Government of Guatemala responsible for increased violence against local population

With the greatest urgency CATAPA asks the suspension of all activities of the Marlin mine and the application of the other precautionary measures which the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights requested of the Guatemalan government.

Source: Huffington Post, 01/06/10

Author's note: Last week, following the visit of U.N. Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights James Anaya, the Guatemalan government agreed to abide by his requests and those of the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights, the Catholic Church, the International Labor Organization and others and has ordered the temporary suspension of operations at the Marlin Mine in the indigenous lands of Western Guatemala.

MEXICO CITY, Apr 30, 2010 (IPS) - A violent incident in which two activists were killed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca has raised fears among human rights groups of a return to the unrest and severe clashes between protesters and police that virtually paralysed the state in 2006.

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Today, while those in power wage a campaign of media disinformation to prepare the scene for the 2011 presidential elections, peasant communities of Ayabaca, Piura continue to fight multinational mining corporations. With government support, these companies continue to explore for and exploit mineral deposits, ignoring residents’ concerns about the environment and the water supply.