<strong>Peace</strong> <strong>Brigades</strong> InternationalEXMIBAL – M<strong>in</strong>eral dry<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong>transformation plant. Courtesyof Madre Selva .Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Solano, those who opposed metal m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gwere liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> dangerous times. To oppose m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g activitiesmeant not only confront<strong>in</strong>g the m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g companies, but therepressive military juntas as well.With a political backdrop of social crisis <strong>and</strong> armedconflict, <strong>and</strong> the military dom<strong>in</strong>ance of political power, thel<strong>in</strong>e between repress<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g opponents <strong>and</strong> repress<strong>in</strong>gthe <strong>in</strong>surgency became blurred14.EXMIBAL was located <strong>in</strong> a zone <strong>in</strong>fluenced by the guerillas<strong>in</strong> the department of Izabal15, <strong>and</strong> its <strong>in</strong>stallations weresabotaged on several occasions.Com<strong>in</strong>g to power <strong>in</strong> July 1970 was General Carlos AranaOsorio, who was known <strong>in</strong> the previous decade for hisiron fist <strong>in</strong> deal<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>in</strong>surgents <strong>in</strong> Izabal, where the firstconcessions were granted to INCO. In November 1970,just four months after Arana Osorio took power, <strong>and</strong>aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> January 1971, two of the four members of theaforementioned university commission <strong>in</strong>vestigat<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gactivities were assass<strong>in</strong>ated, while a third miraculouslysurvived.Concession of EXMIBAL,1965-2005. Source:Guate malan Office of <strong>M<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong><strong>and</strong> Hydrocarbons14. Ibidem. 15. The Guerilla Army of the Poor (EGP) operated <strong>in</strong> this area.9
<strong>Peace</strong> <strong>Brigades</strong> InternationalThe fourth, Rafael Piedra Santa, fled <strong>in</strong>to exile16.The <strong>in</strong>volvement of the m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g company <strong>in</strong> the violent actsaga<strong>in</strong>st its opponents was documented by the HistoricalClarification Commission (HCC), which was charged with<strong>in</strong>vestigat<strong>in</strong>g crimes committed dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Guatemala</strong>’s 36-yeararmed conflict.In its report, <strong>Guatemala</strong>, Memoria del Silencio17 (<strong>Guatemala</strong>,Memory of Silence, the HCC mentions the participation ofEXMIBAL personnel <strong>in</strong> violent acts between 1978 <strong>and</strong>198218, a period <strong>in</strong> which the State’s counter<strong>in</strong>surgencycampaign was at its height. These acts were committedwith impunity <strong>and</strong> rema<strong>in</strong>ed unpunished to this day.Furthermore, the HCC’s report mentions a l<strong>in</strong>k betweenthe company <strong>and</strong> the brutal repression of a peasantprotest <strong>in</strong> the village of Panzós (Alta Verapaz) on 29 May1978. Despite the lack of evidence l<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g EXMIBALdirectly with the massacre, the HCC documents that largel<strong>and</strong>owners (<strong>and</strong> INCO) negotiated the army’s presence <strong>in</strong>the area at the time. In addition, several of the peasantsmurdered by the army that day had denounced theplunder<strong>in</strong>g of their l<strong>and</strong>s by the company19.1.3.1. The Marl<strong>in</strong> ProjectThe Marl<strong>in</strong> Project for m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g gold <strong>and</strong> silver was set upbetween the towns of San Miguel Ixtahuacán <strong>and</strong> Sipacapa<strong>in</strong> the department of San Marcos, <strong>and</strong> it is owned byGlamis Gold Ltd. based <strong>in</strong> Reno, Nevada, <strong>in</strong> the U.S. Thecompany is listed on the New York <strong>and</strong> Toronto stockexchanges. It was established <strong>in</strong> 1972 <strong>and</strong> has been<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> gold <strong>and</strong> silver m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g s<strong>in</strong>ce 198122. Their firstprojects were developed <strong>in</strong> the state of California <strong>in</strong> theU.S. dur<strong>in</strong>g the 1980s <strong>and</strong> 90s.Start<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 1998, the company adopted a strategic plan topursue growth opportunities <strong>in</strong> the Americas to lowerproduction costs. The strategy <strong>in</strong>cluded buy<strong>in</strong>g othercompanies of the sector operat<strong>in</strong>g outside of the U.S.23 Thesame year, its acquisition of Marwest Resources Ltd.brought Glamis Gold to the San Martín24 gold m<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>Honduras, operated by the company Entre Mares, its newsubsidiary.In 1982, a rise <strong>in</strong> oil prices <strong>and</strong> a drop <strong>in</strong> the price of nickelon <strong>in</strong>ternational markets caused the company to shutdown its activities.Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Luis Solano, the ma<strong>in</strong> reason EXMIBALdecided to leave was the refusal of the regime to meet thenew dem<strong>and</strong>s of the company to reduce royalties <strong>and</strong> thecost of electricity20. Solano po<strong>in</strong>ts out that EXMIBAL paidno taxes to the State dur<strong>in</strong>g the 15 years of its operation21.1.3. The Arrival of Glamis Gold Ltd.Dur<strong>in</strong>g an apparent pause <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g activities the 1980s <strong>and</strong>90s, a period characterized by the armed conflict <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>itialpeace negotiations, the metal m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g issue returned to thepublic arena at the end of 2003, when the <strong>Guatemala</strong>government granted a m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g permit to the companyGlamis Gold Ltd.L ocation of the Marl<strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g project (courtesy of Madre Selva)16. On 30 November 1970, lawyers Alfonso Bauer Paíz <strong>and</strong> Julio CameyHerrera were attacked. Camey Herrera was killed. Alfonso Bauer Paizsurvived this attack <strong>and</strong> another attempt on his life at the hospital. On 13January 1971, lawyer <strong>and</strong> congressional deputy Oscar Adolfo MijangosLópez was assass<strong>in</strong>ated. The fourth member of the commission, RafaelPiedra Santa Ar<strong>and</strong>i, fled <strong>in</strong>to exile (Solano, 2005).17. Report of the Historical Clarification Commission, 1999, <strong>Guatemala</strong>,Memoria del Silencio; Tz’<strong>in</strong>il Na’Tab’al. UNOPS, <strong>Guatemala</strong>.18. Op cit. <strong>Guatemala</strong>, Memoria del Silencio, cases 1145, 1149, 9401 <strong>and</strong>illustrative case No. 100.19. Op cit, CEH, Annex 1, illustrative case 9.20. Refer to op. cit. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Solano, EXMIBAL’s decision to leave wasalso <strong>in</strong>fluenced by the refusal of Basic Resources to grant a preferentialprice for crude oil. p. 3821. Op cit.22. At http://www.glamis.com23. At http://www.glamis.com24. The San Mart<strong>in</strong> gold m<strong>in</strong>e is <strong>in</strong> the department of Francisco Morazán,north of Tegucigalpa. The concession <strong>in</strong>cludes 14,100 square hectares,<strong>and</strong> its potential yield is an estimated at 1.1 million ounces (see http://www.glamis.com/). The <strong>in</strong>stallation was built <strong>in</strong> 1999 <strong>and</strong> began extract<strong>in</strong>ggold <strong>in</strong> the summer of 2000.10
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