Guatemala: UN says corporate positioning of river 'ecocide'
The United Nations said 23 species of fish and 21 species of birds, reptiles and mammals in Guatemala's Pasion River have been affected by contamination caused by industrial African oil palm production, said.
Peru
Unionists, rural workers and environmentalists are coming together in Arequipa, in southern Peru, to halt the proposed Tia Maria copper mine. The mine project belongs to Southern Copper Corporation, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico.
Mine opponents are demanding respect for workers' rights, community democracy and involvement in development decisions, and protection for the ecosystem and rural farmers.
Strike actions in the region of Puno. Photo: TeleSUR / Rael Mora.
A 48-hour strike regional strike in the south of Peru defied a state of emergency on Mary 27 and 28, continuing to protest against Southern Copper Corp's unpopular Tia Maria mine.
A new popular uprising has started in Peru at the port of Callao,鈥 鈥琧rucial for international trade and the handling of the majority of the country鈥欌瑂 seaborne cargo.鈥
After鈥 鈥10鈥 鈥琺onths of unresolved negotiations with transnational company,鈥 鈥珹PM Terminals Peruvian longshore workers from the port of Callao,鈥 鈥瑆est of Lima,鈥 鈥琩ecided to take to the streets and march.鈥
This latest demonstration follows an earlier strike against the company on May鈥 鈥13,鈥 鈥瑆ith workers demanding鈥 鈥琾ay鈥 鈥瑀ises in鈥 鈥瑀elation to the company's profits,鈥 鈥琭ull healthcare coverage,鈥 鈥琣nd training.鈥
Photo: TeleSUR/Rael Mora.
A three-day general strike against the Tia Maria mining project of transnational Southern Copper Corporation in the southern region of Arequipa in Peru was launched on May 12.
New information was released on October 14 at the Financing Development with Transparency annual conference about the controversial operations of US mining company Newmont.
Journalist Raul Weiner and accountant Juan Torres released their investigation, claiming it proves the US transnational committed tax fraud by not paying the Peruvian state about US$137 million last year alone.
Newmont owns Yanacocha in Peru, a set of five gold mines that make up the second largest gold exploration in the world. The transnational also owns an expansion project called Conga.
Peru will host the UN-sponsored Conference of Parties climate talks this December. The world鈥檚 peak climate conference, the COP is an annual event first held in Berlin in 1995, leading to provisional developments such as the Kyoto Protocol.
Peru is also a country increasingly affected by the consequences of climate change. A study published by the United Nations Development Project said: 鈥淧eru has been ranked third globally in terms of risk to climate related disasters.鈥
El Salvador joined four other Latin American countries in recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest against Israel鈥檚 bloody attack on the Gaza Strip, International Business Times said on July 30.
Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have all recalled their diplomatic representatives to Israel.
WikiLeaks cables released on June 9 shed new light on the United States' role in the Bagua Massacre in Peru on June 5, 2009.
The cables suggest then-US ambassador Michael McKinley may have encouraged the Peruvian government to use force against protesters in an operation that cost 10 protesters and 24 police officers their lives.
Indigenous groups in the Amazon had been blockading highways for seven weeks. They were protesting against decrees passed by Peru鈥檚 then-president Alan Garcia.
With Newmont-Buenaventura set to resume building operations at the controversial Conga mine site this year, the Peruvian government has passed a new law granting legal immunity to security personnel who injure or kill protesters. The promulgation of Law 30151, which was officially gazetted on January 14 after being signed by President Ollanta Humala, indicates the state and its transnational corporate backers are planning an expanded campaign of repression against Peruvian communities resisting their neoliberal development model.
Cusco, a city of 400,000 in south-eastern Peru, was totally paralysed on February 25. It was the first day of a 48-hour general strike initiated by trade unions and other civic groups.
The strike was supported by bus, taxi and truck drivers, as well as peasant and indigenous groups in provinces throughout the Cusco region. All vehicular traffic ceased in the downtown area and citizens walked freely through the streets 鈥 an unusual sight in a South American city.
The Peruvian government has renewed its commitment to several controversial mining mega-projects. The projects have provoked huge regional protests against the environmentally destructive expansion plans of foreign mining corporations.
Speaking at a mining industry conference held in the southern city of Arequipa on September 16, Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino indicated that Conga (in Cajamarca), Tia Maria (in Arequipa) and Corani (in Puno) will be developed with the backing of President Ollanta Humala's administration.
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