UNEARTHING INDIGENOUS RIGHTS: PAN AMERICAN SILVER IN GUATEMALA
by Mining Justice Action Committee
November 12, 2019
Mining Justice Action Committee (MJAC)
Victoria Central America Support Committee (CASC)
and KAIROS invite you to a very special evening
with Indigenous/Guatemalan land defenders
7:00 PM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH
Cadboro Bay United Church 2625 Arbutus Road
Featured guests will be:
♦ LUIS FERNANDO GARCIA MONROY: Luis is from the San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa region of Guatemala and he was active in the resistance to the Escobal mine for nearly a decade. Luis, his father,and other community members, were shot outside the mine while participating in a peaceful protest in 2013. He works as a paralegal and community organizer with the Xinka Parliament.
♦ ELLEN MOORE: Ellen is the International Mining Coordinator of Earthworks. Her path to extractive industry work began in Guatemala in 2005 as a human rights observer with NISGUA. She spent the following decade engaged in international solidarity and environmental advocacy work in Central America. More recently, she worked as Guatemala Programs Coordinator, where she collaborated closely with communities standing up to transnational mining corporations.
BACKGROUND
"Talking Like a Mining Company: The Escobal Mine in Guatemala." A recent report demonstrates how the Escobal Mine attempted to manipulate public opinion with the complicity of corrupt state institutions.THE LACK OF MEANINGFUL CONSULTATION
Of central importance is the fact that the legitimacy of community-led consultations carried out over the past eight years demonstrated overwhelming opposition to the mine in surrounding communities."DURING THE INVESTIGATION
"The contrast between the culture of extractive capitalism represented by the mine and the alternative conceptions of the community resistance were on display in Guatemala City at the end of February 2019, when the Center for Conservation Studies (CECON-USAC) presented a multidisciplinary study of the impact of the Escobal Mine before a packed crowd. The mine's desire to shrink the right to consultation was visible."A "SILENCED" INDIGENOUS (XINKA) COMMUNITY SPEAKS OUT
"It is impossible that the mine operate and continue to expand without consuming great quantities of water that damage the watershed ecosystem and regional economies. Beyond the risk of acid mine drainage, there are sociocultural aspects, the economic impacts, the human costs of criminalization, the demonization and violence against the community resistance."https://nacla.org/news/2019/10/10/guatemala-mining-indigenous
DOORS WILL OPEN BY 6:30 PM FOR AN INFORMAL MEET AND GREET WITH LIGHT REFRESHMENTS.
ADMISSION IS BY DONATION ALTHOUGH EVERYONE IS WELCOME AND NO ONE WILL BE TURNED AWAY.
We gratefully acknowledge that this event will be held on unceded Lekwungen and WSANEC territory.
With thanks to Mining Watch Canada and Eathworks for organizing this speaking and actions tour.
( Mark you calendar now ♥ )
No comments:
Post a Comment