Villagers are adamant they will continue to block the entrance to the site, known as El Tambor, until the government holds a consulta popular, or plebiscite, allowing them to exercise the right to decide whether the project should go ahead.
According to the Committee for Campesino Unity, or CUC, Exmingua strongmen have used intimidation tactics against protestors including threatening to lynch them and sever their hands to prevent them from filming.
Over 600 consultas populares have taken place since Guatemala ratified the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples in 1996, but the government has repeatedly ruled that they are non-binding and has allowed mining and hydroelectric projects to go ahead without consulting local communities, a clear violation of the convention.
Harassment and intimidation is an issue of growing concern, especially after Mayan leader Mario Itzep, of the local human rights nongovernmental organization Indigenous Observatory, survived an assassination attempt on Oct. 31, only two blocks from Guatemala’s National Palace.
http://lapress.org/articles.asp?art=6751
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