Contact: Alexis Stoumbelis (202) 521-2510 ext. 205

Washington, DC: On June 1, a tribunal at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) housed at the World Bank, granted jurisdiction to Canadian mining company, Pacific Rim, to continue with its attack on the people of El Salvador. Since 2009, the Vancouver-based company has been pursuing over $100 million from the government of El Salvador for not having granted the company a permit to mine gold in the northern region of Cabañas.

Members of the National Roundtable against Mining at a Press Conference in San Salvador

Since 2005, the rural communities around the proposed mining sites have organized a vibrant resistance movement to prevent the contamination of their water and land by the two tons of cyanide that Pacific Rim mining proposed to use daily to extract gold at the El Dorado mine.

As the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining recently stated, “[We’ve shown that ] metallic mining, an industry that senselessly uses and contaminates water, is not viable in El Salvador, a small country with a high population density and a severe lack of water.” Between 2009 and 2010, four environmental activists were murdered; political motivations have thus far been ignored in the investigations.

The tribunal dismissed Pacific Rim’s claim that the government of El Salvador had violated the rules of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), approved by the US Congress in 2005, on the grounds that the Canadian company, which moved a subsidiary from the Cayman Islands to Nevada in 2007, presumably to take advantage of the extraordinary rights afforded to corporations under CAFTA, did not have “substantial business activities” in the US.

Though the tribunal dismissed Pacific Rim’s CAFTA attack, they refused to waive millions in tribunal costs and legal fees that El Salvador has paid in order to defend itself against it; in legal fees alone, the government has paid over $5 million to date, money which could have been used to educate 140,000 adults through the government’s National Literacy Program.

Worse, the tribunal agreed to continue to hear the case based on Pacific Rim’s claim that El Salvador had violated its own Investment Law, approved in 1999 under the administration of President Flores. Lisa Fuller, Program Director for CISPES explains, “This Investment Law is just like CAFTA and other so-called free trade agreements, in that countries like El Salvador must forfeit their own democratic processes in the name of attracting foreign investment, which is a hallmark of neoliberal economic policy.”

As Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, commented, “The fact that corporate attacks on a sovereign country’s domestic environmental policy before a foreign tribunal would even be possible – much less cost a country millions when a key element of the attack is dismissed – highlights what is wrong with our ‘trade’ agreement model.”

In response to Friday’s decision, the National Roundtable against Metallic Mining has called on President Funes to eliminate chapter 15 of El Salvador’s Investment Law, which allows foreign corporations to bring suits like this one against the government at the ICSID, as well as to push forward a national ban on metallic mining.

Please follow these links to read more analysis of the decision and background on the case from Public Citizen and Mining Watch Canada.

Community member demands justice for slain anti-mining activists including Marcelo Rivera (poster).

Reposted with permission of the author –  Jan Morrill, Coordinator of the International Allies Against Metallic Mining in El Salvador coalition

On April 25th the civil society organizations and communities that make up the National Roundtable against Metallic Mining (the Mesa in Spanish) held a protest in front of the Attorney General of the Republic Office rejecting the recent sentences issued by the Specialized Sentencing Tribunal of El Salvador in the cases of environmentalists from the town of Trinidad who were murdered in 2009.  The Mesa criticized the Attorney General’s Office’s lack of investigation into the intellectual authors of the crimes, who they claim may or may not be tied to Canadian mining company, Pacific Rim.

Besides the protest, the Mesa took out a paid ad in the newspaper (Spanish version) and held a press conference to denounce the sentencing.

As a sign of support, 35 organizations from across the US and Canada signed on to a statement of solidarity with the Mesa’s calls for investigations and justice (Spanish version), which was read at the press conference and given to the Attorney General’s Office.

A commission of representatives from the Mesa and community radio station Radio Victoria was received by the secretary in charge of communications from the Attorney General’s Office, who claimed they were not being negligent in guaranteeing the access to justice, but that the process of investigating intellectual authors is slow.  When the representative from Radio Victoria pressured him as to why there had not been results in their case, is almost over three years old, he said they are still investigating.   He also said that the Mesa should pressure the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman for Human Rights Office instead of the Attorney General’s Office.

The protest was held on the heels of the announcement of the new Attorney General of the Republic.  On the 24^th the Legislative Assembly named Astor Escalante Attorney General.  Escalante was interim Attorney General in El Salvador for a number of months in 2009, including during time between Marcelo Rivera’s murder and cases of violence in Trinidad.  In their paid ad the Mesa stated: “As the National Roundtable we, also, expresses our complete rejection for the return of Astor Escalante as head of the Attorney General’s Office, and would like to point out that during his period as Attorney General in 2009, the current situation of impunity and ineffective judicial systems, in general continued. “ 

Click here for more information about the protest in Spanish, including videos, press statements and some photos.

