Romania’s Roşia Montana mining threatens environment

By Diana Toma and Marc Wells:

The interests behind Romania’s Roşia Montana project

16 September 2011

After the wave of privatizations that began amid the collapse of the Stalinist regimes of eastern Europe in 1989—in which state companies were auctioned off to international capital, with devastating social consequences and leaving thousands of workers unemployed—the Romanian government is considering a second wave of large-scale privatizations of remaining state-owned enterprises.

A major example of this socially destructive process is the Roşia Montana gold mining project. From the moment the project’s act of incorporation was signed 12 years ago, it was designed as a source of super-profits for a handful of big investors. The project—initiated by a member of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), Radu Berceanu—was also used by the ruling PDL as part of its electoral campaign.

The Roşia Montana project entails the exploitation of Europe’s largest gold mine in the Apuseni Mountains (Western Romania), from which 300 tons of gold and 1600 tons of silver would be extracted. Both the media and the Romanian state—which has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Roşia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC)—support the project. It has been the focus of extensive controversy and local opposition. …

The main argument presented by investors and politicians for the project is that it will create jobs and would improve the living standards of people by training them in new professions. This is a lie to conceal the brutal exploitation entailed in the project, which aims to exploit precisely the appalling social conditions facing the local population.

Gabriel Resources plans to acquire all properties in the exploitation area and displace residents. Initial projections assess that nearly 2,000 people will be moved, and nearly 1,000 homes demolished. Residents are to be moved to a location without water resources and whose land is too degraded for agriculture. Moreover, the jobs created will pay a pittance and offer grossly inadequate benefits, if any. After the mine ceases to operate, 16 years from now, the area will be abandoned, with even more workers left unemployed.

Mining in Romania was a thriving industry before privatization began in 1989, employing nearly half a million people. Since then, over 100 mines have been shut. The lifting of regulations has led to a series of deadly accidents. This February five workers died in an explosion at the Uricani mine, while 13 died in November 2008 at the Petrila mine in the Jiu Valley.

Another likely consequence of the project is environmental damage and destruction of historic and archeological Roman and pre-Roman sites. The methods applied in the preparation of the Roşia Montana mining project violate already inadequate international standards, like the Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment. They contradict basic standards of the European Convention of Human Rights through the forced resettlement of the citizens and the Berlin Convention, which bans the use of cyanide in the mining process in the EU.

The mining technique to be used to extract gold involves treating the milled ore with sodium cyanide solution. It is a well-established fact that cyanide spills seriously endanger the environment and can have long-term effects on workers’ health. Alternatives such as cyanide-to-cyanate conversion, starch and sulfur dioxide reduce risks but are opposed by corporations as a burden on profits.

Gold mines using cyanidation have had a series of devastating accidents in recent years, such as in the US (Colorado, 1993), Guyana (1995), Kirghizstan (1998) and also Romania (2000). One of the worst environmental accidents in European history—dubbed the worst disaster since Chernobyl—took place in Baia Mare, Northern Romania. The result was a spill of about 100,000 cubic meters of liquid and suspended waste containing about 50 to 100 tons of cyanide, as well as copper and other heavy metals.

Greenpeace activists from across Europe stormed the office of Romania’s environment minister today to protest against a Canadian firm’s plan to build a gold mine in Transylvania: here.

Mining firms that exploit Venezuela’s gold deposits must sell all that they extract to the state under a new law that went into effect on Monday: here.

A South Wales mining community was plunged into horror today after a flood at a nearby colliery ended in tragedy with the death of three miners: here.

Tributes were paid at the weekend to the four men killed in the Gleision Colliery tragedy in South Wales: here.

The National Union of Miners (NUM) called today for tighter health and safety regulations in the mining industry following the tragic death of four workers at a Swansea Valley mine: here.

Investigation launched into deaths of four Welsh miners: here.

Local residents speak on Welsh mining tragedy: here.

Almost two weeks on from the tragic deaths of four miners at the private Gleision colliery in the Swansea Valley, Wales, investigators from the police and the Health and Safety Executive continue to claim it is too early to determine its cause: here. And here.

A miner who was killed in a pit in North Yorkshire after a roof collapsed was named today as Gerry Gibson: here.

