Porgera Alliance

Category: Press Releases

  • Porgera Landowners Press Statement in response to “Illegal Miners Hit Porgera”

    This press statement is released directly in relation to a news articles read EMTV news segment and print news The National 6 February 2014 ” Illegal Miners Hit Porgera”.

    Chairman of Porgera Landowners Association, Tony Mark Ekepa says that the issues surrounding the illegal mining activity at the mine site is not a new development and the State is responsible for recent increase in illegal activities at the Porgera Mine site.

    The SML Landowners through PLOA have always maintained that this kind of illegal activity is manageable through provisions in the Porgera Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) review. The mutually agreed provision regarding resettlement is capable of addressing the problem. Steps have been taken by the stakeholders through the Porgera Mine MOA review but that review has been stalled.

    The State, through Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), is to be blamed for the recent increase in illegal mining activities for not fast tracking the MOA review. For political convenience, the State has created an unnecessary impasse on the MOA review and illegal activities at the mine site has escalated to a new level as reported by the mine operator. (more…)

  • Indigenous Landowners release report demanding urgent resettlement

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Contact: Mark T. Ekepa: emarktony@gmail.com, Phone: +(675) 5479428, cell: +(675) 71234467
    Jethro Tulin: jctulin@gmail.com +(675) 72817336

    The Porgera Land Owners Association (PLOA), in partnership with the Porgera Alliance released a report today detailing the case for the urgent resettlement of their people away from Barrick’s Porgera mine. The report covers the health hazards associated with living close to the mine, as well as enumerating the human rights abuses caused by mine security. The report also recounts the history of the mine’s agreements with the local community, revealing a pattern of neglect of the community’s free, prior and informed consent at nearly every stage of the mine’s development.

    This report follows investigations and reports published by Amnesty International, Harvard Law, Human Rights Watch, and the Norwegian Government all detailing the dangerous conditions near the Porgera mine. However, this report stands out as a comprehensive look at the history of the Porgera mine, from the perspective of the landowners who have led negotiations with the company.

    download report here: https://www.porgeraalliance.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Urgent-Resettlement-Porgera-web.pdf

    for background, see:

    Norwegian Pension Fund Full Report on Divestment Decision: http://www.protestbarrick.net/downloads/recommendation_barrick.pdf
    Harvard Law Report on Porgera: http://www.reports-and-materials.org/Harvard-testimony-re-Porgera-Main.pdf
    Amnesty International Report on Forced Evictions: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA34/001/2010/en/2a498f9d-39f7-47df-b5eb-5eaf586fc472/asa340012010eng.pdf
    Human Rights Watch report confirming gang rapes by Barrick Security Forces:     http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/png0211webwcover.pdf

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  • Customary Land Rights in Papua New Guinea loses to Mining Rights in National Court Decision

    Landowners appeal to United Nations for support

    A recent landmark decision of the National Court that gives Porgera Joint Venture Company exclusive rights of occupancy to its Special Mining Lease (SML) could affect thousands of landowners living in major resource development project areas throughout the country. Meanwhile, landowners from Porgera have traveled to the United Nations to advocate for the humane resettlement of the people still living within the SML.
    (more…)

  • Human Rights Report Confirms Rapes by Security Guards at Barrick Mine in Papua New Guinea

    see: http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/human-rights-report-confirms-rapes-security-guards-barrick-mine-papua-new-guinea

    Ottawa) A report released today by Human Rights Watch confirms allegations of gang rapes and other human rights abuses by security guards of Barrick Gold“™s Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This important report represents but the latest attempt to raise public awareness about these long standing abuses at the mine. Until now, Barrick and the personnel of the PJV mine have responded to numerous credible attempts to alert the company to the abuses of its security personnel with denial and, frequently, by attempting to discredit those who raised the issues.

    “We already alerted Barrick in 2005 to serial killings being perpetrated by PJV”™s security guards before Barrick took over the mine from Placer Dome” says Jethro Tulin of Akali Tange Association, a local human rights group. “We sent Vince Borg and Grey Wilkinson of Barrick Gold a letter and deposited our report called “˜The Killing Fields of Porgera Joint Venture”™ in the office in Port Moresby so that Barrick would know what was going on.” Pressure by members of Akali Tange Association and Canadian media attention, among others, contributed to an investigation by the PNG government of the alleged killings in 2006, but that report has never been released.