For more pictures of the event click here.

Funes’ announcement follows a visit with MCC representatives during the last week of January, in which the MCC publicly commended the first stage of projects they financed in El Salvador. These projects began in 2007 under President Tony Saca’s administration and, according to government officials, are 95% complete. They focused on the construction of the Northern Longitudinal Highway and connecting roads.

While the stated purpose of the highway was to encourage economic development in the infrastructure-poor north of the country, Salvadoran economist Raul Moreno claims the real purpose is to “construct the infrastructure so that transnational corporations can more easily extract the country’s natural resources.” He notes that the highway construction is in a zone where US and Canadian mining companies are eyeing gold reserves and where environmental activists continue facing threats and violence.

Throughout the construction process, communities in Chalatenango and Cabañas have protested being deceived into signing over their properties for the construction of the highway. El Salvador’s largest construction workers union – the Industrial Construction Workers’ Union (SUTC) – has also denounced foreign construction companies contracted by the MCC for ignoring the construction workers’ collective contract with the national guild of construction companies, an established requirement for foreign companies to receive MCC funds.

Funes received President Barack Obama’s commitment to finance a second stage of projects during a visit to the White House in March of 2011 where the two presidents also committed to increased security cooperation. The second stage of MCC-financed projects that will begin in November are still not completely defined; but El Salvador will present its initial proposals on March 15.

This stage of projects will be focused on El Salvador’s coastal zone with the goal of creating a logistical and industrial corridor between the Acajutla Port, Comalapa International Airport, and the recently constructed La Unión Port. Construction was finished on the La Unión Port in 2009, but it is not yet operating at full capacity due to disagreements in the legislative assembly regarding the concession of the port to a private operator. The leftist Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN) fraction maintains that the government must retain at least 51% of the port’s holdings by law; however, right-wing parties want to grant over 50% of holdings to a private company. While the bidding process for an operator has begun, these questions have still not been resolved.

Considering that one of the political objectives of MCC financing is defined as “economic freedom,” which amounts to free-market policies that promote privatization of public resources and services, the new coastal zone projects will likely be used as incentives to fully privatize the La Unión Port, thus placing a public asset that the Salvadoran people are still paying for (in the form of a loan from the Japanese government that financed the port’s construction) into private hands for private profit.

CISPES leads the chants outside the World Bank. Photo: Ross Wells

On December 15, CISPES led the chants at a spirited rally in front of the World Bank in Washington, DC to protest Pacific Rim Mining ‘s outrageous lawsuit against the government of El Salvador.

To watch a short video of the protest, please click here.

Press Release from the Institute for Policy Studies

Groups come together outside World Bank tribunal to defend El Salvador, defeat unfair trade policy

December 15, 2011 · By Lacy MacAuley

Over 100 people protested today at the World Bank building, as a tribunal housed inside the building decided the fate of El Salvador under the provisions of CAFTA. John Cavanagh, the energetic Director of the Institute for Policy Studies, emceed a rally, joined by labor unions, local Salvadorans, environmental groups, people of faith, and others. Led by Cavanagh, the group delivered an open letter to the World Bank tribunal, called the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The letter had been signed by more than 240 international civil society groups and was handed to John Garrison, Senior Civil Society Specialist with the World Bank Group. Garrison came down to the front door of the World Bank building in order to receive the letter and deliver it to ICSID personnel. [View the open letter.]

“The case before the World Bank tribunal is a travesty,” said Cecil Roberts, President of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). “A ruling in favor for Pacific Rim gold mining company would represent a threat to workers’ rights and the environment.”

Yanira Merino, Immigration Coordinator, LIUNA (joined by the inflatable Fat Cat) outside the headquarters of the World Bank. © Rick Reinhard 2011

The case before the tribunal aims to settle a dispute between Pacific Rim gold mining company and the country of El Salvador. Pacific Rim, a Canadian company, is seeking to exploit gold reserves in El Salvador by opening a mine that could poison the water supply for more than half the nation’s population. They set up a subsidiary in the United States in order to file a lawsuit under the U.S. Central America Free Trade Agreement against the government of El Salvador, which has not approved a permit to mine the gold. In the course of the dispute over these natural resources, four anti-mining activists have been killed.