UK Coal, the privateer that runs the North Yorkshire pit where a miner died earlier this week, will appear in court tomorrow over the death of another worker at the same colliery two years ago: here.

Saving Romania’s forests – new campaign by @WWF: here.

Romania honours anti-Semite

From Reuters:

20:26 19.08.10

Romania: We will not withdraw coin depicting anti-Semitic leader

U.S. Holocaust Memorial official had asked Romania to withdraw coins bearing the image of Miron Cristea, who had stripped 37 percent of the Jewish population of its citizenship.

Romania’s central bank on Thursday said it would not withdraw from circulation a coin featuring an image of a prime minister who stripped Jews of their citizenship before World War II, stressing it had not intended to send an anti-Semitic message.

The coin depicts the late Patriarch Miron Cristea, who led the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1925 to 1939 and was prime minister from 1938 to 1939. A commission set up by the National Bank to reconsider it said it was minted only as one of five to commemorate Romania’s five patriarchs at the request of Romania’s influential Orthodox Church.

What a lame “defence” of this anti-Semitic propaganda coin by Romanian officialdom. Yeah right … if the German central bank would mint five coins, of Adolf Hitler and of two German heads of state before Hitler and two after Hitler, then “everyone would understand” that would not be rehabilitation of Hitler blah blah blah because not just Hitler was depicted blah blah blah blah.

Radu Ioanid, who runs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum‘s international archives in Washington, had called for the withdrawal of the coin commemorating Cristea. He was not immediately available for comment.

As prime minister, Cristea was responsible for revising the citizenship law, stripping about 225,000 Jews – or 37 percent of the Jewish population – of citizenship.

US museum slams Romania for ‘anti-Semitic’ coin: here.

This is a video about the recent discovery in Romania of a mass grave of Jews, murdered during the second world war on the orders of fascist Romanian army officers.

Racist British National Party Relaunches American Outreach Effort: here.

Beluga sturgeon missing

This is a video about beluga sturgeon and caviar.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Halp! Harald’s gone missing

Tuesday 31 May 2011

A sturgeon called Harald who was part of a Romanian scheme to protect the endangered species has gone missing, researchers said today.

Harald, a beluga sturgeon, had been wired up to a satellite transmitter in 2009.

Scientists hoped that by tracking his movements they could learn the causes of the sturgeons’ decline.

[Beluga] Sturgeons can live for over 100 years and grow up to eight metres in length.

They have been prized for their meat and caviar since Roman times, but their numbers have plummeted since 1989 due to an explosion in illegal poaching following the collapse the Soviet bloc.

Anti-Romanian racism in Belfast

This video is called Belfast racist attacks on Romanian families condemned by McGuinness.

From British daily The Morning Star:

Romanians flee racist attacks

Wednesday 17 June 2009

by Paddy McGuffin

Over 100 Romanians have been forced out of their homes because of the vicious racist attacks

More than 100 Romanians who have been driven out of their homes in Belfast have been offered temporary housing by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Social Development Minister Margaret Richie offered them temporary refuge in vacant student accommodation for a week, while the Housing Executive worked on a more permanent solution.

Dozens of parents and children including a five-day-old baby had fled from their homes in the Lisburn Road area in fear for their lives.

The migrants, who are of Roma origin, took refuge in a nearby church hall on Tuesday night, too terrified to return to their homes.

Sections of a mob of youths had chanted “Combat 18“.

Combat 18 is an international, but primarily England-based, nazi terrorist organization, a tendency within the so called “Blood and Honour” movement. The “18″ is an acronym for AH, Adolf Hitler, their “hero”. Combat 18 has links to sectarian “loyalist” gangs in Northern Ireland.

and given nazi salutes while they threw bricks through windows, while masked men directly threatened the refugees, telling them to get out or they would be shot.

The attack followed an anti-racist demonstration in support of the families by their neighbours on Monday evening, which had also been subjected to abuse and missile-throwing.

Belfast City Church pastor’s wife Trish Morgan said: “We had 113 people here overnight, including small babies and toddlers. The families were bewildered, frightened and just not sure how the situation had reached that stage.”

Politicians of all stripes have roundly condemned the horrific attacks.

Deputy First Minister and Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness, who visited the area today along with DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, said: “I met with numerous families who are genuinely fearful for their lives and those of their families. I held a five-day-old baby girl in my arms today. She was born in Belfast and is now forced to leave her home as a result of attacks by racist, criminal thugs.”

