International Peace Day and Open-Pit Mining

Please join the DJPC as we take our stand against open-pit mining on Friday, Sept 21 at noon, on the SE corner of Colfax and Lincoln (on the capital grounds). For a clean and healthful environment for all!

As declared by the United Nations, the International Day of Peace is observed throughout the world on September 21. This day is devoted to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies and recognition of the basic rights of all people.

The Denver Justice and Peace Committee (DJPC) has chosen this day to draw attention to the hazards of open-pit mining in much of Latin America. This practice is responsible for the poisoning of water supplies, drying up of rivers, streams, and other water sources, the death of fish and livestock, and the wholesale destruction of forested areas and entire mountains. Simply surviving in the area of an open-pit mine becomes a desperate struggle as local residents endure high cancer rates, severe skin rashes, respiratory and digestive ailments, and increasing poverty. In addition, mining companies frequently violate the rights of those seeking to remain on their land rather than giving it up for the purpose of mining.

Newmont Mining Corporation, headquartered in Denver and owner of the second largest gold mine in the world in Peru, is a focus of our concern. Newmont security guards have harassed and physically assaulted local farmers who refuse to vacate land needed for the expansion of the mine. Farmer and environmentalist Máxima Chaupe, who lives near the mine with her family, has been repeatedly harassed and brutally beaten, and has seen her crops destroyed and livestock killed at the hands of Newmont security guards.

In the interest of justice, we stand by Maxima Chaupe in her refusal to give up her land. In the interest of peace, we stand by indigenous and other rural communities working to protect their land and water from the ravages of open-pit mining. We stand by the cause of a clean and healthful environment for all!