But Pacific Mining CEO Tom Shrake dismisses concerns of long-term environmental damage as "preposterous." On his conference call with investors he also accused NGO's of employing "masked armed gunmen" to "chop down trees planted in our reforestation program." His lawyer McCrum also took shots at the Catholic Church's opposition to the company's mine, as well as its criticism of free trade agreements like CAFTA. He said that the church "has allowed itself to be influenced by NGO's," has segments that are "almost radically left-leaning," and that members of the church opposed to mining are not "acting consistent with Catholic doctrine."
Carlos Peraza Alarcón, a member of Comunidades Unidas, calls mining projects like Pacific Rim's El Dorado mine a "project of death."
"These projects, if played out as planned, will destroy most of our resources just to satisfy the interest of a small group of people," said Alarcón.
Meanwhile, this conflict presents a President Obama with an opportunity to show Latin America that he has the "audacity" to stand up to corporate power, and in the process begin to repair relations with the people of the region while forging a path to the creation of fair trade agreements. Salvadorans, Americans and the rest of the hemisphere will have to wait until after Jan. 20 to see if hope actually translates into change on this issue.
This article was originally published at www.UpsideDownWorld.org.
For more information visit:
U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities
CISPES
Citizens Trade Campaign
Mining Watch Canada
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