Mr Donaldson said: “The actions of a tiny number of racist thugs in South Belfast is serving only to tarnish the image of Northern Ireland right across the globe.”

However, trade union representatives and equality workers argue that the attacks are indicative of a deepening malaise in Northern Ireland, at least partly fuelled by the main parties’ inaction.

Kevin Doherty of the Irish Committee of Trade Unions told the Star: “we totally condemn what has happened. We are still trying to get to the bottom of these attacks.

“We know the BNP have been trying to get a foothold in Northern Ireland and that they have a call centre in Belfast.

“We are not sure whether the BNP and Combat 18 are behind this attack or whether it is disaffected youths from the area.

“There were a spate of attacks on Polish workers in that area a while ago, but that wasn’t really reported. Around 60 families had to move out as a result.

“There are huge numbers of alienated youth in areas like this which have massive social deprivation and the peace process has passed these people by.

“Stormont has done nothing for these people and groups such as the BNP seek to exploit this.”

Equality Commission chief executive Evelyn Collins said: “The attacks over the past few days which have forced a number of Romanian families to leave their homes are a grim reflection of the persistence of racial prejudice within our society.”

Urgent meetings of community activists were in progress today in an attempt to resolve the issue.

Related articles

• Creationism in Northern Ireland (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Activists march through Belfast for abortion rights (morningstaronline.co.uk)
• Abortion: 45% want a liberalisation of the law in Northern Ireland – Belfast Telegraph (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
• Thousands march against cuts in Belfast (morningstaronline.co.uk)

Extreme Right in Moldovan riots

By Markus Salzmann (translated from the German original by me), on the recent violence in Moldova:

The rightist, anti communist organizations “Remember Moldova” and “Hyde Park” had called for the protest by the Internet and SMS. They have close links to the rich elite in Moldova. On Wednesday, Gabriel Stati, son of the multimillionaire Anatol Stati, was arrested in Kiew. He is suspected of having bankrolled rightist provocateurs of the violence.

Many demonstrators waved Rumanian flags, and shouted: “Long live Greater Rumania“. Some demonstrators shouted: “Bessarabia is Romanian soil” or “Unification with Bessarabia“. The extreme Right Noua Dreapta (New Right) was on the front line of the demonstration with their symbol, the Celtic cross. The right in the Moldovan republic has supported annexation by Rumania for a long time.

The Celtic cross is used as a symbol by neo nazi movements throughout the world, like the NPD in Germany and Nederlandse Volksunie in the Netherlands.

Update: authorized English translation of the Salzmann article: here.

Noua Dreapta are known for their anti gay violence.

Jonathan Steele on Moldova: here.

Censorship in Spain, Romania, France etc. ‘Free speech’ Muslim bashers are silent

From the BBC:

A court in Spain has convicted Manel Fontdevila, cartoons editor of the popular satirical weekly magazine El Jueves, and cartoonist “Guillermo” of “damaging the prestige of the crown“.

Both men received a hefty 3,000-euro (£2,100) fine.

Their offence was to have published a cartoon last July making ribald fun of the heir to the Spanish throne, and of the government’s scheme to encourage women to have more babies by giving mothers a special payment for each new birth.

It was a caricature of Prince Filipe having sex with his wife, Princess Letizia, and telling her: “Do you realise that if you get pregnant, it will be the closest thing to work I’ve done in my life?”

‘More censorship’

The cartoon is funny, but the issue raised by its banning is serious. The episode has worrying echoes of last year’s frenzied and violent protests against the cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad printed in European newspapers.

Indeed, but mainly by the differences between the two cases. The Danish anti Islamic cartoons were done at the orders of the most powerful big media business in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, with a history of sympathy for Mussolini and Hitler and of recent support for banning cartoons making fun of Christians. They attacked a minority, trying to push them even more into a second class people status. While the Spanish cartoon made fun of, officially, the most powerful family in the country.

The BBC article continues:

In the Spanish case, censorship of the magazine has already taken place and will not be reversed. Within hours of the cartoon’s appearance Spanish judges ordered the seizure of all copies of that edition of the magazine.

This is only one of a growing number of recent cases of media censorship or self-censorship in Europe that have arisen thanks to restrictive laws or monopolistic patterns of media ownership.