    Since 2008, Jethro Tulin has been travelling to Canada yearly to speak in front of Barrick”™s board of directors and shareholders at the company”™s annual general meeting. At these meetings Mr. Tulin has consistently raised the alleged killings and rapes by the mine”™s security guards, only to hear Barrick”™s directors assure shareholders that these allegations are false. Mr. Tulin has been accompanied in Canada by Mr. Mark Ekepa, the chairman of the Porgera Landowners Association for landowners living within the mine”™s lease area. Mr Ekepa too has repeatedly challenged the local mine management and Barrick Gold to acknowledge abuses perpetrated by the mine”™s security forces and take action on behalf of victims. Both men have met with senior Barrick executives in Toronto on two occasions.

    In response to a letter in May 2008 from Mr. Ekepa to Barrick”™s then-President and CEO Greg Wilkins, the Porgera mine manager responded to Mr. Ekepa saying, “we found your public allegations of our employees “˜gang raping”™ Porgera Land Owners”™ women to be most distasteful, to say the least, as you know these allegations to be untrue.”

    “I have done what I could for many years to raise the abuses by the mine”™s security forces with Barrick Gold executives, shareholders, and Canadian civil servants and members of parliament and my own government officials,” says Mark Ekepa, “As recently as June 5th 2010 I wrote to the mine manager about the rapes of three young girls by PJV engaged members of mobile squads.”

    While Barrick denounced allegations by local Porgeran leaders, the company also declined to investigate the activities of its security forces, even in the face of a three year investigation into the alleged killings and rapes by senior researchers from human rights institutions at Harvard and New York Universities. These researchers testified about their findings before a Canadian parliamentary committee in 2009 and 2010, and filed a substantial report in 2009.

    “Barrick has chosen for many years to ignore the urgent warnings the company has received in both written and verbal form about serious human rights problems associated with its security forces at the Porgera mine,” says Catherine Coumans of MiningWatch Canada. “This new report by Human Rights Watch appears to have finally moved Barrick to take some actions that may prevent abuses in the future.  We hope that Barrick is now also prepared to consider reparations for people who have been harmed by its security guards and will be more open to dealing with other environmental and human rights concerns at the Porgera mine.”

    Coumans further notes, “The Canadian government has also ignored information it has received about the human rights and environmental concerns at Barrick”™s operations in PNG. Porgerans have met with civil servants of CIDA, Foreign Affairs, and Trade a number of times starting in 2008 and raised these issues directly with them. Nonetheless, in 2010 CIDA provided $158,241 for a Barrick reforestation project in Peru, with more payments to come. With the defeat of Bill C-300 the Canadian government can continue to ignore complaints about human rights abuses and reward tax payer dollars to projects at the mine sites of Canadian companies against whom serious accusations have been made.”

    – 30 –

    For more information contact:
    Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada, catherine(at)miningwatch.ca tel: 613-569-3439
    Jethro Tulin, Akali Tange Associaiton, Papua New Guinea, jctulin(at)gmail.com tel: 675 72817336
    Mark Ekepa, Porgera Landowners Association, Papua New Guinea, emarktony(at)gmail.com tel: 675 71234467

    For a copy of the Human Rights Watch report see: http://www.hrw.org/node/95776
    For a copy of the Harvard and New York University report see: http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/CanadaParliamentarytestimonyreBarrickPJV/

  • In response to paid Press Statement done by Honorable Philip Kikala, Member for Lagaip

    Response to paid Press Statement done by Honorable Philip Kikala, Member for Lagaip ““ Porgera on the Post Courier dated 8th December 2010.

    Surprise but not surprisingly, Mr. Kikala seems to have gone off the track in his attempt to answer numbers of sensitive issues connected with the operation of the Porgera Gold.


    The decision to sale 5% shares in Mineral Resources Enga was decided on pure commercial reasoning by the MRE board. We understand that the Porgera mine is lucrative but we have not seen any dividend benefits over the last 7 years from the shares. Year in-year out”™ cash calls from the major shareholder and the joint venture partnered of the mine has become common practice and, we the Porgera Landowners Association representing about 10 000 people of the Special Mining Lease Area wish not to be seen stuck with 2.5% shares whilst no benefits. Window dressing and waste of time in holding unto the 2.5% equity.

    I understand the nature of the Ok Tedi deal; BHP excited from the Ok Tedi mine free off loading some 63.4% ownership right to settle out of court after class action by the people of the Fly River delta. The PNG government reached a deal with BHP guided by an Act of Parliarament known as the Ok Tedi Act and PNG Sustainable Development Trust set up.

