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Category: Pacific Rim/OceanaGold
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Published: Tuesday, 03 July 2012 16:25
Empresa minera Pacific Rim atorada en una pelea observada muy de cerca contra El Salvador
JEFF GRAY - LAW REPORTER
Martes 18 de junio, 2012, 7:23 PM EDT
English Version
Tom Shrake, el veterano estadounidense de la industria minera, quien lidera la empresa minera Pacific Rim Mining con sede en Vancouver, no es nada menos que un optimista.
Sus problemas nunca terminan: Su personal en El Salvador ha enfrentado intimidación a punta de pistola por parte de opositores locales a su propuesta de mina. Grupos opositores a la minería han acusado a su empresa de involucrarse en los asesinatos de activistas locales, alegatos que él niega con vehemencia y dice no están fundamentados en pruebas.
El gobierno del pequeño y empobrecido país ha decidido impedir toda la minería dentro del territorio nacional de El Salvador por miedo de que un accidente pueda contaminar la fuente de agua del país. Pero Shrake dice estar comprometido con sacar oro y sostiene él, sacar a la población local del norte de El Salvador de la pobreza.
Este mes, recibió luz verde de un tribunal de inversiones del Banco Mundial en Washington para seguir luchando para llevar a cabo su plan - un conflicto observado atentamente por la industria minera, abogados internacionales de inversiones, y activistas contra la minería.
“No queremos acudir a los tribunales. Nunca quisimos acudir a los tribunales…pero no nos dejaron otra opción” dijo Shrake durante una entrevista en Reno, Nevada, donde trabaja.
Es en Washington, lejos de la precaria política de Centroamérica, donde Pacific Rim ha lanzado la controversial medida de llevar el litigio contra el gobierno de El Salvador frente un panel de árbitros. Una práctica creciente en un mundo donde inversionistas extranjeros buscan cada vez más resolver conflictos ante paneles supuestamente neutrales en vez de apostarle a las cortes nacionales.
Pacific Rim está confrontando la decisión del gobierno de no otorgar permisos a un proyecto de minería de oro llamado El Dorado. Esta “progresiva expropiación” alega la empresa, no ha dejado nada de los $77 millones invertidos. Está demandando cientos de millones en recompensa.
En una muy esperada decisión preliminar del 1 de junio, el tribunal del Centro Internacional de Arreglos de Diferencias Relativas a Inversiones (CIADI), botó el intento de Pacific Rim de utilizar una subsidiaria estadounidense para demandar reparaciones amparadándose en el Tratado de Libre Comercio entre los EEUU y Centroamérica (CAFTA). Sin embargo, dictaminó que el caso de la empresa contra El Salvador puede seguir bajo la ley nacional de inversiones, la cual permite que litigios de inversionistas extranjeros se remitan a tribunales arbitrales.
Desde que empezó el litigio, Pacific Rim ha reducido drásticamente sus operaciones y ha visto sus acciones desplomarse.
Shrake atribuye la oposición que su mina ha enfrentado a “forajidas” organizaciones no-gubernamentales, incluyendo a Oxfam América, a quien él acusa de respaldar a grupos locales que han utilizado amenazas e intimidación. Un vocero de Oxfam America negó que hayan apoyado o promovido cualquier forma de violencia.
Shrake afirma que la acusación de que su mina pone en peligro un río clave no tiene fundamento. Los diseños de las instalaciones de la empresa incluyen protecciones ambientales del estado del arte y el uso del cianuro de la mina tendría las últimas garantías de protección, como una piscina forrada que pretende detener cualquier fuga, dijo.
Luis Parada, ex-diplomático salvadoreño quien ahora es abogado en el bufete Foley Hoag LLP, con sede en Washington, y que está actuando para el país en su disputa con Pacific Rim, dijo que el gobierno tiene el derecho a decir no.
“Existen preocupaciones ambientales legitimas,” dijo Sr. Parada, resaltando que el país es vulnerable frente los terremotos y derrumbes y que cualquier contaminación sería un “potencial desastre” para la fuente de agua del país.
El Salvador alega que Pacific Rim no es propietario de todo el terreno, ni tiene la autorización necesaria de los dueños para su permiso de minería. La empresa dice que ha asegurado las autorizaciones requeridos de los dueños de tierra.
El Salvador, además, acusó a Pacific Rim de un “abuso del proceso” al trasladar su subsidiaria de las Islas Caimanes a los Estados Unidos en parte para aprovechar las provisiones del acuerdo de CAFTA, el cual no incluye Canadá.
