Majaz criminalizes protest in
Peru and negatively affects water, environment and life
The mining corporation Minera Majaz S.A., an enterprise developed in
The actions
of the company and of the Peruvian government show a series of vices related
with mining development in
Furthermore,
the legitimate protests of the population have been violently repressed several
times. Two people were killed so far (in April of 2004 and August of 2005),
tens of people were injured and nearly 200 villagers were reported before the
authorities. Witnesses talk about torture in the company’s facilities. Some
villagers were falsely accused of terrorism and of affiliating to extremist
parties.
Also, under
the pretext of purported drug trafficking the
government has significantly increased the police presence in the area, by
forbidding the villagers to come close to their own territory, protecting the
mining camp and the mining activities. The State, under pressure from the
business sector, is using the legal system to create a climate of fear, and to
repress any social organization that potentially opposes the company’s
interests.
The mining
project violates important international instruments that guarantee the rights
enshrined by the United Nations, and it even contradicts the citizen guarantees
provided under the Peruvian Constitution. The right to life, to physical, moral
and psychological integrity, to the existence of the communities, to choosing
one’s own development, to the autonomy of the communities in their organziation and in the free disposition of their lands, to
freedom of information, to a previous and informed consultation, to the
property over the communal lands, to association, to social protest, to live in
a healthy environment and to peace and quiet, are violated.
The Peruvian
legislation guarantees the participation and consultation to the peasant
(indigenous) communities, so it demands a social license for the local
communities to be able to gran a permit to a company
to carry out activities in communal lands. But in the case of Majaz, the communities have expressed their rejection many
times. However, the Minister of Energy and Mining granted the necessary
permission to the company to carry out exploration activities. The government
has a clear position in favor of the mining project:
the corporate interests seem to be above the public interests. For this reason
the case is filed before the PPT.
Key issues:
Natural Resources and Neocolonialism
Denouncing
organizations: Confederación Nacional de Comunidades