Porgera Alliance

Category: Killings, Rapes, Mine-related Deaths and Arbitrary Detentions

  • Presentation by Mark Ekepa at the Canadian Parliament Press Gallary 12th May 2008

    My name is Mark Ekepa. I have come from Papua New Guinea to speak to the Canadian people and the Canadian government about the problems the indigenous people in my community are facing because of the reckless mining operations of Barrick Gold”™s Porgera Joint Venture mine.

    I am the Chairman of the Porgera Landowners Association. I represent the traditional landowners in Porgera where the Porgera Joint Venture mine has operated since 1990.

    I am here to tell you why we cannot be safe and healthy in our ancestral land anymore.

    Barrick”™s Porgera mine is disposing of millions of tons of toxic tailings (mine waste) and mountains of waste rock directly into our nearby 800 km-long river system. Barrick calls this “riverine tailings disposal.” We call it the permanent contamination of our river system. We know that this practice is illegal in Canada so we want to know why Barrick is allowed to do this to our river and nearby communities in Papua New Guinea. We used to use the river for drinking water, for food, for transportation. Now it is very dangerous. There have been consultants”™ reports since 1996 that have warned of heavy metal contamination, in particular arsenic, lead, silver, and cadmium. Our river has become a health hazard.

    Also, the mine is expanding in the middle of our community and in a mountainous area. It is continuously encroaching on our homes. There is little to keep people out of the mine, or away from the dangers of its mountainous rock waste dumps, and rivers of mine tailings. We have documented many cases of people, including children, falling into the open pit, being buried by rock slides on the waste dumps and drowning during flooding in rivers of tailings. Although Barrick has recently installed a fence around the open pit itself, the pit, the waste dumps and the rivers of tailings remain accessible to the people.

    Also, as the open pit has expanded and its massive waste rock dumps have grown, we have lost most of our spaces for “gardens.” This is where we grow our subsistence foods. But we have had to relocate to steeper areas where we cannot farm for our daily food.

    Given all of these issues ““ as well as other human rights concerns that Jethro Tulin will tell you about –  is no longer safe for us to remain on our ancestral land.

    Many of the 10,000 indigenous peoples living within the mine lease area now want to be relocated. But Barrick seems to be reluctant to undertake this task. We know that Barrick has hired consultants to review the relocation possibilities but little information about the findings of these consultants is being shared by Barrick. At Barrick”™s Annual Genial Meeting on May 6th in Toronto we were told by Patrick Garver that only a few families would be moved.

    This is unacceptable. Barrick has destroyed our land, our water, our safety and our ability to feed ourselves. We know that we can no longer live on our ancestral land. We know that we must leave our place so that our children can have a future. We call on Barrick and on the Canadian government to please help make the relocation of our people possible.

    Thank You

  • Jethro Tulin”™s testimony read to Barrick shareholders at their 2008 Annual General Meeting

    Jethro Tulin gave this presentation at Barrick’s Annual General Meeting in Toronto, Canada on May 6, 2008. The following segment was cut from the Barrick’s webcast of the event, immediately following the meeting.

    My name is Jethro Tulin and I hold a proxy from Mr. David Wurfel.

    Mr.  Munk,  I  am an indigenous  Ipili  from the  Highlands  of  Papua  New Guinea.  I have travelled half way across the world, together with Mark Ekepa, Chairman of the Porgera Landowners Association and Anga Atalu, Secretary of the Porgera Landowners Association to speak out  against  the grave conditions my people face because of your Porgera mine.

    When you came to our place you offered us cash-for-land deals that have turned our traditions upside-down.

    Your mine has destroyed our ancestral land, our sacred places, and our gardens, which we need to feed ourselves. You dump your mine waste directly into our river system contaminating 600 km of river all the way to the sea.  You do this, even though you know that it is illegal to dump your waste into rivers in Canada.

    As you know, our people have been pushed to living on the very edges of your open pit and very close to your massive piles of waste rock. Our houses are so close to the mine pit and to your mountainous waste dumps that our people, especially our children, are always in grave danger of falling into the pit. As you know, many of my people have already lost their lives this way. Others have been swept away and drowned when they have tried to cross the river of mine waste because there are no safe bridges across.

