On August 27, 2014, the Caravan for the Defense of Territory in Nariño presented a preliminary report to local authorities and medias in Nariño’s capital city of Pasto. The Caravan, comprised of over 20 Colombian and international organizations, travelled for 7 days in different small towns and villages in the south of Nariño through the municipalities of Samaniego and Tuquerres.
You are invited to join us in solidarity as part of the CARAVAN FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE LAND, which will be leaving Bogotá, Colombia next August 19, 2014 for the municipality of Samaniego, in the southern department of Nariño. This area has been impacted by intense militarlisation and mining concessions made to the multinational company ANGLO GOLD ASHANTI. The goal of the CARAVAN is to collect evidence and document the situation faced by the inhabitants of this area.
Thousands march in the Southern Colombian town of Pasto to demand land rights and an end to militarization and large-scale mining .
On October 12, 2012, a few days before historic negotiations between the FARC and Colombian government started, thousands marched in the Colombian city of Pasto, Nariño to show their dissatisfaction with the current administration and their desire “to construct peace with social justice.”
...to describe the armed thugs driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes as businesses hunt for precious minerals.
ARMED thugs are driving terrified families from their homes in Colombia as big businesses hunt for precious minerals, campaigners have warned.
JUNE 4, 2012
by LEAH GARDNER
BERRUECOS, COLOMBIA—In southwest Colombia people are organizing within and throughout their villages, creating a strong network of resistance to Canadian gold mining. But they’re not fighting for concessions or reforms: they’re fighting to win.
“We can live without gold and silver but not without water. Not without peace and quiet.” At El Volador (near Arboleda, Nariño Department, Colombia), the people considered moving the school due to its proximity to drilling noise. The mining company Gran Colombia Gold gave gifts of school supplies and toys for the children. The notebooks read: “The calm follows the storm. The mining company is your friend.” A forum is being held at the Universidad de Nariño (Pasto) on February 28–29, 2012 to lay the table for dialogue with the departmental and national governments.
The Mazamorras Gold mining project, owned by Canadian multinational Gran Colombia Gold, and directed by ex-Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister María Consuelo Araujo, is located between the municipalities of Arboleda and San Lorenzo, in the Department of Nariño, Colombia. The company is currently moving ahead with mining exploration activities, which has led to chaos and confrontation in and around local communities. Given this, we feel obliged to publicly denounce the following, which have occurred as a result of Gran Colombia Gold's presence in the region:
Following recent mobilizations against Canadian mining company Gran Colombia Gold, and clashes with between residents and police in Nariño, Colombia, the governor of the department signed an open letter on November 23rd, stating his opposition to open-pit mining on land currently being cultivated by campesinos [small farmers].
The people of Arboleda and San Lorenzo (Nariño), tired of constant aggressions and the lack of consultation on mining development projects in their communities, reject the presence of the multinational Mazamorras Gold.