A few days ago (30/5/2016), the municipality of
Aristotle —at the north east of Halkidiki peninsula— declared itself as TTIP and CETA
free. This area is worldwide known as the birth place of
the Greek philosopher Aristotle the one who gave his name to the city.
Recently, the excavation of his tomb has been announced at the ancient city of
Stagira.
Not distant from the site the city hosts a
controversial open pit gold mine, source of social division and antagonism for
the local community.
The mine is operated by Hellas Gold, a coalition between Ellaktor —a Greek contracting company— and
the Canadian transnational corporation Eldorado Gold who holds 95% of the investment. It is worth to mention thatEldorado Gold owns all gold-mining projects in
Greece.
The mine faces a strong opposition from the
local community and environmental activists since the beginning of the project.
Eldorado is planning to clear-cut a large part of
old-growth forest and reengineer the local water system in order to build a
massive open-pit gold and copper mine, along with a processing plant, and a
largeunderground mine.
The Canadian company is not only destroying a historic heritage, but also
threatening public health with water and air pollution by contamination of cyanide and asbestos, generating deforestation and many other
environmental degradations. More over the small scale local traditional
economic activities such as fishery, beekeeping, livestock farming, olive oil
production and tourism are under threat too.
Until now, transnational corporations, especially
the mining companies are responsible for many ecological disasters. Moreover
Canadian mining firms according to a global study are the worst offenders of working conditions,
human rights and other abuses around the world.
The economic model they’re carrying is not
sustainable at all, thousands of local communities worldwide stand against
extractive activities. Their opposition is strong and it happens that some
local or national governments understand their demands and start controlling
the mining companies’ activities. But how governments could control big
transnational companies if they risk to be sued under ISDS (or ICS)? How could they develop new rules, if
transnational companies are consulted before parliaments through the regulatory cooperationprocedure?
That is why CETA and TTIP are bad for the
peoples’ right to self-determination, democracy, social and environmental
justice… And that’s why local governments all over Europe are standing against
these dangerous trade deals.
Aristoteli joined a growing movement of local authorities opposed to CETA and TTIP to deny
the building of apolluter’s paradise. Everywhere where transnational corporations
attack the peoples and the planet’s rights, people stand to oppose that.
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