Mining firm pays compensation to Peruvian mine protesters

Montericco Metals denies liability for 2005 confrontation in which 33 farmers claim they were shot at and torture by police A mining company registered in the UK has paid compensation to 33 Peruvians who claimed they were shot at, beaten and tortured by police during a protest by farmers over indigenous rights. Montericco Metals agreed to make payments as part of a settlement deal with the London law firm Leigh Day & Co but did not admit liability for the violent confrontations in August 2005 which left one man dead. The row in the Peruvian province of Piura erupted after farmers objected to the mine, fearing that it would pollute the surrounding cloud forests, deplete the rivers and damage farmlands. Claiming that a consultation process had been bypassed, a group of protesters marched to the mine to find police waiting for them. They claimed they were detained, hooded with hands tied behind their backs, beaten with sticks and whipped. Two protesters were shot in their legs, one man lost an eye to gunshot wounds and a farmer called Melanio Garcia, 41, suffered a fatal gunshot wound. Lawyers for the farmers alleged that some of the mine employees and security contractors participated in the mistreatment. Montericco disputed the allegations. The case had been due to come to trial at the high court in London this October. A statement issued by Leigh Day & Co said: “We have seen no evidence to suggest the company complained about the police conduct or investigated the protesters’ mistreatment. “The case appears to highlight conflicts in Peru and elsewhere between indigenous communities and multinational mining companies. This protest was triggered by the local communities’ belief that their concerns regarding the mine’s potential environmental impact were being ignored.” Richard Meeran, the claimants’ solicitor, said: “Our clients suffered deplorable mistreatment and were denied justice in Peru. This was an extremely costly exercise for Montericco and constitutes a salutary lesson to multinationals in developing countries.” The mining firm was bought by a Chinese consortium in 2007, but is still incorporated in London. The Guardian contacted Monterrico’s corporate headquarters in Hong Kong and the head office of their Peruvian subsidiary in Lima, Rio Blanco Copper SA, for comment. No response had been received by the time of publication. Peru Mining Farming Indigenous peoples Protest Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 20, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.