Time in El Estor, Guatemala
We found it very difficult to write about the nickel mine in Guatemala, primarily because we don't classify ourselves as journalists. Our goal was to dig into the Fenix project and present
the reader with facts beyond those some NGO's (non governmental organizations) were spreading across the internet.
What we discovered, no matter where our research led us,
was it is hard to step into the middle of a mud fight, without getting dirty.
If we were to attempt to define the fight over the nickel mine in Guatemala
in one phrase, it would be a fight between a poor and indigenous local
population, and a government that is trying to earn the trust of its people,
after years of brutality and genocide. The historical facts are clear,
and undeniable. The indigenous Mayan population of Guatemala have faced many
years of oppression, and according to the United Nations, outright genocide.
During the 70's and 80's, thanks mainly to a 1954 CIA backed overthrow of
a popularly elected government (we would call it a Leftist government
today, but back then some loosely used the term "Communism" to define
anything endangering big business interests in foreign countries.), thousands
of Mayan's" disappeared". It was not until 1996 that a UN backed peace
agreement was brokered, that ended a 36 year civil war.
(To view the Canadian documentary "A Coup: Made In America", youtube has
the show broke up into 5 segments.
The legality - The primary argument of those opposing the Fenix Project,
is the government did not have the right to grant Skye Resources exploration
and mining leases on Mayan land. They claim the United Nations Office of
the High Commission on Human Rights "Convention 169 Concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries" has been violated by the Guatemala
government. The law, states in Article 14 1. The rights of ownership
and possession of the peoples concerned over the lands which they traditionally
occupy shall be recognised. In addition, measures shall be taken in appropriate
cases to safeguard the right of the peoples concerned to use lands not
exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have traditionally had access
for their subsistence and traditional activities. Particular attention shall
be paid to the situation of nomadic peoples and shifting cultivators in this
respect. 2. Governments shall take steps as necessary to identify the lands
which the peoples concerned traditionally occupy, and to guarantee effective
protection of their rights of ownership and possession. 3. Adequate procedures
shall be established within the national legal system to resolve land claims
by the peoples concerned." Guatemala is not the only government that must
wrestle with this broadly defined regulation. The broad decree of this
regulation, has become a nightmare to many countries. Under its auspices,
it would be difficult to find inhabited land, on any continent, that could
not be loosely defined as being occupied by "indigenous" people. The problems
arise when a government must apply the intent of the law, to the practicality
of the situation.
Who has the rights to the land now occupied by Skye Resources and its Guatemalan
subsidiary, Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel? If we believe
the NGO's, then the Mayan's hold
full claim to this land, and therefore the presence of the current mine, is illegal. But if we go
back to the HRC 169, listed above, Article 15 addresses this very problem.
"1. The rights of the peoples concerned to the natural resources pertaining
to their lands shall be specially safeguarded. These rights include the right
of these peoples to participate in the use, management and conservation of
these resources. 2. In cases in which the State retains the ownership of
mineral or sub-surface resources or rights to other resources pertaining
to lands, governments shall establish or maintain procedures through which
they shall consult these peoples, with a view to ascertaining whether and
to what degree their interests would be prejudiced, before undertaking or
permitting any programmes for the exploration or exploitation of such resources
pertaining to their lands. The peoples concerned shall wherever possible
participate in the benefits of such activities, and shall receive fair
compensation for any damages which they may sustain as a result of such
activities." The United Nations itself, while protecting the rights of indigenous
people to their lands, recognized a nation's sovereign right to the mineral
resources that might fall within those boundaries. This provision, thus legalizes
the right of the Guatemala government, to grant Skye Resources the necessary
permits to explore for nickel within its borders, no matter how much the
NGO's want to argue semantics over words like "before" and "until".
The history - It is without question that the video that we, among
others, have linked to, is shocking. In a world where home ownership is the
single most important possession an individual can hope to attain, watching
poor people being forced from their "huts", and having them burned in front
of them, is disturbing.
(video here) In this, the actions of the
representatives of Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel,
did nothing but highlight the level of disregard for human dignity, that
still exists in Guatemala. While activists will try to justify the land
occupation by Mayan settlers, the legal authority in Guatemala deemed it
contrary to the law, and therefore the evictions were carried out within
the framework of the law. The overwhelming show of force, while looking sinister
on video, did ensure these evictions were more peaceful than prior evictions
have gone. (Although Mining Watch in Canada stated "The “reoccupiers” were violently removed by Guatemalan police and military in early January, 2007.") And if the dwelling places looked temporary, they had only been
built last fall. However, whether one supports the Mayan cause, or
the mining company, the people being evicted deserved a greater level of respect. Skye must look
beyond what is happening to its company today and understand why history
has placed them in the situation and circumstance they are currently in.
