4 May 2010 | News | Resisting neoliberalism | Extractive industries
A Symbol
Majaz mining to be tried by the Peoples Tribunal for operations in Peru
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Peruvian peasants that oppose the copper project of Rio Blanco in Piura region, to the north of Peru, have been victims of judicial persecution, libel, harassment, torture and murder.
As a result of this long record of abuses by the operations of Majaz Mining, which used to be a subsidiary of British company Monterrico Metals, the people affected by the corporation will file a lawsuit before the Permanent Peoples Tribunal (PPT) that will session from May 14 through 18 in Madrid, Spain.
The case is filed by the organization Entrepueblos and the National Confederation of Communities Affected by Mining in Peru (CONACAMI), which will submit evidence and witnesses of the negative impacts of the company’s activities.
There is no doubt about the strong links of the mining corporation with the high political spheres in Peru and the UK. The organizations have monitored its activity. For instance, they learned about the appointment of former British ambassador to Peru, Richard Ralph as the CEO of Monterrico Metals.
It was during his time as ambassador that the exploration stage of the mining project took place, and when the conflict with the indigenous and peasant communities of Yanta and Segunda y Cajas began.
The document to be submitted before the PPT mentions that, besides carrying out peaceful acts like demonstrations and community meetings, in September of 2007 the local population voted massively against the project in a community consultation, although the vote was not deemed binding.
At the time, the stocks of Monterrico Metals were acquired by Xiamen Zijin Tongguan Investment Development, a conglomerate of three Chinese corporations with smelting, mining, logistics and port operations in China, Burma, Mongolia, South Africa, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Philippines.
The opposers of the project claim that the Asian group “barely provides any details about their environmental, social and tax behavior”, so it is very difficult to know its plans for Rio Blanco mining project.
One of the paradigmatic human rights abuses took place in August of 2005, when 29 peasants and a journalist were kidnapped and then tortured in a tract of land of Majaz Mining. The responsible for this were police officers hired by the company.
Besides the trial for damages – which is pending in the High Court of London – a Peruvian Congress member filed a case of torture to community members before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICHR).
