Pictures from the protest of Goldcorp's support for the military coup in Honduras

I took these pictures today at a protest of Goldcorp's support of the military coup in Honduras, in front of their head office at 666 Burrard. For more info, check out Rights Action. For broader human rights documentation on Honduras, also see amnesty.org or hrw.org.

Protest the Honduran military coup at Goldcorp's Vancouver office

No to the Coup!

The Canadian government must demand the return of President Zelaya and refuse to recognize the military regime! Canadian mining companies out of Honduras! Reparations for the communities in the Siria Valley!

Protest Picket at Goldcorp's head office:
666 Burrard Street
Thursday July 23 - 12pm
Bring your banners!

Join us in our continued efforts to denounce the coup!

Since the June 28 removal of the president of Honduras, grassroots solidarity organizations throughout the world have protested the overthrow of Honduran democracy. Meanwhile, the Canadian government and mining companies are complicit in the military coup in Honduras because of their continued silence and at times direct participation in supporting the defacto regime lead by Roberto Micheletti.

Goldcorp, a Vancouver based mining giant, operated the controversial cyanide leaching, open pit "San Martin" gold mine in the department of Francisco Morazón in Honduras until 2008. Today, many residents of the Siria Valley, where the mine is located, are sick and unable to work because of illnesses linked to Goldcorp's operations. The company still has a skeleton crew of employees in the country, who according to community members were bussed to pro-coup rallies sponsored by the corporate backed "Movement for Peace and Democracy."

It's a lie that Goldcorp doesn't get involved in politics: in Guatemala, they launched a constitutional challenge against Indigenous People who organized to say NO to the company's Marlin mine, and in Argentina, Goldcorp has supported legal actions against tax increases.

The coup in Honduras suits the interests of Canadian mining companies. Michelletti's military regime promises more profits for the corporate sector, and lower wages and less rights for workers.

<http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/1670>

Goldcorp supports military coup in Honduras

Here's an update from Rights Action about Goldcorp's support of the military coup in Honduras. The whole alert follows:

July 8, 2009

GOLDCORP INC. (ENTREMARES) BUSES WORKERS TO PRO-COUP MARCHES

FOR INFORMATION FROM HONDURAS, CONTACT: Grahame Russell (Rights Action co-director):info@rightsaction.org, [504] 9630-9507 & 9507-3835

Yesterday, tens of thousands of pro-democracy Hondurans again marched pacifically, demanding the return of President Zelaya and an end to this illegal regime. Amongst other destinations, the march passed by COHEP (Honduran Council of Private Enterprise) to denounce the role of the elite business sector in the coup.

OF NOTE: the march was led by Honduran First Lady Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, who came out of hiding for the first time since soldiers burst into the presidential home, on the morning of June 28, fired off bullets, and forced President Zelaya out of the house and country, at gun-point, in his pijamas.

OF NOTE: the U.S. government, yesterday, formally ended the diplomatic recognition and privileges of Honduran ambassador to the United States, Roberto Flores Bermudez. After the military coup of June 28, Bermudez defended the coup regime. The U.S. government has said they will only recognize an Ambassador named by President Zelaya.

TODAY: more pro-democracy marches are planned.
* * * * * * *
GOLDCORP WORKERS BUSSED TO PRO-COUP MARCHES
Since the June 28 coup, the private sector - grouped in an umbrella group the "Movement of Peace and Democracy" - has been organizing pro-coup marches. Some Hondurans have recently given public information that buses are coming into poorer neighborhoods and that Movement organizers are paying people between 100 and 200 lempiras ($5 - $10) to participate in the pro-coup rallies.

Since 2003, Rights Action has been involved in work to document and denounce the environmental and health harms and human rights violations being caused by Goldcorp Inc' open pit, cyanide leeching "San Martin" mine, in the Siria Valley, department of Francisco Morazan, an hour and a half north of Tegucigalpa.

From our partner group, the Committee for the Defense of the Environment in the Siria Valley, Rights Action has learned that Entremares employees (Entremares being Goldcorp’s wholly owned subsidiary) from the “San Martin” mine have been taken, on a number of occasions since the June 28 coup, to participate in pro-coup regime marches in Tegucigalpa organized by the “Movement for Peace and Democracy”. Goldcorp (Entremares) pays for the transportation and at least one meal for the workers to attend.
More information to come ...
* * * * * * *
WHAT TO DO
In addition to the “demand” list, below, Canadians should denounce Goldcorp’s actual support of the illegal military coup to their members of parliament and media.

FUNDS ARE NEEDED FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN HONDURAS
Rights Action staff in Honduras are providing emergency relief funds, every day, to community development, campesino, indigenous and human rights organizations for: food and shelter, transportation and communication costs, urgent action outreach and human rights accompaniment work.

Make tax deductible donations to Rights Action and mail to:
UNITED STATES: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
CANADA: 552-351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
CREDIT-CARD DONATIONS:http://rightsaction.org/contributions.htm

AMERICANS AND CANADIANS SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN MEDIA, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, SENATORS & MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, TO DEMAND:

• unequivocal denunciation of the military coup
• no recognition of this military coup and the ‘de facto’ government of Roberto Michelletti and the unconditional return of the constitutional government
• increasing economic and military sanctions against the coup regime
• respect for safety and human rights of all Hondurans
• the application of international and national justice the coup plotters, and
• reparations for the illegal actions and rights violations committed during this illegal coup

Pictures from the tragic events in Hnduras.

Please see photojournalist James Rodriguez's photo essay an the tragic events that occurred in Honduras yesterday when President Zelaya tried to land.

Amnesty: Oil industry has brought poverty and pollution to Niger Delta

Amnesty International has recently released a report documenting environmental damage and poverty brought to Nigeria by the oil industry. They also document how the government is not holding these companies to account.

Watch Blood Dimaond movie Sunday night.

If you are concerned about human rights, and haven't yet seen the 2006 movie Blood Diamond with Leonardo Dicaprio. CBC is showing it tomorrow (Sunday) at 9:00 PM. Set in Sierra Leone, it does a pretty good job of examining the ethical issue of diamonds that are extracted to fund conflicts, especially in Africa, while remaining entertaining and action-packed.