Reply-To: Avi Chomsky achomsky@salemstate.edu
To: North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee
Date: Apr 26, 2006 7:48 PM

As many of you know, Anglo-American is one of the three companies that make
up the consortium that owns the Cerrejon Zona Norte coal mine. Yesterday,
Richard Solly, of our partner organization Mines and Communities in London,
attended the Anglo American shareholders' meeting to raise the issue of the
communities affected by the mine in Colombia. Here is his summary:


> Dear Avi and all,
>
> I attach a report of the questions I asked and the answers I received at
> yesterday's Anglo American AGM. Other issues were also covered and there
> will soon be a fuller report on the Mines and Communities website
> (http://www.minesandcommunities.org).
>
> Having asked three questions (more than any other shareholder) I felt I
> should not attempt a fourth by mentioning the petition signed by people
> attending events during Jose Julio's North American tour. But after the
> meeting I spoke with various Board members and gave the petition to
> company
> CEO Tony Trahar. They purported to be unaware of Jose Julio's visit to
> North
> America. Whether or not they were unaware, they are now aware that
> pressure
> is being brought to bear on their North American customers. I told them I
> could not understand why they do not just accept what the Relocation
> Committee demands because the municipality of Hatonuevo says it lacks
> money
> (and probably does) and that if they just bought the land that the
> Committee
> wants and settles with them we could concentrate on other things for a
> change.
>
> I was interviewed on Indymedia and Bloomberg News (http://www.bloomberg.com)
> before
> the meeting. So although I still want to increase the effectiveness of our
> interventions at these meetings, especially by bringing community
> representatives over here, I think we made progress over last year.
>
>
> Thanks.
>
> Richard Solly.
>



----------------------------------------
North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee:
http://home.comcast.net/~nscolombia/

Posted by nscolombia at 7:59 PM EDT

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