    Apparently, Mr. Kikala was given the mandate in 2007 and whilst being fresh and in form with the ruling NA government, the opportunity was there for him to hold grips on the issues affecting the Porgera mine and the people of Lagaip-Porgera if he was that genuine. The landowners have been struggling with the mining impacts for some time and we cannot continue to hold on to shares that are of no value. I recall that at a public rally in Laiagam in September 2008, Mr. Kikala cited that, Barrick (PNG) Limited was big brother to him and he was smaller brother to Barrick.“ So by way of selling the 5% share to Barrick could mean we are trying to make his big brother even bigger.

    Moving on to the points of MOU Review and Resettlement, I appreciate the call by the local MP but than, his statement gives rise to a very serious question how genuine is he? What really prompted him to make a call at this juncture when the Mining Minister, Honorable John Pundari is providing the leadership and the MOU Review is expected to commence mid January 2011.

    Despite Mr. Kikala is correct in pointing out that landowners are living inside the SML, the issues are not new and his statement was not a surprise call. In numerous petitions to the government, Porgera Landowners Association has repeatedly demanded for the MOU review and a comprehensive resettlement package from the National Government and Barrick PNG Ltd.

    Politicians like Mr. Kikala should not size the opportunity for political convenience. Before he became an MP, Mr. Kikala was Porgera Project Coordinator, Deputy Secretary in Enga, National Planning Secretary and member of the Porgera Investigation Committee in 2006. Mr. Kikala was well acquainted with the issues affecting the landowners and yet he pretended to know nothing. I begin to wonder at one stage Mr. Kikala made a statement in Parliament in May 2010 that, “four Porgera landowner leaders have visited Canada”™s House of Commons and trying to sell fabricated stories.” He even went on the extreme of asking the Foreign Affairs Minister to prosecute the four leaders.

    I was amongst one of the four Porgera leaders who visited Canada between April-May 2010 and raised the issue of MOU Review and Resettlement with Barrick Senior Executives at Headquarters in Toronto and with like-minded Politicians and senior civil servants in Ottawa. Now I find Mr. Kikala”™s statement contradicts him. The four Porgera leaders where not in Canada at that time trying to sell fabricated stories but raise serious issues that are affecting the SML landowners.

    Hence, the issues of MOU Review, Resettlement, and the failed FIFO program at Paiam are all part and puzzle of the Porgera Landowners Association Position paper before the Mining Minister for renegotiation purpose start mid January 2011. For benefit of Mr. Kikala, I suggest he visit this web site; www.porgeraalliance.net.

    Otherwise I appreciate the leadership that has been provided so far by Honorable John Pundari, Minister for Mining within his brief period at the ministry and the initiatives taken to move forward to address issues affecting the SML landowners in Porgera.

    Finally, I ask Mr. Kikala to allocate some funds from the Lagaip-Porgera JDBP to assist the PLOA Land Negotating Committees for the MOU Review. The outcome of the MOU is off course, Rural Development.

    Authorized for Release,

    Mr. Mark Tony Ekepa

    Chairman

    Porgera Landowners Association

  • latest killing and open fire shot out by Barrick private security force

    photo provided by Porgera Landowners Association

    One more unlawful shooting to death of an indigenous landowner at the Porgera Joint Venture Barrick mine site yesterday evening resulted in indigenous landowners confront Barrick.

    Related to the same shooting incident, of relatives of the late victim protest at the mine site Community Affairs Office today at about 12 o”™clock demanding remorse for unlawful shooting and Barrick’s private security guards further discharged live bullets against harmless locals at a public place. Amongst the victims of that second shooting involved Nixon Mangape, the chief land owner and chairman of Porgera Development Authority. According to eye witness, Barrick’s private security police shot at Mr. Mangape while he was in the crowd to control the situation. Mr. Mangape received a bullet wound at his back.

    Porgera Landowners Association claims it”™s not the first shooting and use of live bullets. Numerous complaints are with the PNG government, the UN Human Rights Commission that include investigative reports from various reputable institutions around the globe. Shooting to death of defenseless landowners is serious human rights abuses.  Therefore, the Porgera Landowners Association calls on the PNG government and local NGOs to urgently investigate the shooting and to allow law to take its course at with the police man who are involved with regular police.

    Further details of the report will follow suit.

    The incident also led to confrontation with the local communities and the Manager of Porgera Development Authority at PDA office at Porgera Government Station where Barrick’s private security police were in search of empty bullet shells and images from the scene of crime. The
    Barrick fully armed private police were in pursuit to destroy their evidence. (Attached images of empty shells used and Barricks private police at the mine gate).

