Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Last Saturday, I watched a woman die. It was not something I set out to do, and had I known what I was going to see, I probably would have opted not to watch. But I was checking FaceBook updates as usual, and clicked on a link posted by a friend, urging me to "watch before the video was deleted". I hadn’t scrolled the entire post into view; had I done so, I would have seen his warning that

Last Saturday, I watched a woman die. It was not something I set out to do, and had I known what I was going to see, I probably would have opted not to watch. But I was checking FaceBook updates as usual, and clicked on a link posted by a

E-mail from Students for a Free Tibet that was forwarded to me:

Join Tibetans and supporters in Vancouver, BC June 24th and say NO! to Canadian mining in Tibet.

In the past few months, Continental Minerals has received over 1,200 faxes from Canadians and faced protests in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and New York City http://www.stopminingtibet.com/> calling on them to pull out of Tibet. Now as they hold their Annual General Meeting with shareholders and executives in Vancouver BC, join Tibetans and supporters in saying NO! to Canadian mining in Tibet.

After five years of exploratory drilling, if Continental Minerals is successful in starting production, this would mean:

1) Potentially irreversible environmental damage to Tibet’s fragile ecosystem.

2) Human rights violations and forced displacement, as Tibetans have no say whether mining occurs or not.

3) A dangerous precedent for foreign mining exploitation of stolen Tibetan land. Continental would be the first producing foreign mine in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

JUNE 24: TELL CONTINENTAL MINERALS AND ITS SHAREHOLDERS TO STOP MINING TIBET!
Action: Continental Minerals’ Annual General Meeting: Protest Continental Minerals‚ operations in Tibet
Time: 1pm to 4pm, Wednesday June 24
Location: Outside the AGM of Continental Minerals
Metropolitan Hotel, 645 Howe Street, Vancouver

Students for a Free Tibet (www.sftcanada.orghttp://www.sftcanada.org/> ) Contact: Tsering Lama 647-637-1810
Canada Tibet Committee (www.tibet.ca http://www.tibet.ca/> ) Contact: Mati Bernabei 778-999-4578

BACKGROUND

Under Chinese government occupation, Tibetan people have no opportunity for free, prior, and informed consent, and receive little if any benefit from these operations. All mining operations in Tibet take place in collusion with the Chinese government, and corporate taxes and fees are paid to the Chinese government. Environmental concerns are extreme. In the race to exploit Tibetan mineral resources, Tibetan people and the environment have been disregarded.

Canadian corporations are part of the problem. Corporations expect to benefit financially from these operations, as does the Chinese government, but the local Tibetan people will reap a substantial net loss to their way of life. Tibetans who dare to protest mining projects do so knowing that they risk arrest, imprisonment, torture, and death. Since March 2008, as a result of the severe and ongoing Chinese government crackdowns against protests, thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned or disappeared. Tibet remains a conflict zone, with armed forces patrolling towns and monasteries. Foreign journalists continue to be denied access to Tibetan areas.

Despite the fact that a climate of fear and oppression persists in Tibet, seven Canadian companies are actively mining in Tibetan regions, or are poised to begin digging soon. Five of those companies have head offices in Vancouver (Continental Minerals/Hunter Dickinson, Eldorado Gold Corp, Maxy Gold Corp, Silvercorp Metals Inc. and Sterling Group Ventures Inc.).

Under Chinese government law, Canadian mining companies are under no legal obligation to take Tibetan views, rights, traditions, or long-term welfare into account. Canada Tibet Committee and Students for a Free Tibet are deeply disappointed that, rather than adhering to Canadian legal and ethical standards, and serving as a positive example of Corporate Social Responsibility, the Canadian mining companies operating in Tibet are effectively cashing in on the fact that Tibetan people are severely oppressed.

For more information on the issues, refer to:www.stopminingtibet.com http://www.stopminingtibet.com/>

—
Tsering Lama
National Director
Students for a Free Tibet Canada
109 -358 Dufferin Street
Toronto, ON M6K 1Z8
p.647.722.2350
f.647.722.8410

E-mail from Students for a Free Tibet that was forwarded to me: Join Tibetans and supporters in Vancouver, BC June 24th and say NO! to Canadian mining in Tibet. In the past few months, Continental Minerals has received over 1,200 faxes from Canadians and faced protests in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto

For those of you in the Toronto area — message I received from the Facebook group Stop the Canada-Colombia Trade Agreement: On Saturday, June 27th, the Colombian Action Solidarity Alliance, CASA, will be picketing outside the Toronto office of Liberal MP Mario Silva and providing information to local residents. CASA

For those of you in the Toronto area — message I received from the Facebook group Stop the Canada-Colombia Trade Agreement:

On Saturday, June 27th, the Colombian Action Solidarity Alliance, CASA, will be picketing outside the Toronto office of Liberal MP Mario Silva and providing information to local residents. CASA is asking Mr. Silva and the Federal Liberal Party to oppose Bill C-23 and demand that an independent comprehensive Human Rights Impact Assessment, HRIA, be performed and any concerns arising from such an assessment be satisfactorily addressed, before any further consideration of an FTA between Canada and Colombia occurs.

Location: Mario Silva’s Office – 1674 St Clair Ave W, Toronto
Time: Saturday, June 27th, 11:00 a.m.
Contact: jphpbarber@hotmail.com

Implementation of the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement, FTA, has been stalled but not defeated. Both the NDP and Bloc Parties have officially opposed the FTA while the Liberal Party appears to be undecided at this point. Key Liberal Party members such as Party Leader Michael Ignatieff and Trade Critic Scott Brison have rejected calls to oppose the FTA, while other Liberal Party members, largely due to public pressure expressed through extensive letter writing campaigns, have supported the call for an independent Human Rights Impact Assessment prior to implementation of the FTA.

Human rights violations continue to be rampant in Colombia. Almost 500 workers have been murdered since President Uribe came to power in 2002. The situation is not improving. In 2008, extrajudicial executions, forced displacement, disappearances and killings of trade unionists all increased over 2007. The Colombian state has been shown to be closely tied with these violations. The United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay reported in November 2008 that Colombia’s security forces are engaged in “widespread and systematic” killings of civilians that could constitute crimes against humanity. There is growing evidence of ties between paramilitary groups and the Colombian government – 20% of Congress is currently under investigation for collaboration with paramilitaries. Implementing an FTA under these conditions will only serve to provide legitimacy to the current regime of human rights violations and actually serve to worsen the situation.

For further information on Colombia and the FTA please see;
http://www.ccic.ca/e/docs/making_a_bad_situation_worse_long_version.pdfhttp://www.canadianlabour.ca/sites/clc/files/shared/tenreasonsEnfinal.pdf
http://www.killingtrain.com/node/701
http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/colombia/demobilization/index.html

I have to express my respect and appreciation when a news source has the minerals to express an alternative, truthful view.

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As our headlines have turned to the turmoil in Iran over concerns about election fraud and the resulting protests and violent action to suppress the dissent, I have watched with increasing concern the distress of my neighbour, who is Iranian. Normally very quiet on FaceBook, she was suddenly posting frequently

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