Environmental activist Flaviano Bianchini has reportedly received a series of anonymous telephone calls, and has been kept under surveillance. Amnesty International believes that his life may be in danger.
Flaviano Bianchini, an Italian national, is working as a volunteer for the Guatemalan environmental group Colectivo MadreSelva, which is investigating the effects of mining on the environment. At a press conference in Guatemala City on 5 January, he presented a report on the contamination allegedly caused by a gold mine to the Tzala River in Sipakapa, San Marcos department. The report alleges that the river, which is the main source of water for indigenous people in the region, has been contaminated with heavy metals. This was reported in the national press the following day [see NISGUA for more].
Background
Prensa Libre today (28-01-2007) leads with a story on the issue of whether weak Government regulation of mining concessions is endangering the Guatemalan environment.
Cerigua has been reporting on a number of protests against mining in recent days:
"Miembros y miembras de distintas organizaciones campesinas y sociales, marcharon pacíficamente como una forma de protestan contra la minería a cielo abierto y la contaminación generada por las hidroeléctricas en el departamento, que afectan también a comunidades de Zacapa." [more]
"Vecinos del municipio de San Miguel Ixtahuacán, del departamento de San Marcos, obstaculizan el ingreso a las instalaciones administrativas de la empresa Montana Sociedad Anónima, para que sus representantes escuchen los problemas que afrontan por la explotación minera que realizan, informó Rony Tul." [more]
"Vecinos del municipio de San Miguel Ixtahuacán, del departamento de San Marcos, obstaculizan el ingreso a las instalaciones administrativas de la empresa Montana Sociedad Anónima, para que sus representantes escuchen los problemas que afrontan por la explotación minera que realizan, informó Rony Tul." [more]
You can follow Cerigua's news reports on the environment here and read further more general resources on the mining issue here.
Update (24-02-07)
Environmental activist Flaviano Bianchini, who received a series of threatening phone calls earlier this year, has returned to Italy, and is no longer in danger.
An Italian citizen who had been working on environmental issues related to mining activities in Guatemala and Honduras, he had received a string of anonymous threatening phone calls during January. These appeared to be connected with a report he had prepared on contamination of a river allegedly caused by a gold mine in Guatemala. The river was the main source of water for local indigenous people.
He received further threats after the UA was issued. On 2 and 5 February, he received phone calls, both repeating the same message he had received previously: deje de chingar ("Stop fucking around").
He arrived in Honduras on 8 February to present a study on the impact of mining activities in the Valle de Siria region. There he was told that men connected with a mining company featured in the report had been asking where he was. For his own safety, he decided not to travel outside the capital. He returned to Guatemala the same day, and shortly afterwards decided to bring forward the date of his return to Italy, also for his own safety.
The investigation into the threats and intimidation suffered by Flaviano Bianchini is not known to have produced any results. Flaviano Bianchini has asked for his thanks to be passed on to the UA network. The Guatemalan NGO he was working for, MadreSelva, have made the same request.