“What is unique about today is that we have been joined by a large number of labor unions in speaking out against this tribunal,” said Cavanagh. “These unions were at the forefront of the fight against the trade agreement that enshrined these corporate rights, and with their signatures and the pretense today, they are making the clear, loud statement that they will fight corporations trying to profit from these agreements, be it in El Salvador or elsewhere.”

Groups signed onto the letter so far include the AFL-CIO; Service Employees International Union (SEIU); United Mine Workers of America (UMWA); United Steelworkers (USW); American Federation of Teachers (AFT); International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM); and Teamsters Union. Together, these organizations represent hundreds of millions of people

Participants stood in the shadow of an 18-foot tall, inflatable “fat cat” puppet, representing the Pacific Rim gold mining company. They held signs that read, “Support Democratic Rights in El Salvador!” “The 99 percent supports El Salvador!” and “Protect El Salvador’s Water!” They chanted, “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!” (“The people united will never be defeated!”)

The case will be decided soon by the tribunal, though few know exactly when. A victory for Pacific Rim would send signals to any global corporation that it can override national environmental or labor rights regulations by opening a subsidiary in the United States – a windfall never imagined by even the most ardent free traders.

###

SIGN-ON to this letter: Please send the name or your organization and country to Manuel Perez-Rocha of the Institute for Policy Studies, manuel@ips-dc.org.

To:
Robert Zoellick, President, World Bank
Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, ICSID
V.V. Veeder, Tribunal president
Brigitte Stern, Tribunal member
Guido Santiago Tawil, Tribunal member

From: Civil society organizations

The signers of this petition represent civil society organizations.  We are writing out of solidarity with the communities of El Salvador that have been working through the democratic process to prevent a proposed cyanide-leach gold mining project, over well-founded fears that it threatens to poison the local community’s environment as well as the country’s most important river and source of water.

Rather than complying with the environmental permitting process of El Salvador, Pacific Rim launched an attack under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). They are demanding compensation from the government of El Salvador that could rise to hundreds of millions of dollars.  In an abuse of process designed to attract jurisdiction under DR-CAFTA, Pacific Rim moved its subsidiary from the Cayman Islands to Nevada in the United States.  The case will be decided by a tribunal at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), associated with the World Bank.

Pacific Rim is using ICSID and the investor-state rules in a free trade agreement to subvert a democratic nationwide debate over mining and sustainability in El Salvador.  These matters should not be decided by an ICSID arbitration tribunal. In the course of Pacific Rim’s intervention in the political affairs of El Salvador, four anti-mining activists have been murdered in the project area.

We stand with these communities and the government of El Salvador in their demand that their domestic governance processes and national sovereignty be respected, and thus that this case be dismissed.  We stand on the side of democracy.

Sincerely,

International networks:

1. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
2. Amigos de la Tierra América Latina y el Caribe (ATALC)
3. Convergencia de Movimientos de los Pueblos de las Américas
4. International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM)
5. International Forum on Globalization
6. Jubileo Sur / Americas
7. Movimiento Mesoamericano contra el Modelo Extractivo Minero (M4)
8. People’s Health Movement
9. People’s Health Movement in EuropeUnited States:
10. AFL – CIO
11. Alliance for Global Justice
12. American Federation of Teachers
13. American Jewish World Service
14. Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM)
15. Brazilian Inmigrant Center
16. Brooklyn for Peace
17. Campaign for Labor Rights
18. Casa El Salvador
19. CEIG Boulder-Communities Engaged in Global Justice
20. Center for International and Environmental Law
21. Chicago Religous Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN)
22. Citizens Trade Campaign
23. Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
24. Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
25. Communications Workers of America (CWA)
26. Community Service Organization (CSO)
27. Cumberland Countians for Peace & Justice and Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility of United Church of Christ
28. Denver Justice & Peace Committee
29. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, St. Olaf College
30. Doctors for Global Health, USA
31. Due Process of Law Foundation – USA
32. Earth Economics
33. Food and Water Watch
34. Food First
35. Friends of the Earth
36. Gender Action
37. Global Community Rights Framework Initiative
38. Global Exchange
39. Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
40. Global Justice for Animals and the Environment
41. Global-Local Links Project
42. Grassroots Global Justice
43. Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA
44. Holy Cross International Justice Office
45. Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project
46. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
47. International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
48. International Brotherhood of Teamsters
49. International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF)
50. International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
51. International Longshoremen’s Association
52. Jobs with Justice Massachusetts
53. Jubilee Oregon
54. Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
55. Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
56. LASC Milwaukee
57. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).
58. MAIZ
59. Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice
60. Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network
61. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
62. Maryland Presbyterian Church
63. Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
64. Midwest Coalition against Lethal Mining
65. Milwaukee Fair Trade Coalition
66. Mingas NY
67. New Rules for Global Finance Coalition
68. New York Whale and Dolphin Action League
69. Nicaragua Network
70. NY4whales.org
71. Occupy Wall Street Trade Justice Working Group
72. Office of the Americas
73. Oregon Fair Trade Campaign
74. Oregon New Sanctuary Movement
75. Power in Community Alliances (PICA)
76. Public Citizen
77. Rights Action
78. Salvadoran American National Association (SANA)
79. SANIPLAN
80. Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
81. SHARE Foundation – El Salvador
82. Sierra Club
83. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas–Institute Justice Team
84. SOAW Boulder-School of the Americas Watch
85. Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC),
86. Texas Trade Fair Coalition
87. TradeJustice New York Metro
88. TransAfrica Forum
89. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
90. United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society
91. United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)
92. United Steelworkers
93. United Steelworkers District 7
94. US Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP)
95. Voices on the Border
96. Washington Ethical Society Global Connections
97. Washington Fair Trade Coalition
98. Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
99. Wetlands Activism Collective
100. Witness for Peace
101. Working Families WinEl Salvador and US-El Salvador Binational Groups:
102. Arlington – Teocinte Sister City Project
103. Asociación de Comunidades para el Desarrollo de Chalatenango (CCR)
104. Asociación de Desarrollo Económico y Social, Santa Marta (ADES)
105. Asociación para el Desarrollo de El Salvador (CRIPDES)
106. Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network
107. Austin – Guajoyo Sister City Project
108. Bangor – Carasque Sister City Project
109. Binghamton-El Charcon Sister City Project
110. Capitulo Salvadoreño de la Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo (CPIDHDD),
111. Centro de Estudios y Apoyo Laboral, CEAL
112. Centro de Investigación sobre Inversión y Comercio (CEICOM)
113. Chicago – Cinquera Sister Cities
114. Comité Internacional contra la Explotación Minera
115. El Salvador Sistering Committee
116. Focus Central America, Wichita, KS
117. Friends of Chilama
118. FUDESCA
119. Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación de Derechos (FESPAD)
120. Madison Arcatao Sister City Project
121. Mesa Nacional frente a la Minería Metálica en El Salvador
122. Mesa Permanente por la Justicia Laboral (FESPAD)
123. Movimiento Nacional en Defensa de la Tierra (MOVITIERRA)
124. Movimiento Unificado Francisco Sánchez 1932 (MUFRAS 32)
125. Oberlin in Solidarity with El Salvador (OSES)
126. Red de Acción Ciudadana frente al Libre Comercio frente al Libre Comercio e Inversión Sinti Techan
127. SITRASACOSI
128. UNES, Unidad Ecologica Salvadoreña
129. Watertown-El Salvador Sister City GroupCanada:
130. Breaking the Silence Solidarity Network
131. Canadian Union of Public Employees
132. Coalition québécoise sur les impacts socio-environnementaux des transnationales en Amérique Latine (Coalition QUISETAL)
133. Committee to Support Social Development in El Salvador
134. Common Frontiers
135. Conseilleres en Gestion Praxis
136. Council of Canadians
137. International Human Rights Clinic of the University of Quebec at Montreal
