Ascendant sues the Intag Paper
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Mary Ellen, editor of the Intag paper called today to inform me that the Intag paper is being sued for libel by our friends at Ascendant Exploration. Libel in this country carries a jail sentence.
The paper has printed many stories, all based on facts, on the struggle against mining and on the manouvers undertaken by the company to get people and communities
to support the mining project. I am convinced the paper's reporting has played a key part in turning the tide against the mining project in Intag and, more importantly, of keeping people informed on what is really going on.
If you want to send letters of support, please do so to:
Mary Ellen Fieweger, Editor,
Periódico INTAG
E mail address: Mary Ellen at intag2001@yahoo.com
Please help to keep the paper going.
Is Ascendant Exploration turning into Ascendant Desperation?
Monday, September 27, 2004
Junin is a world class copper-molybdenum-gold-silver porphyry deposit. Miocene granodioritic rock was intruded by younger mineralized quartz-dioritic and granodioritic porphyries. The economic mineralization is mainly related to primary sulphides. However the existence of secondary enrichment zones increases the potential. Junin is a project in an advance stage (geology, geochemistry, geophysics, drilling, environmentals, prefeasibility).
-- Taken from Ascendant's Exploration's web page
Monday 27 October 2004
Reality: Ascendant is in deep trouble with the Junin project.
Number ONE: there is no drilling, geological, geochemistry environmentals (whatever that is!) work going on. At all. This is because of the strong and growing resistance to the presence of the mining company in the Intag region. The only thing they've drilled is some old boards on an old building they are renting in the increasingly anti-mining village of Chalguayacu Bajo! Period!
Most of Ascendant's concession is within the Junin Community Ecological Reserve. They've been kicked out of there twice; once by an angry-machete-and-sticks yielding women's group. There is no drilling or any exploration work going on, nor will there be, because the Junin community will not allow miners into their reserve. Then again, the other part of Ascendant's mining concession is within the Chontal Protected Forest Reserve. This is a legal protected area which is nearly impossible to obtain mining permits to even explore, and much harder to exploit! (there are no instances of mining exploitation from Protected Forests Reserves).
Number TWO: Level of Opposition: Absolutely all the communities potentially impacted by the mining project are against the project. Without exception. This includes Junin, Barcelona, El Triunfo and Cerro Pelado, which are slated for full relocation. On the other hand, the list of communities supporting these directly impacted communities is growing; this in spite of the money the company is "investing" to try and get support. The latest example of the level of opposition to Ascendant by locals came about a week ago when mining employees were trying to delineate a (illegal) road to the mining concession. Hortensia, a local woman campesina came out with a machete to tell the mining employees to build their road somewhere else, and that they were not going through any land of hers. The Machete Diplomacy worked, and two days later, a support group from Junin and other communities was formed and travelled to Hortensia's land to help patrol the land around her farm, and yet another local resistance group was formed in the community of San Edmundo.
Number THREE: It's a bad project in a stunningly biodiverse area. There's no way world opinion will let this project happen. It would destroy thousands of hectares of primary cloud forests belonging to the hottest of the planet's biological Hotspots: the Tropical Andes. These forests are the habitat at least 28 species of mammals and birds threatened with extinction (no studies on other animals or plants have been done!). It would contaminate pristine rivers with lead, arsenic, chrome and cadmium, and impact what is arguably the world's most biodiverse protected area; the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve.
It's very relevant that as the company invests more and more money in trying to buy support, the level of opposition keeps growing around the mining site. The company has had to go much further afield to try and get support; knowing full well it will be the communities closest to the mining site who will determine the outcome. And they have already decided.
The resistance is also actively supported by local township governments and the Cotacachi County and almost 100% of the organized groups working in the Intag area. Cotacachi's indigenous Mayor, Auki Tituana has publicly stated he will take the mining company to court if they persist in their efforts in Junin. He already presented a Constitutional Injunction against the mining concession last year. The legal action is still pending final resolution by the Tribunal.
Number FOUR: Cotacachi County was declared an Ecological County in September of 2000, and counts with very firm environmental regulations prohibiting mining activities from taking place. The next legal step is to take the case to the Organization of American States Commission on Human Rights (Washington D.C.). Junin is working with the CDES legal team who has successfully represented the indigenous community of Sarayacu against the Argentinean petroleum company in Ecuador's Amazon.
Why would Ascendant want to lie about their activities in Junin? Easy: they have so far thrown away hundred of thousands of dollars into what they call "community development" in the Intag area, yet they have been unable to start exploration activities, and are losing local support by the day. Someone has to keep the investors fooled, otherwise the money might start drying up. Not only have they been unable to drill for mineral samples, they have not even been able to do an environmental impact study, because, well, the community of Junin will not let them onto their land. Can't drill if you don't have an environmental impact study. And you can't do a environmental impact study without actually going into the concession! Exquisite catch 22.
The recent start of the rainy season in Intag means Ascendant has been beaten this year in their efforts to begin exploratory activities. The rains, however, will not keep Junin and our Mayor, Auki Tituana, from pressing their legal cases in the national and international arena.
Ascendant: are you getting the message?