    Finally, as you know, your security guards have been shooting and killing our people and raping, even gang-raping, our women with impunity for years now. This issue has now been raised with the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings at the United Nations.

    Mr. Munk, you have destroyed our land, our water, our safety and our ability to feed ourselves. We know that we can no longer live on our ancestral land. We know that we must leave our place so that our children can have a future. But now your company – Barrick – is refusing to offer us fair terms for our relocation.

    My questions for you, Mr. Munk, are:

    1. When will Barrick agree to move the more than 5,000 families who live within your mine lease in a way that is fair and will provide us an opportunity to be healthy, to feed our families, and to educate our children?

    2. When will Barrick finally pay fair compensation to the families who have lost their loved ones to the guns of your security forces, to the rape victims, to the families who have lost members in your open pit and in the waste dumps and who have drowned in your river of  tailings?

    3. When will Barrick finally carry out the recommendations of the 1996 CSIRO report that was commissioned by the mine management that recommended an end to the dumping of mine waste into our river? And when will Barrick agree to an independent assessment of the metal levels in the river and the accumulation of metals in soils and biota in the river and surrounding areas downstream from the mine? And when will Barrick provide compensation to the people who have been damaged by your mine waste in the river?

    For more information contact: Jethro Tulin ““ 1-310-848-7543   or   416-710-5430
    www.porgeraalliance.net

  • Letter to Barrick Management on behalf of Porgera Landowners Association

    Toronto, CANADA

    For the attention of Mr. Greg Wilkins and the board of Barrick Gold:

    We are indigenous  Ipili  from the  Highlands  of  Papua  New Guinea.  We have travelled half way across the world, to speak out  against  the grave issues our people face because of your Porgera mine.  “¨ “¨When you came to our place you offered us cash-for-land deals that have turned our traditions upside-down. “¨ “¨Your mine has destroyed our ancestral land, our sacred places, environments pollutted and our gardens, which we need to feed ourselves. You dump your mine waste directly into our river system contaminating 600 km of river all the way to the sea.  You do this, even though you know that it is illegal to dump your waste into rivers in Canada. “¨ “¨As you know, our people have been pushed to living on the very edges of your open pit and very close to your massive piles of waste rock. Our houses are so close to the mine pit and to your mountainous waste dumps that our people, especially our children, are always in grave danger of falling into the pit. As you know, many of our people have already lost their lives this way. Others have been swept away and drowned when they have tried to cross the river of mine waste because there are no safe bridges across.

    We thought that it was strange that you stated at the Annual General meeting yesterday that you had built infrastructure at your mine sites for surrounding communities. To date, we have seen no tangible or sustainable developments on account of the Porgera Mine.”¨ “¨Finally, as you know, your security guards have been shooting and killing our people and raping, even gang-raping, our women with impunity for years now. This issue has now been raised with the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings at the United Nations. “¨ “¨You have destroyed our land, our water, our safety and our ability to feed ourselves. We know that we can no longer live on our ancestral land. We know that we must leave our place so that our children can have a future. But now your company – Barrick – is refusing to offer us fair terms for our resettlement.

    As a matter of urgency, we request that:

    1. Barrick agree to resettle the more than 5,000 families who live within your mine lease in a way that is fair and will provide us an opportunity to be healthy, to feed our families, and to educate our children.

    2. Barrick finally pay fair compensation to the families who have lost their loved ones to the guns of your security forces, to the rape victims, to the families who have lost members in your open pit and in the waste dumps and who have drowned in your river of tailings.

    3. Barrick finally carry out the recommendations of the 1996 CSIRO report that was commissioned by the mine management that recommended an end to the dumping of mine waste into our river.

    4. Barrick review the fly-in, fly-out arrangement for mine employees, and revive the agreement that was signed in January, 2001 with the landowners, the State of Papua New Guinea, the Enga Provincial government and Porgera Joint Venture, which was subsequently suspended. The agreement has been suspended for almost four years.

    We suspect that the field managers at the Porgera site are telling you incorrect information about the impacts that your mine has had on affected communities and expect your immediate action now that these issues have been brought to your direct attention.

    On behalf of the Porgera Landowners Association and the Akali Tange Association,
    Mark Ekepa
    Chairman, Porgera Landowners Association