    I now call for immediate investigation on the killings and the related incident. The Prime Minister and the Mining Minister must immediately take ownership of the issue because they have failed to resettle the (SML) Special Mining lease landowners.

    —————————–
    Mark Tony Ekepa
    Chairman – PLOA

  • Three girls raped at Porgera Mine site

    photo of children in tailings waste near Barrick's Porgera mine in PNG. (note: this is not a photo of the girls who were raped).

    We have received a complaint that three young girls at the age around 14 years were taken into PJV Yoko 2 camp on the 18th June 2010 and raped by PJV engaged police mobile squads.

    Also the victims have reported the matter at the Paiam Police Station on the 19th June 2010 OB no#6288/10 with full details of the transporting vehicle.

    Forced rape and violation against woman is serious crime in PNG and such unethical behaviours desire urgent investigation. We at ATA condemn the actions with term strongest possible terms and call for full investigation and appropriate actions taken with law.

    read full Akali Tange Association Statement.
    read statement from the Porgera Landowners Association on the rapes.

  • PNG TO PROTEST TO CANADA: Porgerans respond to accusations about their advocacy abroad

    At the outset, we write to establish our facts surrounding the sudden outburst by Member for Lagaip Porgera Hon. Philip Kikala in Parliament questioning about the rights of four Porgera villagers recent visit to Canada.

    The four villagers from Porgera where not there in Canada, trying to sell fabricated stories against Barrick Gold of Canada. We have outstanding issues that needed immediate attention and needs to be addressed by Barrick gold, the 95% owner of the Porgera Joint Venture mine in Porgera.

    The allegations against Barrick about killings, rapes, forced evictions are not framed allegations to make easy money. The Government of Papua New Guinea and Barrick are respectively blamed for these crimes of gross human rights violations and the matter has been on the government and Barricks table for sometime. Untied Nations Human Rights Commission has full knowledge of the human rights abuses and closely monitoring while the UN Special Rarpportuer on Human Rights is investigating the matter.

    In 2004 for the first time Enga Governer Hon. Peter Ipatas raised the issue of killing armless villagers by Barrick security guards at the floor of parliament and some two years after, the current Foreign Minister brought the same issue up.

    In 2006 the Government of Papua New Guinea did conducted an investigation headed by Dr. John Luluaki from University of Papua New Guinea, and Hon. Philip Kikala was the deputy chairman of that committee. That Porgera Investigation Committee Report has never been made public or tabled in Parliament. In 2009 the Government of Norway divested 230 million Canadian dollars after finding Barrick”™s discharge of tailings direct into the environment was irreversible to damages caused at the Porgera mine site. On 7th April 2010 the National Court in Wabag convicted a Barrick security guard for murder and dismissed the convict”™s grounds of self-defense.

    From that conviction the court never found the usual Barrick response to allegations of killings at the Porgera mine site was on self defense or any excuse for that matter. What about more than 32 killings suppose law had taken its course?

    A group of experts from University of Harvard USA, New York State University USA and University of Alaska have testified before the Canadian House of Commons Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs about the human rights abuses and environmental violation at the Porgera mine site. These groups of people from reputable institutions in North America conducted their independent investigation on our request and not otherwise claimed by Hon. Kikala. At all times, Hon. Kikala knew well and his superise out burst desires a lot of explanation to the people.

    In addition to these investigated testimonies and court rulings, the Porgera Landowners Association presented a petition to the National Government of Papua New Guinea last September 2009 raising the same issues of resettlement and human rights abuses. The government has allowed the petition to lay flat since.

    Based on the established facts, Barrick must not continue to deny and use Hon. Kikala while the PNG government must not play a cheap politics with tread of protest note and prosecute villagers who speak out.

    The issue of resettlement and human rights abuses is over-due and needs to be urgently addressed. The impacts from the mine operation over 20 years is so enormous that these issues need to be adequately dealt with rather than, play with power and money as the yard stick to take cover. Lives of people are at steak as a result of bad mining practices and far below best international standards.

    Barrick and PNG government cannot take cover under law and order problems to force evict landowners who otherwise deserved to be resettled. Amnesty International did a great job to produce a report after thorough investigation and that report compels the government and Barrick act. Yet, Barrick and the government are seen to be above the law with defying of a National Court Order on force evictions. The court orders Barrick not to accommodate and fid state security personnel”™s. The state to provide relief with food, shelter etc. It”™s over a year and the order is not being honored.

    Thus we appreciate the rights to foreign investors doing business in extractive industries in remote setting through out the country and on the other hand, companies like Barrick must respect the rules of host communities and uphold international best practice standard as preached to be practiced in Porgera but not otherwise.