138. MiningWatch Canada
139. Partners in Mission Unit, The United Church of Canada
140. Peace and Justice Committee, Grace Mennonite Church
141. Polaris Institute
142. Rights Action
143. Salvadorian Canadian Association of Ottawa and National Capital Region (ASCORCAN)
144. SalvAide
145. Social Justice Committee of MontrealOther Countries (alphabetical, by country):
146. DIÁLOGO 2000, Argentina
147. Foro Ciudadano de Participación por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (FOCO), Argentina
148. Public Health Association of Australia, Australia
149. Informationsgruppe Lateinamerika – IGLA, Austria
150. 11.11.11, Belgium
151. Broderlijk Delen, Belgium
152. Democracy Center, Bolivia
153. Fundacion Solón, Bolivia
154. Amigos de la Tierra, Brazil
155. Associação de Favelas de São Jose dos Campos – SP – Brasil, Brazil
156. Ecosistemas, Chile
157. Consejo de Defensa de la Patagonia, Chile
158. Asociación Campesina de Desarrollo Sostenible – ASCADES, Colombia
159. Asociación Campesina Huerto Renacer Sucre Cauca, Colombia
160. Asociación Consejo Regional del Pueblo Nasa del Putumayo KWE’SX KSXA’W, Colombia
161. Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Sostenible Perla Amazónica – ADISPA Putumayo, Colombia
162. Asociación de Productores y Procesadores Camino al Futuro – ASPROCAF-Putumayo, Colombia
163. Asociación de Productores y Procesadores Semillas de Paz – ASPROSEPAZ-Putumayo, Colombia
164. Asociación familiar de víctimas de ejecuciones extrajudicial sembradores de paz, Colombia
165. Asociación familias desplazadas del municipio de Argelia Cauca, Colombia
166. Censat Agua Viva – Amigos de la Tierra Colombia, Colombia
167. Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, Colombia
168. Comunidad de Autodeterminación Vida y Dignidad (CAVIDA), Colombia
169. Comunidad de Vida y Trabajo la Balsita- DABEIBA – Antioquia, Colombia
170. Comunidad Indígena Nonan – Resguardo Santarosa De Guayacan – Valle del Cauca, Colombia
171. Comunidades Indígenas Embera del Resguardo Urada Jiguamiando, Colombia
172. Consejo Comunitario De La Comunidad Negra Del Rio Naya- Valle del Cauca, Colombia
173. Consejos comunitarios asociados en ZH y ZB de Curbaradó y Jiguamiandó, Colombia
174. Escuela de Derechos Humanos Ullucos, Resguardo san Francisco Toribío- Cauca, Colombia
175. Grupo Autoayuda Los Andes Colombia – Alemania, Colombia
176. Grupo de Jovenes Raices de Dignidad Perla Amazónica – JURADIPA Asociación Campesina Bienandante Sucre Cauca, Colombia
177. Jóvenes Unidos Por El Bienestar Del Calima Jubca – Valle del Cauca, Colombia
178. Zona de Biodiversidad Buena Vista-Putumayo, Colombia
179. Zona de Biodiversidad El Triunfo-Putumayo, Colombia
180. Zona de Biodiversidad La Gurrera-Putumayo Pueblo Kamëntsä Alto Putumayo Grupo Porvenir, Colombia
181. Zona de Reserva Campesina Perla Amazónica-Putumayo, Colombia
182. Asociación Agroecologica Esther Cayapu – Trujillo, Colombia
183. Asociación Agroecologica Koinonía – Trujillo, Colombia
184. Asociación Agroecológica Asavip – Trujillo, Colombia
185. COECOCEIBA-Amigos de la Tierra, Costa Rica
186. Comisión Nacional de Enlace (CNE), Costa Rica
187. Colectivo Mujeres APE, Ecuador
188. Ecuador Decide, Ecuador
189. Jubileo 2000, Red Ecuador, Ecuador
190. Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina (OCMAL), Ecuador
191. ATTAC Finland, Finland
192. France Amerique Latine (FAL), France
193. Asociación de Maestros de Educación Rural de Guatemala, Guatemala
194. Asociación Q’anil, Guatemala
195. Ceiba/Amigos de la Tierra Guatemala, Guatemala
196. Consejo de Investigaciones e Información en Desarrollo CIID, Guatemala
197. Comité Regional Ambientalista, Valle de Siria, Honduras
198. Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indigenas de Honduras (COPINH), Honduras
199. Movimiento Madre Tierra Honduras, Honduras
200. Humanist Party of Iceland, Iceland
201. ATTAC, Japan, Japan
202. Japan Network on Debt & Poverty (DebtNet), Japan
203. Kamukunji Paralegal Trust (KAPLET), Kenya
204. Alianza Mexicana por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos (AMAP), Mexico
205. Alianza por el Derechos a un Medio Ambiente Sano, Chiapas, Mexico
206. Asociación de Usuarios del Agua de Saltillo AUAS, Mexico
207. Centro de Estudios de la Región Cuicateca, Oaxaca, Mexico
208. Centro Mexicano de Justicia Ambiental (CMJA), Mexico
209. Ciudadanos en Apoyo a los Derechos Humanos, A.C., Mexico
210. Coalición de Organizaciones Mexicanas por el Derecho al Agua (COMDA), Mexico
211. Colectivo Cultural Corazon de Piedra Verde, Mexico
212. Colectivo de artesanos Urbanos manos que Hablan, Mexico
213. Instituto Mexicano de Desarrollo Comunitario (IMDEC), Mexico
214. La Ventana/Oaxaca, Mexico
215. Medio Ambiente y Sociedad A.C., Mexico
216. Movimiento Agrarista Indigena Zapatista MAIZ, Mexico
217. Movimiento Mexicano contra las Represas (MAPDER), Mexico
218. Otros Mundos, A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México, Mexico
219. Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC), Mexico
220. Red Mexicana de Afectados por la Minería (REMA), Mexico
221. Revuelta Verde/Marea Creciente, Mexico
222. Servicio paz y Justicia De tabasco, Mexico
223. Servicios para una Educación Alternativa AC (EDUCA)/ Oaxaca, Mexico
224. Union de Comunidades Indigenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo (UCIZONI-Mexico), Mexico
225. ASEED Europe, Netherlands
226. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Netherlands
227. Transnational Institute, Netherlands
228. Centro Alexander von Humboldt, Nicaragua
229. Movimiento Social Nicaraguense Otro mundo es Posible, Nicaragua
230. Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre, Nigeria
231. Norwegian Solidarity Committee for Latin America, Norway
232. Asociación de Defensa de la Vida, Peru
233. Cooperacción, Peru
234. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Phillipines
235. Africando, Spain
236. Colectivo El Salvador Elkartasuna, Spain
237. Ecologistas en Acción, Spain
238. Plataforma de Solidaridad con Chiapas y Guatemala de Madrid, Spain
239. People´s Health Movement (PHM), Sri Lanka
240. Sweden – America Latina (SAL), Sweden
241. Corner House, UK
242. Environmental Network for Central America, UK
243. REDES – Amigos de la Tierra, Uruguay

