The Canadian Press reports that, “About 250 flag-waving protesters lit candles and chanted slogans Thursday in a show of support for a slain anti-mining activist known for sharply criticizing the environmental practices of Canadian companies working in Mexico.”
“Abarca Roblero blamed (Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration Ltd., a private mining company with interests in southern Mexico) for contaminated local rivers and for the death of local crops and livestock. He and other activists had lobbied for Blackfire’s departure from the region, according to the Council of Canadians.”
“Mariano Abarca Roblero was killed last Friday when a man on a motorcycle opened fire on him outside his home in the town of Chicomuselo, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala.”
“Thursday’s protest, which took place outside the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City, served as both a memorial to the activist and an opportunity to take up his cause, said protester (and Blue Planet Project activist) Claudia Campero.”
In a media release issued this morning, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow said, “A man deeply involved in the protest against the Canadian mining company Blackfire has been murdered outside his home. This tragic outcome can be traced directly to the Harper government’s refusal to end the impunity currently enjoyed by Canadian mining companies.”
The media release can be read at http://canadians.org/media/other/2009/03-Dec-09.html.
The Canadian Press report is at http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jo97Te3jzL2JXkUGCRPNGkUq2h5w.
