The Andes
Cajamarca: Conga occupation not moved
Campesinos in Peru’s Cajamarca region announced a new cross-country march that will bring hundreds of new protesters to the occupation camp at the Conga mine site.
Tag: mining
The Andes
Cuzco: unrest over water mega-diversion
National Police clashed with villagers at Espinar province in Cuzco, as residents declared a "war footing" to halt construction of the Majes Siguas II irrigation mega-project.
The Andes
Bolivia: indigenous power at issue in hunger strike
Six dissident Aymara leaders held a hunger strike at the doors of the Bolivian congress building as lawmakers debated a bill on assigning legislative seats to ethnicities and regions.
Southeast Asia
Blood jade empire as Burma warlords diversify
Burma’s military and the rebel Kachin Independence Army vie in control for a semi-underground jade industry in the northern jungles, with the exports going to China.
The Andes
Peru: deadly attack on family of miner leader
The wife and infant son of a local leader of independent artisenal miners were assassinated in the community of Pamputa, Peru—with suspicion falling on mining giant Xstrata.
The Andes
Peru: Conga protest camp fired on
The protest camp at the Conga site was evicted by company goons, only to be re-established days later. But unknown gunmen fired on the new encampment.
Europe
Romania: protest wave against mega-mine
Thousands of Romanians have been occupying Bucharest to protest plans by Canadian firm Gabriel Resources to establish Europe's biggest open-pit gold mine at Rosia Montana.
The Andes
Peru: police fire on Cajamarca campesinos —again
National Police troops in Peru’s northern Cajamarca province clashed with local campesinos on communal lands coveted by the Yanacoha mining company, injuring four.
The Andes
Colombia: 60% of indigenous face ‘extinction’
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia warns that 62.7% of Colombia’s indigenous population is at risk of extinction due to armed conflict and mining development.
The Andes
Colombia: gains seen as peasants end strike
Colombian campesinos ended their national strike and lifted road blockades after the government agreed to suspend a law barring seed-saving to protect corporate GMOs.
Central America
Guatemala: mineral interests behind massacre?
Indigenous authorities in the Guatemalan pueblo of Nacahuil reject government claims that a massacre there was the work of drug gangs, pointing to violence against mining opponents.
Europe
Sweden: Sámi protest British mining company
Swedish police have repeatedly broken up a protest occupation by Sámi indigenous people against iron mining in a crucial reindeer herding area above the Arctic Circle.