by SANDRA CUFFE
Day of action organizers speak out about repression, connections, solidarity
VANCOUVER—From Canada to Argentina, preparations are well underway for the Continental Day of Action Against Canadian Mega Resource Extraction on August 1.
Dozens of organizations have signed a call for the day of protest in solidarity with communities impacted by Canadian extractive industries. The event is meant to highlight the dominance of the Canadian mining industry worldwide. Their demands range from divestment to putting people before profit.
But some activists in North America argue that the serious repression accompanying Canadian mining around the world requires going further than those initial demands. They say that acknowledgment, a sense of urgency and a deeper strategic analysis for concrete local action are also needed. Communities and organizers resisting extractive industry projects in Latin America continue to face displacement, harassment, threats, and death, often dismissed as part of unrelated violence and conflicts.
Decentralized actions will be taking place throughout the western hemisphere on Wednesday, including a national day of mobilization in regions of mining conflict in Colombia, a memorial in Vancouver to remember those who have lost their lives opposing mining projects and a rally outside the Canadian Embassy in San Salvador.
The National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining (Mesa Nacional Frente a la Minería Metálica) in El Salvador, comprised of community-based groups affected by mining as well as environmental and other organizations across the country, will be actively participating in the day of action. Vidalina Morales spoke with The Dominion from her home in the department of Cabañas, El Salvador, where Vancouver-based Pacific Rim’s plans to develop a gold mine have been fraught with controversy.
“We’re going to rally in front of the Canadian Embassy here in El Salvador,” said Morales, adding that there will also be a press conference on site. Over the course of the Roundtable’s actions and campaigns, many affiliated organizations have faced ongoing human rights violations, particularly in Cabañas.
The community-based resistance to the Pacific Rim mining project in Cabañas has suffered extreme repression, including murders of several active community organizers and activists from communities in the vicinity. Earlier this month, 19-year-old engineering student David Alexander Urías was murdered in the community of Palo Bonito, says Morales, only a few kilometres from Pacific Rim’s operations. His murder has been reported as being gang-related, but Morales says local community organizers suspect otherwise.
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