Peruvians say Earth First! Profit Last!

well the slogan is "Mina no, agro si" but saw this on the Earth First! UK site while I was finding out more about the mining protests.

24th May 2011
For more than two weeks, thousands of people have blocked an international border in Peru — and almost no one in the English-speaking world seems to have noticed.

The story has fallen through the cracks, but here's what's happening:

A proposed mining project on the shores of Lake Titicaca has provoked outrage among Peruvians. Protests are growing in the southeastern part of the country.

About 10,000 people gathered in the city of Puno this week, shouting "Mina no, agro si" (roughly "Mines no, farms yes"). Shops, schools and public transit all shut down.

The protests were sparked by the announcement that a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company Bear Creek would be allowed to build a silver mine near Lake Titicaca.

Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest lake in South America. The lake was considered sacred by the Incas and is a major tourist draw today.

The protesters say mining would pollute Lake Titicaca, the Desaguadero River and its tributaries. They are demanding the cancellation of all mining and oil concessions and the repeal of the decree that allows mining in the border area.

Bear Creek says the proposed project offers a "low-cost 'pure silver' mine" in a "mineral-rich nation with a favorable investment climate."

The Peruvian government said it would dispatch the military to control the protest and clear the road linking the two countries.

Bolivian businessmen estimate they have lost between $7 million and $16 million because of the blockade. The president of the Chamber of Exporters of Bolivia, Goran Vranicic, told Efe that daily losses total $1 million.

The protest began on May 9 with the closing of the Desaguadero border crossing. The route is still blocked with large rocks, logs and barbed wire.

About 600 trucks are stuck on the Bolivian side of the border, and in the last couple of hours, many of the trapped truckers have begun returning to the Bolivian capital of La Paz. The closure largely affects Bolivian cargo headed to Peru or to third countries through Peruvian ports (Bolivia doesn't have access to the sea).

In April, after a protest left three dead in the nearby region of Arequipa, the Peruvian government canceled the Tia Maria mining project.

Committee to defend rainforest priest Paul McAuley formed in Peru

A campaign has been launched in Peru to halt the extradition of Catholic priest Paul McAuley...just had this from a tweet by the Hollywood actress Q'orianka Kilcher...the rubbish translation is of course mine and googles. The indigenous in the Peruvian Amazon are of course well organised and have able support from indigenous outside of the forests and other supporters.

Peru: activities start in defense of Father Paul Mc Auley


A chain of solidarity has been born now against the cancellation of the residence in Peru's Father Paul Mc Auley from Britain.


A petition signed by communities of different indigenous people goes to President Alan Garcia, President of the Council of Ministers, the British Embassy and the media supporting his stay in the country.

The expulsion of Paul McAuley would be an outrage against "a person who fully identifies with the reality of the Loreto region and the problems of indigenous peoples and environment of our Amazon," the report said.

The media in Loreto Iquitos has provide coverage against the expulsion of McAuley, which it considers unjust.

One solidarity action was the establishment of a 'Committee to the Combat Exclusion of Paul McAuley' in Iquitos which held a vigil on Friday July 2nd vigil in the Plaza de Armas of Iquitos.

On Monday 5 July, a rally at 6:30 am (?) Plaza o Iquitos, located opposite the Palace of Justice to accompany the filing of a writ of Habeas Corpus.

On Wednesday July 7 there will be a citizen mobilization of solidarity that will leave from the Plaza July 28 at 3.30pm.