Although the country’s Legislative and Municipal elections are right around the corner in March 2012, El Salvador’s right-wing political parties are thinking ahead to the next presidential elections and how to take back the Executive branch from the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), which carried the country’s first left head of state, Mauricio Funes, to office in March of 2009. One right-wing party has already named its 2014 candidate as Tony Saca, Funes’ predecessor, formerly of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party which held the presidency from 1989-2009.  

Since leaving office in 2009, former President Saca himself has been denounced for frivolously spending millions of state funds on Christmas parties and a “goodbye” tour, and his cabinet members have been charged with gross mismanagement of government funds.The Saca Administration also ushered in the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) without allowing public consultation on the potential economic consequences of the agreement. CAFTA has severely damaged the country’s agricultural sector, required the criminalization of the country’s street vendors and provided the framework for transnational gold mining corporations to sue El Salvador for denying their permits to extract gold.The choice of Saca illustrates that the right-wing plans to continue the same policies of corruption and neoliberalism that have served the Salvadoran ruling class at the expense of the needs of the Salvadoran people for decades. Read on for translated excerpts from the Diario Co Latino article on Saca’s candidacy.

“The Great Alliance for National Unity (GANA) plans to participate in the presidential election of 2014, with former President of the Republic, Elías Antonio Saca, as the party’s primary candidate. Guillermo Gallegos, deputy of the right-wing party, confirmed that they are beginning conversations with the ex-President to define his candidacy for the 2014 election, which would at the same time facilitate a unification of the country’s right-wing to prevent an FMLN re-election.

Right now, GANA is confident in the candidacy of ex-President Saca, “including that there are people who voted for the FMLN and today are wishing that ex-President Saca was President”. Gallegos reiterated that either alone or in coalition, GANA will promote the candidacy of the former president.”

The story of a community’s effort to ban gold mining in El Salvador involves environmental martyrs, powerful economic interests, and a DC-based tribunal that can trump democracy.

The communities’ goal: to make El Salvador the first nation to ban gold mining. We traveled to El Salvador in April to find out if this struggle to keep gold in the ground can be won. Our investigation led us from rural communities in the country’s gold belt to ministries of the new progressive government in San Salvador and ultimately to free trade agreements and a tribunal tucked away inside the World Bank in Washington, DC.

As U.S. residents, including representatives of the Salvadoran community in the United States, we support the achievements of the courageous struggle of the organized people of El Salvador,who have halted mining projects in the country and successfully voted in a new progressive government in 2009. This week we met with our partners and allies of the social movement, who have informed us about the climate of impunity that prevails in the country. We are aware of the intimidation campaign being waged against the Salvadoran social movement and we are very concerned about the role the Attorney General has played in allowing impunity to threaten the lives of Salvadoran citizens.

In the department of Cabañas a strong movement in resistance to mining projects has formed because these projects represent a serious threat because of their harmful environmental impacts and because of the social instability they cause in communities. This month yet another anti-mining activist has been the victim of violence against this movement.  Juan Francisco Durán Ayala disappeared on June 4, a day after distributing posters and leaflets against metallic mining in Ilobasco, as part of a public consultation on the mining sector. Juan Francisco was shot dead and his body was identified ten days later.

