On Friday June 1, more than 400 people gathered at the Maritime Labour Centre in Vancouver for the opening public forum of ‘Shout Out Against Mining Injustice’. The conference was dedicated to Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez and all activists who have been killed for speaking against mining injustice. The evening opened with a video about Bernardo’s life and cause.
Video compilation that opened ‘Shout Out Against Mining Injustice:
On March 16, upon learning of the killing of Bernardo, Mexican civil society groups as well as the Council of Canadians (at the World Water Froum in Marseille, France) issued statements about his death, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14154 and http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14174.
On March 21, Blue Planet Project organizer Claudia Campero Arena participated in a protest about this outside the Canadian embassy in Mexico City. Reforma.com reported, “‘A man deeply involved in the protest against Fortuna Silver Canadian mining and its impacts on local water sources was killed,’ Claudia Campero, leader of the Blue Planet, said in a telephone interview. She said that Canadian organizations are also asking for clarification of the murder. ‘They’re looking to change the law in Canada that when human rights are violated environmental and labor out of our country the people directly affected have recourse through the Canadian legal system,’ she said.” That’s at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14242.
On March 28, CTV reported, “Human rights activists are calling on a Vancouver-based mining company to pull out of Mexico after the murder of a prominent opponent of the industry last week. Bernardo Vasquez, 32, was shot to death in his car in Oaxaca province on March 15, and two others were injured in the gunfire. He was the leader of a group opposed to a $55-million silver and gold mine operated by Fortuna Silver in the small town of San Jose del Progreso. Supporters believe the shooting death is linked to Vasquez’s activism and they told CTV News he received threats in the weeks before his death through videos posted online and graffiti sprayed throughout town. Now activists around the world are calling for a full investigation into the recent violence.” For more, go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14346.