Some, like the Spanish case, involve attempts to prosecute journalists for violating laws that give special protection to the most powerful and privileged figures in public life.

In Romania, a law has just been passed which exposes journalists to the risk of seven years in jail if they publish video footage taken secretly of politicians taking bribes. It follows a case in which film of a government minister accepting a secret cash payment was shown on TV, leading to his resignation.

In France, a newspaper expose written during this year’s presidential election campaign, revealing that Cecilia Sarkozy – the then wife of winning candidate Nicolas Sarkozy – failed to cast her vote, was removed on orders from the newspaper’s owner, a close associate of the new President.

In Turkey, the infamous Article 301 of the criminal code makes it an offence punishable by jail terms to insult the armed forces or those in positions of high office.

The silence about these cases of censorship by oh so vocal Islam bashers posing as friends of free speech in the Muhammad cartoons case, exposes their hypocrisy. One of those bashers, Ms Ayaan Hirsi Ali (not her real name by the way; see also here), is actually on record as defending the anti democratic privileges of the armed forces in Turkey.

Also on the Spanish case: here.

In Britain, ‘91% of all news stories about Muslims are negative. Quite high, but still somewhat short of government targets‘.

The BBC, Mary Whitehouse, Moral Rearmament, and Hitler: here.

Knowledge of adders helps boy to survive bite

This video is about a European adder (Vipera berus) in N-E Romania.

From The herptile blog:

Snake-mad lad trumps adder

Posted by Miqe on May 20th, 2007

A SNAKE-MAD schoolboy helped docs treat him after he was bitten by a vicious adder – by using his knowledge of the serpent.

Nine-year-old John Parsons from Argyll in Scotland was bitten on the knee by a female adder as he played outside with friends.

He realised he needed hospital treatment and asked his friend’s mum to call an ambulance.

And he was able to tell doctors at hospital the snake’s sex because of its size and distinctive markings.

John became interested in snakes after watching late Australian naturalist Steve Irwin on TV.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said the attack could have been “very serious” if the lad had not known exactly what to do.

The lad was in hospital for four days after the attack.

He suffered bruising and severe swelling and is still using a frame to help him walk.

Doreen Graham of the Scottish SPCA said: “The fact that John is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about snakes and wildlife is very impressive.

“He knew it was a female adder and had the sense to say to someone that he needed treatment.

“Adder bites are rarely deadly, but if he had not got help when he did it could have been very serious.”

And she praised the schoolboy for acknowledging that the snake had been defending itself when it bit him.

She added: “Here is a little chap who can see the wonder of Scottish wildlife which is wonderful.”

Snakes and snakebite in the UK: here.

Paul O’Grady (AKA Lilly Savage) bitten by an adder: here.

Northern death addder in Australia: here.

Floodplain death adders eating toxic frogs: here.

USA: rattlesnake bites little boy.

Timber rattlesnakes: here.

And here.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2010) — Like the canary in the coal mine, the timber rattlesnake may be telling us something about the environment we share: here.

Rattlesnakes and squirrels: here.

Related articles

• Chinese Year of the Snake, English adders (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Snakebite Survival (doomandbloom.net)
• Antivenom can’t halt neuro damage (sciencealert.com.au)
• Snake, the most misunderstood of animals (rightways.wordpress.com)
• Watch Steve Irwin take a python bite like a champ (deathandtaxesmag.com)
• Figures reveal snakebite frequency (independent.ie)

Dogs love even Adolf Hitler and George W. Bush

From the Google cache of Dear Kitty ModBlog:

Dogs love even Adolf Hitler and George W. Bush

Linking: 14 Comments: 4

Date: 9/20/05 at 10:17AM

Mood: Looking Playing: I love my dog, by Cat Stevens

According to Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad:

All over Romania, there are posters, depicting nazi leader Adolf Hitler and US president George Bush.

These posters intend to encourage Romanians to adopt stray dogs.

The campaign ‘A dog loves you the way you are’ is by a Romanian animals rights’ organization.

According to them, most people know Hitler really loved dogs, and did not like cruelty against animals.

Also Bush likes animals; he owns two dogs.

”By showing that even the most despised dictators get affection from their dogs, we want to show that an animal’s love is unconditional”, the organization says.