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Update: La Rioja, Argentina vs. Barrick Gold

by Written by David Modersbach dmoders (at) yahoo.com, Rosario, Argentina

Here in Argentina, we are anxiously awaiting the final resolution of Barrick Gold's announced withdrawal from the province of La Rioja.  As you may know, in March 2007, due to overwhelming community rejection of Barrick's mining project on the Famatina Range, the corrupt provincial governor �ngel Maza was ousted, as neighbors began a blockade of the road leading to Barrick's mining camps, shutting down their operations.  A regional referendum to prohibit open-pit mining is scheduled for July 29, 2007.  The new acting Governor of La Rioja signed a bill calling for the prohibition of open-pit mining with cyanide (http://www.protestbarrick.net/article.php@id=120). On May 18, Barrick Gold announced their definitive withdrawal from the Famatina Project via telephone with a judge in Chilecito.
   
Members of the Autoconvocado (Self-Organized) neighbor groups who are positioned at the blockades agreed to Barrick's offer of a 12 day time period, beginning May 21, to permit Barrick access to dismantle completely and withdraw from their mining encampment.
  
This time period began on May 21, and five days later, it is becoming clear that
Barrick Gold has lied again.
  
There were already grave doubts arising as to the believability of Barrick Gold Corporation. This corporation has already lied once about pulling out of the Famatina Project.  Barrick Gold has systematically lied, manipulated and bribed officials and people in La Rioja as well as the neighboring province of San Juan where their largest mining megaprojects are well under way.   After their announcement, Barrick has repeatedly refused to put notice of their �definitive withdrawal� official, on paper.
  
It now appears that Barrick Gold is trying to negotiate a "deal" with friends in the La Rioja government, with national Secretary of Mining Jorge Mayoral and national Secretary of Environment Romina Picollotti:  Barrick will appear to "abandon" the highly-profitable Famatina Project now, but the corporation is demanding that the door be left  open for their eventual return.  This is unacceptable, and Barrick�s backroom deals, although common in mining affairs, are absolutely unacceptable.
  
Barrick has aligned with "residual" members of the corrupt Maza administration who are still clinging to power, most notably the corrupt provincial Secretary of Mining Abel Nonino as well as the provincial Attorney General Daniel Nader, to try and obtain a court order for the arrest of the demonstrators staffing the blockaded route at Pe�as Negras.   
  
Barrick is demanding that the citizen blockade at Pe�as Negras be dismantled, and that citizens descend from their position on the mountain before they begin their "withdrawal."  A forced eviction of the blockade at Pe�as Negras would be carried out upon orders of the attorney general Nader.   The citizens, although committed to Barrick's free passage in withdrawing, will remain at the Pe�as Negras until Barrick is completely gone. 
  
And as is communicated in the following note translated from spanish, the neighbors and citizens remain committed in their struggle not only against Barrick, not only in their precious mountain range, but against national mining legislation, against ALL transnational mining operations throughout the country, and indeed throughout the Andes Range: 
  
  
Translation of a note published in Tierra Amiga 5/24/07:
Barrick Gold: �We�ll Leave If You�ll Let Us Return�
  
  Some days ago, the transnational mining corporation Barrick Gold informed us through a telephone communication with Chilecito judge Alfredo Ramos, that they were definitively withdrawing from the "Famatina Project."  They asked for a period of 12 days from Monday May 21 to dismantle the mining camp, which they were constructing in the site "Cueva de P�rez.". Carina Moreno will now tell us how the struggle in Famatina is continuing and how local activists are continuing to organize to urge the withdrawal of Barrick Gold and the annulment of national mining laws:
  
  �It appears that Barrick is stalling for time, or worse�  They are asking for, demanding, through officials in Chilecito, the dismantling of our blockade at Pe�as Negras on May 21.   But, we are already there and we will remain there.  We have presented a document written by one of our lawyers and by the Judge Alfredo Ramos, prepared for Barrick to sign, to make official their word, communicated by phone to the judge.
  
  We are waiting now, hopeful, to see what will happen next.  We are a bit anxious, a bit fearful and a bit of everything.  The blockades have remained for over two and a half months already, each night people take turns, we are taking turns to maintain the blockade, and, yes, to prevent the company from coming or going.  There were two
Barrick security guards we had allowed to remain at the camp, but they came down
last Saturday and there is no-one guarding their camp.
  
  We continue organizing and we continue to demand the withdrawal of Barrick from our Famatina Range, and we continue struggling and we are going to continue our battle to annul the national mining laws, drafted in the 1990's, epoch of Carlos Menem and mining geologist (now ex-governor) �ngel Maza when he was Secretary of Mining for the Nation under Menem and Cavallo and others which permitted the plunder and giveaway of our common resources to foreign corporations, who use water without paying, use energy and do not pay any forms of taxes, have a financial stability for thirty years.  They are plundering the length of our Andes Range, polluting systematically and poisoning us.  This is why we are expelling Barrick Gold from our territory, but we want more:  We demand the annulment of the national mining laws.
  
  We will remain here.  Beginning May 21, we give the Barrick Gold twelve days to dismantle their camp and retreat completely from our Famatina Range.  And Barrick Gold needs to know this:  Come what may, whatever new governments we have, whatever officials, judges, from here on, this mining company will never have the social support necessary to carry out their systematic poisoning of our land.
  
  We feel a bit guilty in all of this, seeing what these same companies are doing to our neighbors, in San Juan and Catamarca for example.  We feel obligated to keep fighting, to go out and fight for what is ours, our water, our valleys, our earth, not just in our province but the entire Andes and foothills range.  This is a battle which we ourselves just recently begun, a battle which is just getting under way, and we need to see the creation of laws which the people understand, support and believe in.  Laws such as those of the neoliberal 1990's, the only thing that they will do is poison us, contaminate our lands and give away our natural resources for a few pieces of gold.
  
Vecinos de Famatina Autoconvocados en Defensa de la Vida
Carina Moreno, 03825 15 66 00 17
elfamatina935[at]yahoo.com.ar
  
Donations of money to the Assembly of Neighbors Autoconvocados of Famatina can be made to:  Cta Banco Naci�n Sucursal Famatina N� 5940122759
  
FAMATINA CANNOT BE TOUCHED!

BARRICK GOLD OUT OF THE FAMATINA RANGE, SAN JUAN, MENDOZA, CHILE, PER�, EL SALVADOR, AUSTRALIA, TANZANIA, ETC.  GO BACK AND DESTROY YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN! OUT OF OUR ANDES!

OUT WITH SELL-OUT AND CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF OUR LANDS!
 

 

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