The murder of Juan Francisco is the fourth murder of an environmentalist who opposed mining in Cabañas. The body of Marcelo Rivera, a community leader in San Isidro, was found in July 2009 with signs of torture,and environmentalists Dora Alicia Sorto and Ramiro Rivera were shot to death in December 2009. The investigations of these crimes have not yet produced the capture of the intellectual authors of these assassinations.In addition, the staff of Radio Victoria have been receiving a steady wave of death threats from people who call themselves a death squad, and the Attorney General´s office has not conducted any investigation. In fact, the Attorney General has not even visited the Radio to collect evidence about the threats.

This continual violence and intimidation has created a climate that hinders the work of the social movement in Cabañas and in El Salvador. Social organizations are forced to devote more energy and resources to protect their members, rather than promoting their literacy, leadership and sustainable development programs. Impunity produces fear of reprisals,which discourages community members from full participating in public forums. The inaction of the Attorney General in the face of these crimes legitimizes the idea that violence is a viable and dependable method of promoting political and social interests and managing public debate.

In addition to the inaction of the prosecutors in the murder of environmentalists in Cabañas, we are aware of other cases of impunity, such as the case of Ruben Humberto Mejía Sotelo, a municipal councilor of Mexicans, assassinated on the 14th of June. Similarly, the acts of corruption committed by members of previous governments have not been investigated satisfactorily, despite compelling evidence that has been presented by current government officials.

Such is the case of former Health Minister Guillermo Maza, who, despite having been captured, then released and then caught again, has not yet been prosecuted for having embezzled funds meant for the reconstruction of hospitals damaged in the earthquake of 2001. The Attorney general  also has not conclusively investigated allegations of corruption and embezzlement of funds committed  by the former government minister Humberto Centeno and René Figueroa, Rodrigo Ávila, Coronel Jorge Murcia, Miguel Tomás López, José Armando Zepeda, y Julio Alberto Ramírez, all officials of the administration of former President Antonio Saca. In the cases of acts of corruption committed by the ministries of health and governance of the previous administration, tens of millions of dollars were stolen from the Salvadoran people by corrupt officials.

Finally, there are the murders of political activists which have not been investigated as political assassinations. As examples we have the murders of  Francisco Antonio Manzanares and Juana de Manzanares, in July 2006, and Gilberto Soto, the Teamsters union leader in November 2004. Both the Attorney General and the Chief of the Organized Crime Unit, Rodolfo Delgado, are responsible for carrying out investigations that actually produce the intellectual and material authors of crimes.

The election of a new left-wing government which occurred in 2009 has allowed for a shift towards more transparency in the management of public funds. The inaction of the Attorney General strengthens the pattern of impunity in the face of obvious government and undermines the new government´s efforts to ensure transparency. At day’s end, the ones who pay for this impunity and corruption are the Salvadoran people.

With these examples, it becomes clear that the current Attorney General is not fulfilling his duty to investigate crimes which is outlined in the Constitution of the Republic. Therefore, we reiterate the demands of our allies and partners in El Salvador, calling on Attorney General Romeo Barahona to:

• Investigate all cases of violence and threats against the anti-mining movement in Cabañas and find the intellectual authors of these crime by fully investigating links between the violence and  mining companies and corrupt local authorities.
• Fully investigate the killing of the municipal councilor of Mejicanos, Rubén Humberto Mejía Sotelo.
• Bring to justice corrupt ministers of previous governments who have embezzled government funds  and ensure the return of the stolen funds to the Salvadoran people.
• To do justice in cases of the political assassinations of the Manzanares family and the labor leaders Gilberto Soto, and other cases of political violence that have gone unpunished.

We emphasize that among us there are members of the Salvadoran community residing in the United States and who are particularly committed to making sure El Salvador is a country which advocates for human life. The wounds left by the civil war, which drove migration to the United States, continue to heal, and continued impunity in El Salvador is in part a product of the continued inequality, the same inequality that led to the armed conflict. As members of the Salvadoran community in the United States, we are very aware of this, and we stand in solidarity with the struggle for justice in our home country.

Finally, we reiterate our solidarity with the Salvadoran people and our commitment to continue following these cases of impunity and to inform people in the United States and our government about the concerns of our allies and partners in El Salvador have about the inaction of the Attorney General.

