August 4, 2021
*******
11 plaintiffs from Lote 8 and Angelica Choc travel by boat from El Estor to Rio Dulce,
to meet with Grahame Russell (Rights Action) for first time since early 2020.
Wheelchair bound plaintiff German Chub arrived separately in a car
Eleven years after the Hudbay lawsuits were initiated in Toronto courts; after 18 months of increased suffering and hardship due to Covid-19, and Hurricanes Eta and Iota that walloped eastern Guatemala and northern Honduras in October 2020; after the death of a plaintiff in 2020 – Elena Choc Quib – due to ovarian cancer, the 13 Q’eqchi’ plaintiffs (Elena now represented by her eldest daughter) remain determined to see the Hudbay lawsuits to the end, no matter how much long they may continue.
Via video stream, Toronto-based lawyers Murray Klippenstein and Cory Wanless
greet the plaintiffs (and some young family members)
The day’s plan: enjoy the 40-minute boat ride from El Estor to Rio Dulce. Enjoy a walk in mangrove forests along the Rio Dulce. Have lunch. Then have a private meeting with lawyers Murray Klippenstein and Cory Wanless via video feed, to get updated on the next steps to come in the lawsuits.
Rosa Elbira Coc and daughter Aneida Abigail
German Chub and Angelica Choc
Court ordered suspension of mining operation
Before departing, the eleven Lote 8 plaintiffs direct a message to Swiss company Solway Investment Group – ‘Suspend the mining operation immediately’, as ordered by the Constitutional Court.
In 2011, Solway purchased CGN (Guatemalan Nickel Company) and its mining interests from Hudbay Minerals. Even as the plaintiffs have been fighting for justice and reparations in Canadian courts for Hudbay-related violence that occurred in 2007 and 2009, local communities – including Lote 8 – have been suffering on-going mining violence and forced evictions since then, linked to Solway Investment Group / CGN.
In 2019, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court ordered the immediate suspension of the mining operation, finding that going back at least to 2004, the CGN mining operation (owned first by Skye Resources and Hudbay, now by Solway) never had a proper mining license and had never carried out the legally-required Environmental Impact Assessment.
Given the state of corruption and impunity in Guatemala’s mining sector, Solway continues to operate the mine 24 hour a day, 365 days a year, despite the suspension order.
A heart-warming and re-energizing meeting all around. Back up the Rio Dulce and across Lake Izabal, the plaintiffs go home to El Estor. The immediate struggle for justice and reparations continues in Canada.
The long-term struggle continues as well, to put an end to systemic violence, land dispossession and environmental harms, corruption and impunity that characterize mining and other extractive industries across in Guatemala.
Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala
In our forthcoming book Testimonio, co-editors Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell, and other authors, provide great detail about the systemic corruption and impunity that global (mainly Canadian) mining companies contribute to and benefit from in Guatemala.
Archives - Hudbay Minerals (INCO, Skye Resources, Solway Investment Group)
For articles and reports going back to 2005, addressing many aspects of this ‘never-ending’ struggle to put an end to the harms and violences of these global mining companies, go to: https://rightsaction.org/hudbay-minerals-archives.
Send questions, comments to:
Grahame Russell, Rights Action, [email protected]
*******
Tax-Deductible Donations (Canada & U.S.)
To support the work and struggle of the Mayan Q’eqchi’ people in defense of their lands, human rights and environment, and for their justice struggles in Guatemala and Canada, make check payable to "Rights Action" and mail to:
- U.S.: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
- Canada: (Box 552) 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
