Da' cei din Belene n-au tinut si ei vreun referendum?
On 7/12/06, TERRA
Mileniul III <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
11 July 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria: opposition against Canadian Euromax
Resourcesculminates
Yesterday the village of
Popintsi held a referendum on the exploration and
extraction of gold on
the near-by hill of Petelovoto: 97% of local people
voted against the
project of the Canadian company Euromax Resources (called
Omax before
July 2004 and registered in Bulgaria as Martern Ltd.) and
against
possible future extraction of precious metals by cyanide
leaching.
The political will for this referendum emerged last week
when the tension
between the local people and the company claimed its
first victim: Angel
Daskalov, one of the locals who was barricading the
road against the
company's machinery, was found in the forest stabbed
three times around the
heart. Fortunately, emergency surgery saved his
life and he is now
recovering.
The incident finally drew the
attention of Bulgarian media and politicians:
local MPs and the
President of the Republic visited the mountain village and
the road camp
of the protesters during the weekend. The people of Popintsi
are now
expecting the case to reach a resolution, which would allow them to
close the road camp and return to their normal lives.
The village
of Popintsi, situated in central Bulgaria, became famous for
its
opposition to the exploration project of the Canadian Euromax
Resources. The
Petelovo hill above the village was explored extensively
by the state company
for geological explorations during communism. In
1986 there was a project for
the extraction of the precious metals
deposit, but since it involved cyanide
leaching, it did not receive
approval by the local people and authorities.
Due to fears concerning
future projects for extraction with cyanides, during
the last two years
the village has resisted the attempts of Euromax Resources
to bring
machinery and carry out exploration on the Petelovoto hill. The
company
tried to put pressure on Bulgarian institutions and looked for a
legal
resolution through the Court. Last week the whole village gathered in a
road camp above the village in expectation for the gendarmerie to clear
the
way for Euromax Resources. Meanwhile the Cyanide-free Bulgaria
coalition of
environmental organisations has sent numerous signals about
the case to the
Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor and to the European
Commission and Parliament.
Several decisions regarding gold
exploration and extraction projects in
Bulgaria have been put on hold for
the last four months. Canadian gold
companies are complaining that
bureaucratic and corrupt institutions are
slowing down their projects.
Environmental groups are insisting on stricter
implementation of
environmental legislation and on wider public dialogue
regarding the
sustainable management of the precious underground resources of
the
country.
=====================
Fidanka Bacheva
Coordinator for
Southeastern Europe
CEE Bankwatch Network
----------
Address:
c/o Za Zemiata (For the Earth)
P.O. Box 975
Sofia
1000, Bulgaria
t/f: +359 2 943 11 23
www.bankwatch.org