    The Porgera delegations travel to Canada was not an easy right as claimed by the Hon. Member. The delegation spoke at various forums including with members of House of Commons speaking out the truth about the continuous human rights and environmental rights violations by one of Canadian company”™s. These issue a serious and needs immediate attention being the reason behind the four villagers in Canada and not trying to squeeze some easy money out of Barrick with fabricated stories.

    It is now a challenge to the current PNG government to due diligently addresses the issues at Porgera once and for all with the stakeholders. The parliament that Hon. Kikala stood up and spoke and for the Foreign Minister to write protest note is for the people and by the people. The very grassroots people who mandate that parliament are affected, not the company Hon. Kikala is trying to protect?

    Mark Tony Ekepa

    Chairman

    Cc: NBC
    Cc: ABC
    Cc: EMTV
    Cc: Post Courier
    Cc: The National
    Cc: The Toronto Star, Canada
    Cc: The Mail and Globe, Ottawa Canada
    Cc: The Sydney Morning Herald

  • Indigenous Leaders from Papua New Guinea Accuse Barrick Gold of Abuses

    Four members of the Ipili tribe of Porgera in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have travelled to Canada to demand that Barrick Gold address serious human rights abuses and environmental destruction related to Barrick’s Porgera Joint Venture gold mine. Two of the Ipili are landowners and also part-owners of the Porgera Joint Venture mine.

    Long-standing allegations of killings and rapes of civilians by security forces at Barrick’s PNG mine have been confirmed recently by the findings of a team of investigators from Harvard University who reported to Canadian Parliamentarians in 2009. “We have been trying to raise awareness of these killings and rapes by Barrick’s security forces for many years,” said Jethro Tulin of the Akali Tange Association, a local grassroots human rights organization. “Finally our allegations are being confirmed but Barrick is not supporting our calls for an investigation of these killings nor offering compensation to the families of those who have been killed or raped.”

    Last year Barrick supported a massive military action in villages inside Barrick’s mine lease area. This military crack-down led to the forcible eviction of many citizens and the burning down of some 300 of their homes. “My house was burned down,” said Mark Ekepa, chairman of the Porgera Landowners Association and part-owner of the mine. “Barrick was complicit in the actions of the police and military and should be actively calling for an investigation as Amnesty International has recommended in its report of the house burnings.”

    In 2009, the Norwegian Government divested its Pension Fund of shares in Barrick Gold as a result of findings by the fund of massive environmental damage downstream from the mine caused by the dumping of toxic mine waste into the local 800-kilometre long river system. “Our river system has been severely contaminated and is no longer safe for drinking water or for harvesting food,” said Jeffery Simon, a member of the Akali Tange Association. “This is causing a lot of hardship for villagers who rely on the rivers.”

    Contamination of local water sources, lack of available land for food production, and unsafe living conditions of villagers living within the mine lease area have all become untenable. “We have made it clear to Barrick many times, most recently in our meeting with Barrick last week in Toronto, that all residents in the mine lease area must be resettled according to international standards,” said Anga Atalu, one of the landowners living  in the mine lease area, “but Barrick is refusing our request.”

    “The situation at the Porgera Joint Venture Mine  in terms of environmental destruction and human rights abuses in which Barrick is alleged to be complicit is only possible because the Papua New Guinea government is weak and not doing its job to protect its citizens and its environment” said Catherine Coumans of MiningWatch Canada. “This is a common problem in developing countries and the effective impunity of Canadian companies in these situations can only be addressed by legislation, like Bill C-300, that would allow these citizens of Papua New Guinea to file a complaint and seek sanction in Canada for the abuses they are suffering.”

    Contacts:

    Mark Ekepa, Chairman, Porgera Landowners Association: emarktony(at)gmail.com
    Jethro Tulin, Executive Officer, Akali Tange Association: jctulin(at)gmail.com (647) 669-4529 (cell)
    Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada: catherine(at)miningwatch.ca (613) 569-3439

  • Impacted Communities Confront Barrick Gold at Annual General Meeting

    Indigenous representatives from Papua New Guinea and Chile traveled to Canada this week to speak at Barrick Gold’s annual shareholders meeting.

    At Barrick’s Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea, complaints include house burnings, forced displacement, and a food security crisis caused by the mine’s expanding waste dumps. At Barrick’s Pascua Lama project on the border of Chile and Argentina, Barrick failed to consult the Diaguita Huascoaltinos Indigenous community, who hold title to the land of the proposed mine, as well as other areas that Barrick is exploring. (more…)