Gold is our land, gold is our water, gold is the mountain and our beautiful village

International Action Day Against Gold Mines in Halkidiki

 9 / 11 / 2013

Halkidiki is a peninsula of Northern Greece, with a very diverse, biologically important natural landscape, combining mountainous primordial forests with beautiful coastline. Part of it belongs to NATURA 2000 network and is protected by international conventions. Halkidiki’s landscape is also of historically and culturally precious as it is the mother land of Aristotle the philosopher (384 BC).

Mining in the area goes back 2500 years. But today, as well as back then, locals are depended on nature, as the 80% of main activities are farming, fishing, animal husbandry, forestry and tourism. People of Halkidiki have been active against the destruction of their land since the 50’s but it was not until their recent fights when thy caught international attention.

All started in 2003, when a big political scandal broke out. The Canadian company TVXgold owning at the time the assets of Cassandra mines, transferred them by law to the Greek state for 11 million €. They were sold the same day to Hellas Gold S.A without any prior assessment nor an open competition. The minerals deposits alone were worth 12 billion $. For this action, EU fined Greece with 15, 3 million €.

Today, Hellas Gold S.A is owned 95 % by the Canadian Eldorado Gold Corporation which is based in The Netherlands as a letterbox company and 5 % by G. Bobolas, the powerful Greek media and construction persona. According to the Greek constitution, the owner has full possession of the minerals while the state requires no royalties. In 2012 and despite a broad reaction from the scientific community against the accuracy of the official Environmental Impact Assessment, deforestation begun and full scale mining activities set off.

Even in 2011, residents of the nearby villages and later people throughout Greece, have started a heroic fight to protect their right to health, safety and jobs and to safeguard their natural environment. The TROIKA driven Greek state, obsessed with promoting its hilarious “success story” plan is rushing out to close their mouths. Riot police suppressed violently all demonstrations first in Skouries area and later all around the villages. Old and young attacked with tear gas and rubber bullets, peacefully protesting women dragged down and hit, DNA samples were taken by force, houses illegally broke and entered by the police. Basic human rights were  suppressed again and again with the compliments of the Greek state.

Most of the mainstream Greek media has openly supported Eldorado Gold Co and G. Bobolas by propagating in favor of its savior investment for the Greek local economy and against the “extremist” social struggle. Despite the efforts of the state to suppress any authentic expression of the struggling people, recently including charging them for “forming a criminal organization” – the same charge addressed to the neo – Nazi Golden Dawn and even prosecuting and imprisoning 4 of them, the Halkidiki movement is more alive than ever. In September 2013, verifying the fears of the ones rising concerns about environmental threats, drinking water around the mine of Skouries has been considered inappropriate for consumption due to high concentrations of Arsenic. Additionally, a minor toxic wastes accident warns that environmental regulations around mining activities might as well not be followed.

We raise our voice with all those in Roumania, Spain, Finland. N. Ireland, Bulgaria, Sweden, Turkey and in many other anti mining movements in Latin America, Africa and rest of the world, that a success story cannot involve industrialization of the region at the expense of all other means of production and increase of social dependency on a multinational corporation. Halkidiki’s struggle is our struggle for standing up to one’s believes, for safeguarding social protests, for protecting the constitutional rights of the citizens.

Halkidiki is reaching out to you. Inform yourself and go – engage.

Together we are stronger!

ReINFORM

“Gold is our land, gold is our water, gold is the mountain and our beautiful village”