With the Article 22 of the National Plan of Development, the Drummond wins and the state loses.

The National Development Plan in Colombia which is pending in Congress, includes an article that seeks to automatically extend the contracts of mining contribution not agreed to have extensions.

This was denounced by House Representative for the Party of the U of the Department of Cesar, Christian José Moreno Villamizar, who said that the adoption of Article 22 of the Law Project on the National Development Plan, makes the Drummond, a coal multinational company operating in Cesar, wins and while the nation loses.

The parliament representative recalled that in mining matters the Colombian government signed the contract 078 1988, which does not express possibilities for extension.

Diverting the Arroyo Bruno: A Stupid Idea

Across the globe, governments, international organizations, social organizations, political parties, and civil society all worry about the impeding water crisis, which is no longer a far-off nightmare, but a real apocalyptic threat. 

The Obama administration proclaimed several years ago, “water is not only a health issue, not only an economic development issue, no only an environmental question, but also a security problem.”

María Otero, the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, emphasized that water, “would be the priority within the various issues on the agenda for foreign policy and national security from now on.”

The navigational map for this perverse hegemonic imperialist project is Intelligence Community Assessment on Global Water Security from 2012.

Public Declaration from La Guajira after Grand Forum for the defense of the Bruno Stream.

Communities, social and political organizations, environmentalists, workers of the Colombian mining and energy sector, handicraftsmen, indigenous people, students, educators, human rights defenders and other participants in the GRAND FORUM IN DEFENSE OF THE BRUNO STREAM, HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT, held on 4 and 5 March 2015 in Riohacha, make public to the Colombian society and peoples of the world the following conclusions:

Carbones del Cerrejón Limited, in its P40 expansion project, which aims to "increase production from 32 to 40 million tons of coal per year starting from 2015" and in complicity with the government of Juan Manuel Santos, plan to divert the Bruno stream, one of the main tributaries of the Rancheria River. Since over 80% of La Guajira territory is semidesert and its water supply is very fragile, changing the course of this stream can result in the loss of biodiversity, accelerated and increased sedimentation, and severe alterations of evapotranspiration, and a probable death of the stream.

Departmental March on March 19 to defend the Bruno Stream

The Civic Committee for the Dignity of La Guajira invites everyone to all Guajiros to go out to march in March 19 to tell Cerrejon and the government of Santos that the people from La Guajira will not allow the change of the course of the Bruno Stream

Excerpt from Documentary in Progress The Cost of Power

Watch this excerpt of this great new documentary in progress about Cerrejon in La Guajira (bilingual)

Cautionary measures to protect the rights for water of the indigenous Wayuu people

This month we should know the decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights around the cautionary measures to be taken requested by the Wayuu communities that depend on the Rancheria River for their subsistence.

The situation that the Wayuu indigenous people have suffered for decades shows that it is false to think that extractivist projects generate prosperity for the communities living in the territories where they are held. La Guajira is coping with one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the country, a few miles from one of the most profitable mines in its history: El Cerrejón.

The People Behind the Coal: Delegation to Colombia

Witness for Peace

Colombia: The People Behind the Coal

Colombia is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the hemisphere, and also the country with the highest levels of official and paramilitary violence, including forced displacement, killings of journalists, trade unionists, and human rights activists.

Foreign corporations, many of which are engaged in the large-scale extraction of natural resources, benefit from this situation. They control Colombia's coal mines, which supply power plants in the United States while generating immense profits for mining companies. These corporations have been accused of serious human rights violations, displaced entire communities, exploited workers, and destroyed natural environments.

This delegation meets with human rights activists, trade unionists, members of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, and others affected by coal production in Colombia. We will explore how we as consumers can work in solidarity with communities and organizations in Colombia to hold corporations accountable for human rights.

June 01, 2015 - June 08, 2015

Total Cost: $1300 plus airfare

Total due: May 01, 2015

Deposit: $150

Deposit due: April 01, 2015

Click here to apply for this trip.

Download Delegation Flyer

For more information about this delegation, please contact:

Delegation Coordinator

Avi Chomsky

978-542-6389

achomsky@salemstate.edu

Delegation Coordinator

Steve Striffler

479-283-4795

striffler@hotmail.com

Grand Forum for the Defense of the Bruno Stream, Health, and the Environment

Attend or follow the conclusions of this Grand Forum in La Guajira which will discuss how irresponsible and unfeasible it is to divert the Bruno Stream, based on the expertise of many scholars and the experience of local communities historically affected by Cerrejon.

"Fuera Cerrejón de la Guajira" Memoria, reflexión y acción colectiva (Spanish) "Cerrejon, go away from La Guajira" Memory, Reflection, and Collective Action

Watch a short documentary in Spanish about how Cerrejon has impacted La Guajira, tricking, polluting, and impoverishing the region.