News Update
The violence and repression continue unabated in Honduras since the June 2009 military coup that ousted the democratically elected government. This time, the violence was committed by the D.E.A. (Drug Enforcement Agency) of the U.S. government.
News article about the Chixoy Dam forced evictions and related massacres in Guatemala. The Chixoy Dam was a business investment and project of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank (WB), in partnership with successive military regimes, 1975-1985.
- Link to May 10, 2012, radio interview, CBC "The Current", about Canadian nickel mining in Guatemala, and about how then Canadian ambassador to Guatemala slandered the "El Estor Evictions" documentary film
- Links to "El Estor Evictions" and "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" films by Steven Schnoor
- Media release by Klippensteins law firm, June 2010, Concerning slander ruling against Canadian government and ambassador to Guatemala
- Toronto Star story, June 17, 2010, "Former Canadian ambassador guilty of slander"
- New Internationalist story, September 2010, "Cook feels the heat. Canadian ambassador to Guatemala guilty of slander"
Along the Chixoy river, where the dam was built, some 32 remote, poor Mayan villages were devastated by this project (1975-1985). Most harmed villages were in the flood basin up river from the 125 meter high dam wall. Many were illegally forced to leave; others lost much of their lands and/or were cut off from and isolated by the existence of the flood basin.
Canadian mining company Radius Gold Inc., accompanied by over 300 Guatemala anti-riot troops, tried to illegally enter rural Guatemalan communities, threatening the local villagers. Tensions are high.
"It's hard to imagine how a former intelligence chief who preceded over one of the bloodiest regions in Guatemala during a period later described as genocide by the United Nations could so completely transform his image in a matter of months. But since Pérez Molina first mentioned legalization on February 11th, that's just what's happened on the international stage." (Dawn Paley)
5,000 Villagers Take Control of Military Base After Hydroelectric Dam Opponent Was Shot Dead
Urgent Action
Canadian mining company Radius Gold Inc., accompanied by over 300 Guatemala anti-riot troops, tried to illegally enter rural Guatemalan communities, threatening the local villagers. Tensions are high.
Video
AlJazeera Youtube film (2:38 minutes, in English) about the Chixoy Dam forced evictions and related massacres in Guatemala. The Chixoy Dam was a business investment and project of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank (WB), in partnership with successive military regimes, 1975-1985.
Action Report
Goldcorp completes its AGM (annual general meeting) in Canada. The status quo is intact:
- There continues to be no legal or political accountability in Canada (let alone in Honduras and Guatemala)
- There will be no compensation or reparations for environmental and health harms and other human rights violations caused by Goldcorp's mines in Guatemala and Honduras (and beyond)
- Thus far, no comment from pension funds and equity funds across North America that are invested in Goldcorp
Documents
Appeal Submitted by The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Rights Action and the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law, on behalf of the Survivors of the Río Negro community and similar Chixoy Dam harmed communities in the Chixoy river basin, Guatemala
