Carlos Andres Monsalve

Miners rejected violent actions of the military

The gold orerators standing out that these places - by presidential decree of year 2004-, they are earth that count on the permissions for the auriferous exploration and they do not enter the regulations of the referred plan.

According to the members of a cooperative, the evacuation originated the displacement of a approximate one of 4 thousand people, after being undressed of its properties, the destruction of the work machinery and the assumption seizure of gold obtained during the previous days.

“Unwarranted” measures
To a side of the place of the Manteco, more than 300 miners they were congregated, to debate the measures to take, on the situation of evacuation considered by them like “unwarranted”.

The main annoyance of the workers is the violent actions of the military civil servants, who destroyed their properties they left and them without a strong bolivar, to return.

Also the testimonies of several harmed were listened to, on the modus operandi of the military cash.

Luis Almeida, spokesman, related that from Friday the evacuation process began, but with the absence of civil servants of the Ministry of the Popular Power for Mining Basic Industries and (Mibam) and a public prosecutor of the Public Ministry.

“They came from violent form, destroyed the equipment of four legalized cooperatives. We reject the attack against the private property that occurred in the mine. That zone does not correspond to the Caura Plan, because this is a controlled area by Mibam”, assured Almeida.

Outside the Caura Plan
The affected ones allege that the zones of work that they occupy do not correspond to the stipulated ones for the Caura Plan, as they are it the sources Caura, Caroní and Paragua and the south of the state Bolivar.

The workers of gold hope to make arrive their reclamations at the high Government and demand respect to the private property and physical integrity.

“We are not practicing illegal mining and if we incurred a crime, he is by the lack of presence of the State. We have fulfilled the law requirements, but the Mibam has not given answers to all the permissions”, assured Almeida.

I move away Bermúdez, affected, maintains that they are not in discord with attacking the illegal mining, because in the zone many foreigners without documentation exist who make the greater operation, while they pay taxes, fulfill the exigencies of the State and count on right to explode of artisan form, for being Venezuelan. In such case they make responsible to the Government by the actions can harm that them.

“They said that she came east Monday and the military had to hope until this Monday to make the raid. We accepted their presence, because we create in the state of right and the presence of the Government”, affirmed.

Auriferous data

More on 80% of the population of the Manteco it lives on the mining operation. 47 cooperatives regulated for the auriferous works exist and the existing delays in the permissions are presumed responsibility of the Mibam, according to denounce the miners.

The 4 of February of 2004, by presidential decree, were allowed more than 20 thousand hectares for the mining operation.