ASCENDANT EXPLORATION CONTINUES ACTING TRUE TO FORM
Monday, September 20, 2004
(Intag, Ecuador) As you will be able to see from the report that follows Ascendant Exploration continues to try to impose a mining project very few local villagers want through illegal and aggressive means. This latest rejection is just one more of a long and growing list of examples of people getting fed up with the way this company is doing business in Intag. Armed guards are now a standard feature of the tranquil town of García Moreno whenever the top brass of Ascendant rolls into town, as is the constant intimidation to anti-mining community leaders like Polibio Pérez. The desperation they are being forced into is an indication of their failure to convince people of the "benefits" of the mining project. The willingness of people like Hortensia to grab a machete to protect her rights and stand up to the pro-miners forces, and the support she is getting from other communities also clearly shows the level of repudiation the company is generating in the locals.
Monday, 20 September. About 20 men and women from Junin and Chalguayacu Alto went up to the area of San Edmundo today, about 2 hours walk south of Junin, to support the people there opposed to the Ascendant Exploration's plans of opening an illegal road to access the mining concession.
This past Saturday (18th), paid workers of Ascendant intimidated Hortensia Yepez of the San Edmundo community, and tried to enter her land in order to delineate the planned road to the mining concession. Señora Hortensia was home only with her daughter at the time of this aggression, but wasted no time or words in driving the employees away with machete in hand and a sharp tongue, which hurried the worker's departure. The workers turned away but tried to intimidate Señora Hortensia and her daughter, saying they would be back the following Monday (today) with more workers!. In case you are wondering, the mining company is acting totally illegal, since a road requires not only an environmental impact study, but the authorization of all land owners potentially impacted.
The community delegation met with people from San Edmundo to support their rejection of mining, waiting for hours for the Ascendant's workers to show up, but no one from the company dared to show. The delegation took the opportunity to make and post signs along Mrs. Hortensia's land borders, with clear anti-mining messages and keep-away warnings. The Junin-Chalguayacu delegation also offered to return to keep supporting the San Edmundo community and to help patrol the land and keep the invaders off hers and her neighbor's land who are mostly adamantly anti-mining.
This is just one more of a series of outrageous violations of national laws and common dignity being promoted by the mining interests in Intag. And one more show of the level of resistance and solidarity it is generating!
Del DIARIO EL NORTE
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Ibarra, 1 Septiembre 2004 | Polibio Pérez, Presidente del Consejo de Desarrollo Comunitario de la parroquia de García Moreno.
Dijo dirigente comunitario
“Ministro del Ambiente está solo en el papel”
IBARRA | El Presidente del Consejo de Desarrollo Comunitario de la parroquia de García Moreno, Polibio Pérez, exigió a los ministros del Ambiente Fabián Valdivieso y de Energía Eduardo López, un pronunciamiento inmediato sobre el proyecto minero que se pretende instaurar en esa zona perteneciente al cantón Cotacachi.
Pérez denunció, que la empresa ASCENDANT EXPLORATION, encargada de realizar la exploración de las minas de cobre, ubicadas en Junín, no está cumpliendo con la socialización del proyecto y mas bien está realizando ofrecimientos falsos e incluso chantajeando a los pobladores.
Según el dirigente, uno de los chantajes hechos por la empresa que trabaja con fondos canadienses, es haber ofrecido el mejoramiento de la red vial de esta parroquia, a cambio de que la población permita la explotación minera.
Este fue el motivo, por el cual ayer, una delegación de diferentes comunidades de esa parroquia, se entreviste con el Prefecto Juan Flores Rea, para exigir el arreglo de la vía desde el sector de Loma Negra hasta el Chontal Alto, de una extensión de 20 kilómetros, a efectos de evitar el chantaje.
Jorge Pereira, miembro del Comité de Defensa del Medio Ambiente de la parroquia de Peñaherrera, señaló que otra de oferta de la empresa, tiene que ver con la creación de una universidad en este sector, lo que tampoco es aceptado.
Tanto Pérez como Pereira, indicaron que el gobierno nacional, no dice nada sobre este proyecto, que afectará al ecosistema de la zona.
El Ministro del Ambiente Fabián Valdivieso, está solo en papeles, porque con el silencio demostrado por él, vemos que está a favor de la explotación minera, acotó el dirigente.
MORE GOOD NEWS FROM JUNIN
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
A delegation from the Junin area was set to travel to Imbabura's capital, Ibarra, to pressure the provincial government to start working on the road, which the miners had offered to work on in exchange for the communities supporting the mining project (mostly rehabilitation work) Well, yesterday, 18 people showed up from the communities of Junin, Chalguyacu Alto, Chalguyacu Bajo and La Armenia, and got what they wanted!
The provincial government officially promised to send the road equipment (a caterpillar, road-grader and a backhoe), in agreement with the Municipality of Cotacachi, who will pitch in with three dump trucks.
Since there was no funds to pay for the diesel, DECOIN's delegate at the meeting offered to cover the diesel costs.
The machinery goes to Junin this coming Tuesday!!!
While they waited to speak to officials, a local newspaper and TV station came and reported on the happening. The main person interviewed was Polibio Pérez, from the Community Development Council, and it made paper today and the TV yesterday! Cool, no?
Another strike against Ascendant. A pretty good one.
Oh, we also heard at the meeting that General Villacís had been to visit the provincial government to try to pressure them to keep out of Junin: the head guy there told him in no uncertain way that no mining would take place in Junin and that he totally supported the communities against mining, and that he thought they would run into grave danger if they tried to mine in Junin!!
Sorry Dorothy, this is not Toronto!
Carlos
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