In 1955, one year after the overthrow of the government, Hanna Mining Company
discovered extensive nickel reserves in the the hills near El Estor, Guatemala.
Five years later, Exploraciones and Exploraciones Mineras Izabal, S.A. (80%
owned by Inco, 20% by Hanna) was born and in 1965, they were granted
a 40 year mining concession on 365 square kilometers (90,000+ acres).
While outright civil war had yet to break out in Guatemala, there were those
that were opposed to the mine from the beginning. Many intellectuals and
politicians in opposition to the new government, felt the contract was nothing
more than a "give away" of the nations mineral reserves, for the personal
profit of its new leaders. These people had just seen a popular government,
that had promised to return much of the land, held by wealthy overseas companies,
back to the people, and now they were seeing the new government make changes
that would give more land away to foreign control. As opposition to the new
military government grew, EXIMBAL (Exploraciones and Exploraciones Mineras
Izabal, S.A.) became one of the lightning rods for the confrontation.
Two of those comprising "an investigative commission on the contract of the
State with company EXIMBAL", were University of San Carlos law professor
Julio Camey Herrera, and law professor and congressional deputy Adolfo Mijangos
López. Both were gunned down, the latter on a busy street, while seating
in his wheelchair. A third member of the commission, law professor Alfonso
Bauer Paiz, was shot and survived. One month later,
the new government signed an exploitation agreement with EXIMBAL, allowing
for the mining and extraction of nickel ore. The mine operated until 1982,
when the price of nickel forced the closure of the operation. Inco maintained
the facility until 2004, when Skye Resources purchased a 70% interest in
the project from them and named it the Fenix Project. (According to the
Skye website "On December 13, 2004, the Government of Guatemala issued new
exploration licenses to CGN covering the Fenix project to replace CGNs
Niquegua exploitation concession (originally granted in 1965 for an initial
40 year term) and two smaller concessions granted in 1974. The new licenses
(called Niquegua Norte and Montufar II) are for an initial three-year period
and they are renewable on application for up to two additional periods of
two years each. Upon approval of an environmental impact study by MARN, the
licenses would, subject to the filing of an application and receipt of approval
from the Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), be converted into
exploitation licenses that would have a 25 year term, with a right of renewal
for an additional 25 year period." Exploraciones y Exploraciones Mineras
Izabal S.A.(EXIMBAL) has since become Compañía Guatemalteca
de Níquel, S.A.)
The moral right - So if Skye has rights to over 90,000 acres, why not give some land to these people? Skye will tell you that they have. If you listen to the woman in the video, she hasn't been offered.
According to rightsaction.org, "The
Qeqchi (Mayan) people, who live throughout the municipal jurisdiction
of El Estors 3000 square kilometers, make up approximately 90% of the
40,000 inhabitants of El Estor, and survive mainly as subsistence farmers
and fisherman". On the same page, they advise 365 square kilometer's were leased
to EXMIBAL. (Square Kilometer = .3861 Square Mile = 100 Hectares = 247.1
Acres). Therefore, of the nearly 3/4 million acres occupied by the
Qeqchi Mayan's, Skye has exploration/mining rights to 12% of the area. (A
comparison would be the state of Rhode Island in the United States .
With 776,957 acres or 3,144 square kilometers, it has a population of a little
over 1 million people.)
What Skye faces in Guatemala is similar, but different than what other mining
companies are facing in other indigenous areas of the world, due almost entirely on the total mistrust of the local population towards their government. Change is not immediately welcome, especially when it potentially
disrupts the world as one has come to know it. This dilemma is faced daily, by rich,
and poor nations alike, as the requirements of a growing worldwide population requires expansion. Environmental changes are an ever present concern,
and while mining companies have made huge strides in "cleaning up their act",
they are burdened with a history of scarred landscapes and ecological disasters.
Every human alive needs the basics to survive - shelter, food and water.
Threaten any of these, and you are asking for a fight. Mines inevitably bring many changes to a remote community. Where poverty once reigned, new sources of wealth are introduced. Wealth brings good, and bad, to a community not used to having it. On the positive side, steady employement offers an escape from the perils and uncertainty of "living off the land". It often introduces modern technology into remote area's. On the negative, wealth brings a greater void between the have's and the have not's. Prostitution, as well as other crimes, may be introduced into a society. Change comes with uncertainty, and every human experience's some level of it in their lives. For the indigenous, this change can be a great shock to a way of life as they have always known it.
