Barrick Mine in Tanzania: Rights & Democracy and NGOs Demand an Inquiry
An NGO fact-finding mission led by Rights & Democracy is calling for a public inquiry into the alleged evictions at the Canadian-owned Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania.
MONTREAL - March 29, 2002 – An NGO fact-finding mission led by Rights & Democracy is calling for a public inquiry into the alleged evictions at the Canadian-owned Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania.
The NGO mission travelled to Tanzania earlier this week to meet with miners and other individuals after a video was uncovered which prompted calls for a review of the alleged 1996 evictions. The group was barred from travelling to the Bulyanhulu area after the local police accused them of failing to secure proper authorization.
"We have been told by legal experts that there is no such legal requirement. It's highly irregular and ridiculous," said the head of the mission, Kathleen Mahoney, a law professor at the University of Calgary and chairperson of the Board of Directors of Rights & Democracy. "The events of the last few days lead us to conclude that only a national independent public inquiry can clear the air," she said.
There have been allegations that some 50 workers were buried alive in 1996 as a result of efforts to clear an estimated 2,000 artisanal miners from the site. At the time the mine was owned by Sutton Resources Ltd., of Vancouver which Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation acquired three years later for almost $500 million.
Ms. Mahoney said the fact-finding mission with representatives of MiningWatch Canada, Friends of the Earth and a Dutch NGO - BOTHEnds - was very disappointed with the fact that they were not allowed to meet the miners of the area who wanted to tell their story. "We came here to talk to people to try to find out what happened... it's clear there is a need for a full impartial and public inquiry so we can all know in Canada and in Tanzania what really happened."
The fact-finding mission's call for an inquiry echoes that of Judge Mark Bomani, a former Tanzanian Attorney General and Nelson Mandela's advisor during the Burundi peace talks in Arusha. "There have been some police inquiries but the outcome has not really seemed very convincing so the allegations continue to be made," he said. Amnesty International has also been calling for a public and impartial inquiry.
Members of the fact-finding mission who are to leave Dar es Salaam on March 31 were not allowed to extend their stay and said they are concerned for the welfare of members of Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT) who have led the calls for a public inquiry. "We hope the government will not take any retaliatory measures against them," she said.
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Patricia Poirier (514) 898-4157
