Kelly Patterson, The Ottawa Citizen
Sunday, June 04, 2006
The Ipili tribe vaulted out of the Stone Age in a generation, propelled
partly by a Canadian mining company that gave them health care, housing, roads and more in return for the gold on their land. But 17 years after the deal was made, the open-pit mine has become a battleground as clashes between security forces and small-scale miners have left at least 8 dead and hundreds injured ‘The idea that compensation is a one-off affair for the Ipili completely misses the point of what compensation is about in Ipili society.’A sprawling Canadian mine in Papua New Guinea has become a war zone, with hundreds of villagers facing off against more than 450 security guards and police in a bloody battle over the gold that lies on the slopes of the
Porgera Valley.
Security forces have killed 14 people and injured hundreds of others
over the past 10 years, according to a group that says it represents about 5,700 people in the area.
The Akali Tange Association, or ATA, accuses the mine’s Canadian
owners, Placer Dome Niugini, of turning a blind eye to alleged abuses by police and guards.
Placer Dome was granted a licence “to dig for gold and not … the
licence to shoot to kill,” says ATA.
The association is demanding more than $370 million in compensation
from the mine, and another $5.5 million from the national government of Papua New Guinea, which lies northeast of Australia, for failing to protect its citizens.
Placer Dome Niugini, which became a subsidiary of Toronto-based Barrick
Gold Corp. in January, vehemently denies any allegations of abuse. (more…)