Abogados de la Calle Bay quienes ven el número creciente de litigios entre países e inversionistas dice que empresas como Pacific Rim han intentado ser creativos al mover o establecer sus subsidiarias por anticipado para asegurar que puedieran gozar de estos acuerdos comerciales. Sin embargo, en este caso, el intento de Pacific Rim de ampararse en CAFTA fracasó.
Mientras Canadá firma más acuerdos con protecciones para sus inversionistas y sus empresas mineras siguen buscando minerales por todo el mundo, se mantiene a la expectativa que más y más litigios se lleven a este tipo de tribunal. Los críticos dicen que estos tribunales constriñen injustamente a los gobiernos.
A pesar de todo lo que ha pasado, Shrake dice que no quiere ganar dinero a El Salvador: Él quiere los permisos para instalar su mina, la cual sostiene que daría empleo a 700 personas, y ser el contribuidor más grande de impuestos en el país.
“No soy resentido. Yo quiero al pueblo de El Salvador. He trabajado en siete países diferentes y ellos son el pueblo más trabajador que he visto en mi vida. Merecen algo mejor.”
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Category: Pacific Rim/OceanaGold
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Published: Tuesday, 03 July 2012 16:13
Pacific Rim President's Claim that He Wants to Help El Salvador Leaves Many Unconvinced
A lengthy article featuring Pacific Rim CEO Tom Shrake published on June 19th by the Toronto based Globe and Mail has come under criticism from groups like Oxfam America and Mining Watch Canada.
The first paragraphs of the article are below, as well as a letter to the editor sent to the Globe and Mail which the newspaper decided not to publish.
A Spanish version of the article can be found here (Una versión en Español del artículo se encuentra aquí)
Pacific Rim Mining locked in closely watched fight with El Salvador
JEFF GRAY - LAW REPORTER
The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jun. 19 2012, 7:23 PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Jun. 19 2012, 7:41 PM EDT
Tom Shrake, the American mining industry veteran who heads Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Corp., is nothing if not an optimist.
He’s had no end of troubles: His staff in El Salvador have faced intimidation at gunpoint by local opponents of his proposed mine. Anti-mining groups have accused his company of involvement in the killings of local activists, charges he vehemently denies and for which he says there is no evidence. And the government of the tiny, impoverished country has decided to block all mining within El Salvador’s borders out of fear that a mishap could contaminate the country’s water supply.
But Mr. Shrake says he remains committed to digging for gold and, he argues, digging the local population in northern El Salvador out of poverty.
This month, he got a green light to keep fighting for that plan from a World Bank investment tribunal in Washington – a fight being watched closely by the mining industry, international trade lawyers and anti-mining activists.
“We don’t want to go to court. We never wanted to go to court … But they left us no choice,” Mr. Shrake said in an interview from Reno, Nevada, where he is based.
Read the rest of the article here
Letter To the Editor:
In “Pacific Rim Mining locked in closely watched fight with El Salvador,” CEO Tom Shrake's assertion that "rogue" groups are responsible for opposition to mining in El Salvador is absurd. Concern about the impacts of mining in the small, water-stressed country is shared across a broad spectrum of Salvadoran society, from the Catholic Church, to government officials, to -- most importantly -- people in Cabañas, where Shrake's Pacific Rim company is seeking to operate. The communities there have legitimate concerns about the environmental and social damage that mining can cause. International organizations like ours simply support their right to peacefully express their views on whether mining operations are appropriate in their backyards.
Shrake's assertion that the proposed mine would not endanger local water supplies is also just that, an assertion. Pacific Rim has never presented any actual plan or study to update its rejected 2005 environmental impact statement. No country should be obliged to allow a project to proceed without presenting an acceptable environmental impact statement. If Shrake really wants to help the people of El Salvador, he should drop his lawsuit against the Salvadoran government and respect its legitimate right to protect the environment and local communities.
Sincerely,
Keith Slack
Global Program Manager
Oxfam America
Washington, DC
Jamie Kneen
Co-manager
MiningWatch Canada
Ottawa
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Category: Mining and Human Rights
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Published: Monday, 25 June 2012 14:54
One Year Anniversary of Juan Francisco's Murder
One year ago the body of a student environmentalist, Juan Francisco Duran, was found buried in a common grave. When his body was found, Juan Francisco, had been missing for than 10 days. He was an active member of the Environmental Committee of Cabañas, and may people from his community believe his death is tied to the anti-mining struggle. For more information about his case read the Voice on the Border blog or watch the Democracy Now! report on his murder.
