Peru peasants take miners hostage to demand jobs

[struggle4progress]

03 Aug 2006 22:31:31 GMT
Source: Reuters

... One farmer died in the protest on Wednesday night at the mine in northern Peru when about a hundred people forced their way into the mine complex, clashing with police.

Later on Thursday, a spokesman for Denver-based Newmont confirmed two Yanacocha employees had been taken by protesters after the demonstrators were cleared away by police.

"They have not been released and we do not know where they are," Randy Engel told Reuters in New York.

He said about 100 people from the local community of Combayo had organized a protest demanding work contracts with Minera Yanacocha for the Carachugo mining project, which employs over 120 local villagers and has work contracts with four community businesses from Combayo ...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03121950.htm

[NVMojo]

1. Interesting ...wonder if this is the same group that also protested

to close the mine down over water?

[Judi Lynn]

3. Looks very possible.

From the article:

He said Yanacocha has allocated approximately $1.5 million under a community development program agreement with the Combayo community. The company also has agreed with the Combayo Development Committee to provide for water quality/quantity monitoring and the protection of the local river.

Situated in a poor Andean region lacking electricity and drinking water, Yanacocha, which produced 3.3 million ounces of gold last year, has faced protests since 2003. In 2004, fierce protests caused it to temporarily shut down over plans to develop the Cerro Quilish deposit. Local farmers said the project would contaminate water supplies.

Many poor Peruvians living near the mine in the world's No. 5 gold-producing nation say they deserve to receive more benefits from record international mineral prices.

Miners in Peru blame local governments for making ineffective use of the windfall money they have received from higher income taxes and royalties.
(snip/)

Looks as if there's far more involved than the company seems willing to admit.

[Art_from_Ark]

2. I shared this with some Japanese friends

They got a big kick out of the name of the Peruvian company in question-- Minera Yanacocha-- because when you say "yanacocha" in Japanese, it means "a very unpleasant thing".