Australian mining company implicated in deaths of DRC villagers
Published by MAC on 2005-06-06
Australian mining company implicated in deaths of DRC villagers
ABC TV
Mon, 6 Jun 2005
ABC TV's Four Corners program tonight reveals how the Anvil Mining company, which operates a mine in the south-east of the war-ravaged country of Congo provided vehicles and other assistance to government troops to quell a rebel uprising in the village of Kilwa, 50 kilometres from its mine. The company maintains it did nothing wrong.
Radio Australia - 6 June 2005
An Australian mining company, Anvil, has been implicated in the killing of more than 100 villagers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during an uprising in October last year.
According to eyewitnesses, the villagers staged a protest against the way the company was taking multi-million dollar profits from mining silver and copper out of the country.
A small group took over the police station at Kilwa, looting trucks and stealing fuel and food from the Anvil depot, about 50 kilometres from the company's mine.
Anvil is alleged to have provided vehicles and brought in government troops to stop the uprising, in which at least 100 people were killed.
A secret UN investigation has identified a mass grave and concluded that "at least 28" of the more than 100 deaths "might have resulted from summary execution".
"Internal issue"
Anvil says it did nothing wrong.
The company's chief executive officer, Bill Turner, says some people were killed, but Anvil had nothing to do with them.
"We were not part of this. This was a military action conducted by the legitimate army of the legitimate government of the country," he said.
"We helped the military get to Kilwa and then we were gone. Whatever they did there, that's an internal issue, it's got nothing to do with Anvil."
A local non-government organisation is trying to hold the mining company accountable for the events, and has sought the help of an Australian law firm, Slater and Gordon.
Lawyer Richard Meeran says the company may have a case to answer if its intention in assisting the military and its knowledge of the likely outcome can be established.
"If an Australian national assists someone else in committing those crimes, then that assistance itself will constitute a crime under Australian national law," he said.