GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD DECLARED PERSONA NON GRATA IN COLOMBIA (ENGLISH/ESPANOL)

LETTER IN ENGLISH

Marmato, September 7, 2011

 

Doctor:

Maria Consuelo Araújo

President

Gran Colombia Gold (Medoro Resources)

(Translated by Chelsea Match, a CSN Intern)

 

The Marmato Mining Community wants to express its dissent and outrage against the Company's continuous threats towards small-scale miners. Through her work, Oselia Bejarano has started an intimidation campaign, asserting that the company Gran Colombia Gold (Medoro) has the money, government support, and public forces to evacuate all of the miners from Marmato.

 

We know that the intentions of Gran Colombia Gold are harmful to our town. We clearly understand the policies of the company, which are instilling fear and anxiety and are forcing the miners off their land to make way for the multinational open-pit project.

We strongly reject the pressures and intimidation that Gran Colombia Gold wants to use against the miners and the population of Marmato. Consequently, we declare the Company a persona non grata in our community.

 

To Mrs. Bejarano:

Likewise, we remind Gran Colombia Gold that we are not alone in this struggle. We have the support of diverse national and international media who visit us daily to learn first hand about the atrocities committed by the Multinational against the miners. We also have the support of organizations against open-pit mining such as RECLAME, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, more than 20 NGOs, and international environmentalists that are ready to fight along side us in our just cause.

 

Attentively,

 

Mining Community of Marmato

Marmato Cartama Indigenous Council CALDAS

Community of Afro-descendents

Small Miners' Association of Marmato

 

LA CARTA EN ESPANOL

Marmato, septiembre 07 de 2011

 

 Doctora:

MARIA CONSUELO ARAÚJO

PRESIDENTE

GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD (MEDORO RESOURCER)

 

 La comunidad Minera de Marmato, quiere manifestarle su inconformismo e indignación por las amenazas continuas de la Compañía en contra de los pequeños mineros, ya que por intermedio de su funcionaría OSELIA BEJARANO, ha desplegado una campaña de intimidación argumentando que la Empresa GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD (MEDORO) tiene la plata, el apoyo del gobierno y la fuerza publica para desalojar todos los Mineros de Marmato.

 Sabemos que las intensiones de GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD, son nefastas para nuestro Municipio y  tenemos muy claro que son políticas trazadas por los directivas de la empresa, para que  a través de sus funcionarios infundan el miedo, la zozobra y obliguen a los mineros a abandonar las minas, para abrirle paso a la multinacional para su proyecto  a cielo abierto.   

Rechazamos enérgicamente las presiones e intimidaciones que quiere ejercer GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD (MEDORO), en contra de los mineros y de la población de Marmato. En consecuencia declaramos persona no deseable y  no grata para nuestro Municipio. A la señora BEJARANO. De igual forma le recordamos a GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD (MEDORO) que en esta lucha no estamos solos, contamos con el apoyo de los diversos medios de comunicación nacional e internacional,  que a diario nos visitan para enterarse de primera mano de los atropellos cometidos por la Multinacional en contra de los mineros; organizaciones que están en contra de la minería a cielo abierto como RECLAME, Comunidades INDIGENAS Y AFRODESENDIENTES, y más de 20 ONG. Ambientalistas internacionales que están dispuestas a dar la batalla hombro a hombro por nuestra justa causa.  

 

 Atentamente

 

COMUNIDAD MINERA DE MARMATO 

CABILDO INDIGENA CARTAMA MARMATO – CALDAS

COMUNIDAD AFRODESCENDIENTES

ASOCIACIÓN DE PEQUEÑOS MINEROS DE MARMATO

 

==============================================================

WE JOIN THE PEOPLE OF MARMATO IN DECLARING GRAN COLOMBIA GOLD PERSONA NON GRATA

 UNAMONOS A LA GENTE DE MARMATO EN SU DECLARACION DE LA MULTINACIONAL PERSONA NO GRATA

Action in English and Spanish

Acción en inglés y español

 

Please use one of the following models to write to:

Por favor usa uno de los siguientes modelos para escribir a:

 

Peter Volk

Gran Colombia Gold General Council and Vice President

Vicepresidente de Gran Colombia Gold

Email/correo: pvolk@grancolombiagold.com

 

Mauricio Cárdenas Santamaría

Minister of Mines and Energy

Ministro de minas y energía

Email/correo: mcardenas@minminas.gov.co

 

Oscar Paredes Zapata

Director INGEOMINAS

Email/correo: director@ingeominas.gov.co

 

Mario Aristizabal Muñoz

Governor of Caldas

Gobernador de Caldas

Email/correo: atencionalciudadano@gobernaciondecaldas.gov.co

 

Stephen Joseph Harper

Prime Minister if Canada

Primer Ministro de Canadá

Email/correo: pm@pm.gc.ca

 

 

I, (your name----------), stand with Marmato in declaring Gran Colombia Gold a persona non grata in Colombia. The people of Marmato have the right to peacefully live on their land without the terror and anxiety spread by the multinational company Gran Colombia Gold. The open-pit mining project will not only destroy the environment and the dignity of Marmato as a cultural patrimony, but will also take away the fundamental human rights of the people.

 

Yo, (tu nombre ---------), me solidarizo con la gente de Marmato y declaro persona no grata en Colombia a la minera Gran Colombia Gold. La gente de Marmato tiene el derecho de vivir en paz en su tierra sin el terror y la ansiedad causados por Gran Colombia Gold. El proyecto de minería a cielo abierto no solo destruirá el medioambiente y la dignidad de Marmato como patrimonio cultural, sino que también destruirá los derechos humanos fundamentals de su gente.

 

 

 

===============================

Please be generous - Support our work! Click "Make a donation" from our home page: http://www.colombiasupport.net

Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Colombia-Support-Network/139226906108828 

Colombia Support Network

P.O. Box 1505

Madison, WI  53701-1505

Phone:  (608) 257-8753

Fax:  (608) 255-6621

E-mail:  csn@igc.org

CSN's Statement on FTA with Colombia

Madison, October 12, 2011

As the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia comes up for consideration in the U.S. Congress today, several basic points suggest this FTA should be rejected. They include the following:

1. The FTA as drafted will have a severe impact upon small-scale farmers in Colombia, as they will be unable to compete with U.S. food crops coming into Colombia duty-free, but subsidized in the U.S. Many will leave their lands and go to live in the big cities, adding to the 5 million internally displaced persons or go to the Amazon rain forest areas to plant coca. Many others will likely migrate to other countries; some undoubtedly will add to the numbers of undocumented aliens entering the U.S.

2. The Colombian government has failed to take steps necessary to provide effective protection to Colombian labor union members, who continue to be murdered at the highest rate of any country in the world. Nor have discriminatory practices against labor organization been discontinued in Colombia. The Colombian government has promised reforms, but has yet to follow through to implement these reforms.

3. The general level of violence in Colombia is so substantial at this time that the U.S. government should not enter into the FTA with the Colombian government, which has shown itself unable or unwilling to control paramilitary violence and collaboration of Colombian Armed Forces with the illegal paramilitary forces. Six Catholic priests have already been murdered this year in Colombia and threats to human rights workers continue unabated. The U.S. government should not "reward" a government which does not protect those who work for peace and justice.

4. The FTA with Colombia will not likely significantly increase employment in the United States. It may open some markets to U.S.-based manufacturers, but those companies are most likely to manufacture their products abroad, in very low-wage countries. And, given the general level of violence and displacement in Colombia, it is doubtful Colombian workers will see an increase in these U.S. companies' offshore jobs.  

                                 

                                                                                                 JOHN I. LAUN

                                                                                                 President of CSN

================================

Please be generous - Support our work! Click "Make a donation" from our home page: http://www.colombiasupport.net

Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Colombia-Support-Network/139226906108828 

Colombia Support Network

P.O. Box 1505

Madison, WI  53701-1505

Phone:  (608) 257-8753

Fax:  (608) 255-6621

E-mail:  csn@igc.org