The brutality the Mayan's have witnessed in Guatemala isn't something they have
to read out of books. Most of them are old enough to have experienced this brutality first hand. Not far from El Estor is the town of Panzós, where one of the landmark events of the Guatemalan civil war occurred in 1978, when over one hundred men, women and children were gunned down by the Guatemalan Army. They don't trust the government, and it will take years for the government to earn their trust. They don't trust
foreign governments, especially the United States, whom they saw overthrow
the government they elected and then foster the brutality during much of the last half century. Like many in
South and Central America, the country's poor appear ripe to elect a populous Leftist
presidential candidate in the near future. After what happened
in Bolivia recently, with the seizure of the Swiss owned tin smelter and mine,
this future would appear potentially threatening to any mining operations
in the country.
Final "personal" opinion - Skye Resources is not responsible for the history
in the El Estor area of Guatemala. But it is playing an important part in
its future. Our recommendations -
#1 Separate yourself as much as possible from the negative history in the area.
This would include the immediate termination of any member of
Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel, S.A, that has been
accused of taking part in any violence against the general populace during
the EXIMBAL years. You were not responsible for the brutality of the past, but you can help heal the wounds.
#2 Do not take part in the local custom of bringing in outsiders to support
ones cause. This increases animosity between the population, and while generally
accepted as the way things are done in Guatemala politics, we encourage you
to take no part in it.
#3 Continue to reach out to the general populace. These people have no reason
to trust you, and don't. Understand their culture, foster it, respect it. It's a slow
process but your ultimate goal as a business should be to give the long term
shareholder a return on his investment. Your long
term success, will hinge on the acceptance, however guarded, of the
majority of the local populace.
#4 Train those in your employment, or employees of your sub-contractors,
of the sensitivity of the situation. Not sure who's bright idea it was to
set fire to those huts, but hopefully they aren't in a position to repeat this mistake. This was a serious blunder, and not only brought back the brutality
of the past to the Mayan's, but also gave fodder to those NGO's who are
sworn enemies to mining operations worldwide. You may have had the legal right
to what you did, but in the way it was handled, you lost the moral high ground.
If your employees in Guatemala continue to think that things must remain
the way they have been, then you must make personnel changes and bring with
your new company, a fresh perspective. There are those in Guatemala that are trying to convince the people, and the world, that you represent the "Big-Bad-Wolf". Don't give them any reason to be right.
#5 Speaking of public relations, what are you doing for the Mayan's?
here) The NGO's are showing us what you are doing "to" the
indigenous population, why aren't you showing us what you are doing "for"
these same people? If the recent debacle hasn't proven anything else,
it should make clear to all mining companies the power of the visual media.
(To give you an example, which of these has got people talking -
And finally, we would like to leave our readers with a quote. This is written by Victoria L. Henderson. a student with the Department of Geography Queen's
University Kingston, ON (Canada) and posted on a few NGO website's. It is a reply to Ian Austin of Skye Resources. "I respectfully submit that your understanding of Maya
cosmovisión fails to appreciate the deep spirituality that links Maya
peoples to the Earth. I have visited Cerro 400 and you are correct in stating
that, had I not been told, I would never have known that the area had
been mined and reforested. I, however, am not Maya. The idea that
the earth can be gutted and covered over "as if nothing had happened" is
wholly inconsistent with Maya cosmovisión. Pointing out how
"natural" a site may look after it has been mined is to confound the deeply
spiritual with the highly superficial."
How could anyone possibly argue with that logic??
One final point - obviously, while we attempt to be objective on this site, we could be accussed of having our opinions tainted by our following of the mining industry. When reading about the events in El Estor and Skye Resources, carefully consider the source. Most of the articles being written about Skye in Guatemala, or the eye-witness accounts they are quoting, are being written by a handful of individuals, that a quick check on the internet reveals, are either completely anti-mining, or have spent their life working for anti-establishment "causes".
www.mayaparadise.com - "Today, El Estor is a little gem of a town because of the municipal improvements made by the Nickel Company of Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the nickel company constructed a nickel mine and refinery about a kilometer from El Estor. In exchange for permission to operate, the nickel company agreed to invest in improving the town of El Estor. El Estor is now paved with wide and clean streets, the electrical grid is new as is the telephone system. The nickel mine was unsuccessful and the plant is now closed. Today, El Estor is a clean and beautiful albeit quiet town where nothing much ever happens."
Sources and research
Numerous others not listed
The author of this article declares he does not hold shares in any mining company, including the ones mentioned in the article above. And the author of this article freely admits he did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, and therefore must bear the consequences of his own opinions.