Below is a translation of the press release circulated by the Environmental Committee of Cabañas, and here is the original in Spanish.
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Category: Pacific Rim/OceanaGold
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Published: Thursday, 14 June 2012 15:44
When it Comes to Mining, the Canadian Government has a Closed Door Policy, Even to Canadian Citizens
On Wednesday June 13, the National Roundtable against Metallic Mining (the Mesa) held a rally in front of the Canadian Consulate to ask the Canadian Government to stop its free trade agreement negotiations with El Salvador, and withdraw its support for Canadian mining company Pacific Rim. Two Canadian citizens, as well as a delegation visiting from Baltimore, MD, accompanied the rally.
When the Mesa’s Canadian allies attempted to enter into the consulate building to present a letter with the Mesa’s concerns, security guards wouldn’t even let them through the door. Eventually, the Ombudsman for Human Rights’ Office was called to the scene and the group was told that only one of the two Canadians present would be allowed to enter, and that they would only be allowed in if they had some sort of problem with their passports or immigration paperwork.
Erika Stahl, one of the frustrated Canadians denied entry said on her blog, “This is outrageous treatment. Any citizen of any country is allowed to enter their embassy while traveling abroad - that's what embassies are for. Your political affiliations don't affect this basic right, nor do your stances on controversial issues. The embassy is Canadian territory. As citizens, we have the right to enter our territory. They do not have the right to refuse entry to law-abiding Canadians.”
This attitude from the Canadian government shows their closed door policy for anyone associated with mining opposition, which apparently extends to Canadian citizens abroad.
Below is the Mesa’s press statement for the activity. The Spanish version is available here.
Pictures of the activity can be found here and here
For Spanish press coverage of the activity in CoLatino see here and here. It was also covered by News Millennium.
The National Roundtable against Metallic Mining Rejects the Free Trade Agreement with Canada
On June 1st, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled that Pacific Rim, a Canadian mining company, has the right to sue the Government of El Salvador for not allowing the El Dorado mining project in Cabañas. Now, the Salvadoran government will be forced to prove that its refusal to grant mining permits is a sovereign public policy decision that any country could make and that it is not a decision taken on a whim by the government.
Our protest today, in front of the Canadian Consulate, is to condemn precisely this type of mercenary attitude from corporations like Pacific Rim, who are wrapped up in the middle of the neoliberal model, and that take advantage of trade agreements to extort governments when there is a conflict of interest. We demand that the Canadian Government stop protecting and promoting this vicious mining company and force that it withdraw its suit against El Salvador in the ICSID. The arbitration that Pacific Rim filed through CAFTA and Salvadoran Investment Law against the Government of El Salvador for $120 million should be sufficient evidence to prove the mercenary attitude of corporations.
We assert that this situation is due to the implementation in our country of neoliberal structures for trade liberalization, and the privatization of services and public goods that has been promoted by ARENA governments. The free trade agreements that were signed and are now in effect, on top of eroding sovereignty, put the social, economic and labor rights of the population at risk.
As the National Roundtable against Metallic Mining, we energetically condemn that El Salvador’s sovereignty and the population’s wellbeing are subjected to the plans of tribunals that are designed to promote corporate interests while at the same time legitimizing the pillaging and destruction of the planet.
Our struggle against mining has forced us to reject the hidden negotiations that El Salvador is entering into for a Free Trade Agreement with Canada, which is based on the agreement signed with the United States. Canada is a country which receives more than 4% of its GDP from mineral extraction from other countries and that will not have other investment interests besides mining.
For this reason, we call on the Canadian Government to stop the free trade negotiations with El Salvador and that at the same time to stop protecting Pacific Rim and to force the company to withdraw its ICSID suit against the Government of El Salvador.
Stop the multi-million dollar suit of Pacific Rim against the Salvadoran Government in the ICSID! NO to the Free Trade Agreement with Canada.
