Those of you following NISGUA's work on defense of land and territory over the past seven years may remember the story of how Goldcorp's Marlin mine first gained access to indigenous lands in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, San Marcos. Company representatives told residents that they were interested in starting an [...]
Tired of being ignored and disrespected by the Guatemalan government, and determined to halt a hydroelectric project approved without their free, prior and informed consent, the men and women of Santa Cruz Barillas founded the peaceful blockade, Nuevo Amanecer on April 6, 2013. Nuevo Amanecer, or New Dawn, is [...]
Neither are San Rafael Las Flores, Nueva Santa Rosa, Mataquescuintla, Jalapa nor Santa Rosa de Lima. In 2005, the communities of Sipakapa carried out one of the first community consultations on mining in Guatemala, taking a stand against Canadian giant, Goldcorp Inc., and sparking a movement that has resulted [...]
On January 14, the people of Sipakapa joined together to take action in denouncing the granting of the Los Chocoyos mining exploration license to Goldcorp Inc. Earlier this month, the Sipakapa Maya Council, together with the Western People's Council (CPO), filed a legal complaint against the Ministry of Energy [...]
El 14 de enero, el pueblo de Sipakapa se manifestó en contra de la licencia minera, Los Chocoyos, autorizado a Goldcorp Inc. Al principio del mes, el Consejo Maya Sipakapense y el Consejo de los Pueblos del Occidente (CPO), denunciaron al Ministerio de Energía y Minas por autorizar la [...]
On September 28, conflict erupted again in Northern Huehuetenango in response to the imposition of Spanish-owned Cambalam hydro-electric project in Santa Cruz Barillas. Despite ongoing criminalization and repression, community members continue to demand respect for the 2007 community consultation rejecting large-scale development projects in their territory.During his September 3 [...]
A LA COMUNIDAD NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL EXPRESAMOS: La agresión actual a los pueblos Q’anjob’al, Akateko, Chuj y mestizo de la Región Norte del departamento de Huehuetenango, de parte del Presidente y comandante en Jefe del Ejército Nacional, General Otto Fernando Pérez Molina, quien en conferencia de prensa resaltó la [...]
"The Council of Ancestral Authorities of the 31 communities of Momostenango welcomes you to the good faith community consultation" (All Photos: NISGUA) On Sunday September 1, the municipality of Momostenango held the third community consultation in the department of Totonicapán. In all three referenda in Totonicapán, as well as [...]
Fuente: Consejo del Pueblo Maya de Occidente (CPO) – Red en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de Guatemala (NISGUA) – Alerta Minera Canadá – Centro para el Derecho Ambiental Internacional (CIEL) (Ciudad de Guatemala/Ottawa/Washington) Martes, el Consejo del Pueblo Maya de Occidente (CPO) de Guatemala presentó una demanda ante la Comisión [...]
Sources: Western Peoples' Council (CPO) - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) - MiningWatch Canada – Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) (Guatemala City/Ottawa/Washington) Tuesday, Guatemala's Western Peoples' Council of Mayan organizations (CPO) filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alleging that the [...]
El Consejo presenta su denuncia el 3 de septiembre de 2013. Foto: CPO EL CONSEJO DE LOS PUEBLOS MAYAS Y XINKA, DENUNCIAN AL ESTADO DE GUATEMATEMA ANTE LA COMISIÓN INTERAMERICANA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS Porque la Corte de Constitucionalidad, mediante sentencia emitida el 28 de febrero de 2013, resolvió sin [...]
The Council presents their demand on September 3, 2013. Photo: CPO THE COUNCIL OF MAYA AND XINCA PEOPLES DENOUNCES THE GUATEMALAN STATE IN THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS On February 28, 2013, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court dismissed the Council’s challenge of unconstitutionality filed against the mining law on [...]
Durante el 21 - 23 de agosto, representantes de 20 comunidades Maya Q'anjob'al del norte de Huehuetenango y Chiapas, México se reunieron en San Juan Ixcoy, Huehuetenango para el Segundo Encuentro de las Nacionalidades Q'anjob'al. Los participantes discutieron la imposición de proyectos de desarrollo en sus territorios y estrategias [...]
On August 21 – 23, leaders and representatives of twenty Maya Q'anjob'al communities in northern Huehuetenango and Chiapas, Mexico, gathered in San Juan Ixcoy, Huehuetenango to discuss the ongoing imposition of large-scale development projects on their territory and to continue generating strategies for unified resistance moving forward. The three [...]
LOS PUEBLOS ORIGINARIOS NUNCA HAN PEDIDO MORATORIAS; UN PRESIDENTE DEMOCRÁTICO DEBE SER CONGRUENTE CON LOS RESULTADOS DE LAS CONSULTAS COMUNITARIAS DE BUENA FE El anunció del Presidente de la República de Guatemala de presentar una iniciativa de ley en el Congreso de la República para decretar “una moratoria por [...]
In a televised program broadcast from outside Tahoe Resources’ conflictive Escobal mine project, President Otto Pérez Molina announced a proposed two-year moratorium on the granting of new mineral mining licenses. A similar moratorium put in place under the Colom presidency was lifted under the Molina administration, allowing for the [...]
Rubén Herrera and Cecilia Mérida moments after Rubén was liberated. Yesterday, Rubén Herrera, unjustly imprisoned since March 15 for his resistance to the Cambalam hydro-electric project, was released from custody and cleared of all charges in one of two legal processes against him. The second process (176-2011) dating back [...]
Rubén Herrera of the ADH Photo: James Rodríguez, mimundo.orgSign the petition condemning the capture of Rubén Herrera and calling for his immediate release. Since Friday, March 15, human rights defender and member of the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango for the Defense of Natural Resources (ADH), Rubén Herrera, has been unjustly [...]
"The past is still present." -- Independent journalist, commenting on recent attacks against activistson the eve of the Ríos Montt trial On Sunday, March 17, the President of the Xinca Indigenous Parliament and three other Xinca leaders were abducted by a group of heavily armed men. While two of the [...]
Unofficial translation by NISGUA - Original Spanish Below Traducción no oficial por NISGUA - Español abajo WESTERN PEOPLES' COUNCIL In defense of Life, Territory, the Mother Earth and the Collective Rights of the Peoples URGENT COMMUNIQUE In light of the announcement of the lifting of the state [...]