle carrying tools and fuel for the mine was set afire. The rest of the convoy retreated 2 km to a lookout point's parking area where it remained until January 11, guarded by private police under the vigilance of local villagers.

In the time since December 3, the local mayor stated repeatedly his determination to respect his constituents' demand that the equipment not continue to San Marcos where Glamis is constructing its Marlin mine. However, the Guatemalan Interior Ministry stated on January 8 that it is prepared to call in troops to escort the convoy past the bridge despite local opposition. Villagers have stated that they would push the equipment over a cliff where it is parked if the military intervened. However, at 3:00 am January 11 hundreds of National Police and Guatemalan Army soldiers arrived to escort the equipment to the Marlin mine.

Although the Police had blocked access to the area, hundreds of indigenous campesinos gathered to protest the movement of the milling cylinder. Shots were fired and tear gas used as the authorities dispersed protesters from the area. Two kilometers away workmen accompanied by National Police were busy dismantling the pedestrian bridge that had initially blocked the cylinder's passing. When local villagers gathered to oppose the action, the Police shot and killed two men, Raúl Castro Bocel and Miguel Tzorín Tuy, and wounded several other persons, ultimately accomplishing their objective. At this writing, there are unconfirmed reports of four Police being held hostage by groups of villagers who are outraged at the death of their companions.

As news of the deaths and violence spread through the area, large groups of villagers gathered along the highway where the cylinder and convoy are to pass, ready to try to halt its advance. Prepared for this resistance the convoy is accompanied by hundreds of Police and soldiers as armed escorts.

The opposition to the mine arises from a mining license granted by the lame duck Portillo administration in late 2003, without conducting the obligatory consultation of the local indigenous communities, required by Convention 169 of the ILO. Once the communities discovered the extent and possible impacts of the project, opposition formed around issues of violation of the rights of indigenous persons and environmental risks inherent to the cyanide leaching refinement process. The situation is further aggravated by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation's lending $45 million to Glamis to develop the mine, despite written opposition to the mine project by local organizations, and the apparent non compliance of the IFC to the Bank's own recommendations regarding extractive industries investments requiring their broad community support and clear poverty alleviating impacts.

Local organizations and villagers have organized across four departments in support of the protest and demanded a government / company dialogue directly with the San Marcos communities affected by the mine project to reach an accord regarding the mine's future. As tensions rose and patience grew short, neither the company or government showed signs of engaging those opposed to the mine, and the World Bank, having been informed of these problems since early December, demonstrated no leadership or ability to address the situation.

The situation remains extremely tense, and despite so many claims to the contrary by the World Bank and mining industry, the same repressive practices reminiscent of the mining projects from the past remain the norm of the day.