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Category: Pacific Rim/OceanaGold
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Published: Monday, 11 June 2012 12:04
U.S. and Canadian Press Coverage:
Reuters Canada: El Salvador Says Panel Rejects Complaint from Canadian Miner
Reuters: Canadian Miners Complaint Can Proceed Under El Salvador Law
CNBC: BRIEF-Pac Rim Mining Case to Proceed Under El Salvador Foreign Investment Law
IPS Press Room: World Bank Tribunal Ruling in El Salvador Mining Case Undermines Democracy
Rabble.ca: Pacific Rim Mining Lawsuit Saga Prolonged, Costs Mount
New York Times: El Salvador: Canadian Lawsuit Over Mine Allowed to Proceed
Mining Weekly: Pacific Rim Arbitration Moves Ahead as World Bank Rules against El Salvador
The Tyee: Mining Abuses the ‘Defining Fight of Our Lives’: Barlow
Milwaukee Labor Press: U.S. Trade Deals Mine Greed not Gold
NACLA: Pacific Rim Ruling Threatens El Salvador’s National Sovereignty
Common Dreams (also in Other Words): Gold Mining, Undermining Democracy
Huffington Post: Mining Company Doubles Up on Law Firms in Quest for Pot of Gold
Eyes on Trade Post: El Salvador Looses on Three out of Four Counts, as Anti-Environment and Anti-Development Case Launched under CAFTA Drags On
Metro Latino News: Jurisdictional Ruling in Pacific Rim Mining Case
Yes!: Trading in Democracy: Why Rights are Still for Real People
Triple Crisis: Today’s Trivia Quiz: How Global Mining Corporations are Able to Undermine Democracy
Pac Rim’s press release titled Pacific Rim Mining Arbitration Case to Proceed Under El Salvador Foreign Investment Law; CAFTA Portion of Claim Dismissed by ICSID was also picked up and reprinted in Market Wire, RohstoffWelt, Yahoo! Finance, and Contact Latino News
Salvadoran Press Coverage:
La Página: El Salvador Derrota Empresa Minera Pacific Rim en Arbitraje Internacional
The Diario De Hoy:
El Salvador Deja Fuera Pacific Rim de los Beneficio del TLC
País Gana de Forma Parcial Reclamo de Pacific Rim
Litigio con Pacific Rim se Resolverá con Ley de Inversiones
La Prensa Gráfica:
Arbitraje de Pacific Rim Continuará en el CIADI
Desestiman Alegatos de Pacific Rim en Demanda contra El Salvador
Diario CoLatino: Resolución del CIADI No Es Victoria para el País
El Mundo:
El Salvador Consigue Denegar Beneficios de TLC a Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim Pierde Beneficios de CAFTA
Contrapunto: Pacific Rim no Podrá Ampararse en TLC
Neto Rivas:
Lo Logrado en el Arbitraje con Pacific Rim, Es una Victoria para El Salvador
La Sentencia Sobre el Juicio de Pacific Rim Amenaza la Soberanía Nacional
Voces: Justicia Ambiental: Pidiendo Peras al CIADI
Mi Gente Informa: FMLN: “Pacific Rim intentó engañar al CIADI”
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Category: FTAs & ISDS
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Published: Friday, 08 June 2012 15:29
U.S. TRADE DEALS MINE GREED NOT GOLD
By Dominique Paul Noth
Editor, Labor Press
Posted June 8, 2012
Wisconsin’s myriad issues with businesses controlling mining legislation may not yet make the state a replica of El Salvador. But citizens should go to bed every night praying we never get there and fearful when they learn how, just this month, the World Bank tribunal brought that payout fever into sharper view.
Travel first to Central America and lovely parts of El Salvador – that visually alluring land now impoverished and socially crippled even as a young democratic government steps in to try to fix things after decades of political turmoil and civil war.
You thought Wisconsin had dissension! Let’s hope we never get close to that sort of disaster, brought on not just by ideological conflict but spurred by corporate greed, much as happened here. We avoided one such excess from the governor who survived June 5 – he was blocked from turning over to big feverish greed the keys to our mineral kingdom, stopped by, of all people, a moderate in his own party who didn’t believe in ecological corner-cutting.
Forces of blind profit were and still are culpable in the Salvadoran debacle. Political dissension made it easer for speculators to exploit the citizens – a warning for our own future.
Jan Morrill, a Maine native, now lives in El Salvador and regularly visits the river and town of San Sebastian. Much of her time is spent researching and recording the devastating environment and medical aftermath of the gold mining operation from the early 1900s until the mine was shut down by the new government in 2006 for pollution and disease-causing reasons. Just look at her pictures.
Read the rest of the article here.