With heavy hearts, we report that Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, anti-mining activist and university student, has been murdered (background information below). Jointhe Environmental Committee of Cabañas (CAC) and Juan Francisco’s family in calling on the Attorney General and National Civilian Police to carry out an exhaustive investigation into the material and intellectual authors of this brutal murder and to and protect the lives of all anti-mining activists in El Salvador. We will not remain silent while the murders of Juan Francisco, Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto, and the threats against Radio Victoria remain in impunity!

TAKE ACTION!

1. If you speak Spanish, call Salvadoran Attorney General Romeo Barahona at 011-503-2230-6350 to demand a full investigation into the murders of Juan Francisco, Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Sorto. Sample script below.

2. Email the Attorney General Romeo Barahona and Minister of Justice and Security Manuel Melgar to demand investigations into these murders and threats against the anti-mining activists of Cabañas.

Call Script for Attorney General Barahona (direct number for his assistant, Héctor Burgos: 011-503-2230-6350)

Buenos (días/tardes)

Mi nombre es ___ y llamo para expresar mi indignación sobre el asesinato de Juan Francisco Durán Ayala y la violencia contra líderes sociales en Cabañas.

Urge unainvestigación profunda sobre el asesinato del Señor DuránAyala con un equipo especializado, y así también es necesario re-abrir los casos de Marcelo Rivera, Dora Alicia Sorto y Ramiro Rivera para investigar vínculos entre estos caso, los asesinatos de Darwin Serrano yGerardo Abrego León, las nuevas amenazas contra el personal de Radio Victoria y la desaparición del Señor Durán Ayala.

El hecho de que la violencia y amenazas anteriores quedaron en impunidad ha permitido que surgieran los nuevos hechos de violencia. Pido que el Fiscal General tome las medidas necesarias para asegurar justicia y protección para lasy los afectados.

Gracias.

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Background:

OnJune 2, in the city of Ilobasco, Cabañas, thirty year-old Juan Francisco was hanging flyers and banners as part of a CAC campaign against mining and the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim.The CAC reports that Ilobasco’s mayor, José Maria Dimas Castellano, ordered municipal police to remove the banners and intimidate the activists hanging them. The next day Juan Francisco left for his classesat the Technological University in San Salvador and was not heard from again. His body was found after midnight on June 4; he had been shot twice in the head, execution style. TheMedical Examiner declared his body “unidentifiable” and buried him in acommon grave in San Salvador.  The following week, CAC members visited the morgue and learned that Juan Francisco’s body had been found.  His father positively identified his son´s body on June 14. 

Juan Francisco’s murder comes two years after the brutal torture and killing of communityleader and anti-mining activist Marcelo Rivera Since then, two other anti-mining activists have been killed, Dora Alicia Sorto and Ramiro Rivera, and death threats and attempts continue against anti-mining activists, particularly the youth journalists of the Radio Victoria collective. As long as the intellectual authors of these crimes remain unpunished, impunity and violence will continue to reign in Cabañas.

How many times will we have to repeat it?  Metallic mining projects are a serious threat to human life, not only because of the environmental impacts they provoke, but also because of the social destabilization they create in communities.  The declarations made by the Director of Investigations of the National Civilian Police, Howard Cotto, in 2009 are public knowledge. Sotto signaled that the spiral of killings and threats against defenders of environmental and human rights in Cabañas are directly linked to the presence of mining projects and mining companies in the region.

This is the fourth killing of activists in the fight against mining.  Nearly two years ago, Marcelo Rivera, community leader who organized resistance to mining in Cabañas, was killed.  To this day, investigations into this brutal murder haven’t produced the capture of the intellectual authors.  Nor have the investigations into the murders of two other anti-mining activists, Dora Alicia Sorto and Ramiro Rivera.  In addition, threats against journalists at Radio Victoria continue without any concrete action taken by authorities.  The justice system in this country is failing, and we will not stop repeating this!

We demand that government authorities, the Attorney General and the National Civilian Police fulfill their mandate and assure that all victims of metallic mining have access to justice.  We demand thorough and exhaustive investigation and that the material and intellectual authors of these killings be brought to justice. We further demand that the authorities take into account testimony that can link local public officials in the department of Cabañas to these murders.

We stand with our compañeros of the Cabañas Environmental Committee and we assure those that are behind this campaign of terror that we will notstop in our struggle to prevent mining in El Salvador or in our conviction to get mining companies out of our communities.

No to metallic mining in El Salvador!

Thursday June 16, 2011

National Working Group Against Metallic Mining: www.esnomineria.blogspot.com

Network of Latin American Youth Activists: www.niunaminamas.blogspot.com