‘Hear Our Voice: Rosia Montana is Not For Sale!’
groenbertje | 31.08.2004 22:55 | Ecology
The FanFest Project reached its climax last night when it attracted a crowd of 4000 people to the FanFest (Hay Party) Protest Concert in Rosia Montana. Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) which is 80% owned by the Canadian-based mining junior Gabriel Resources (TSX:GBU) intends to realize Europe's largest open cast gold mining project in Rosia Montana. This is the story of the people’s resist.
Rosia Montana, Romania; 29. August 2004 – The FanFest Project reached its climax last night when it attracted a crowd of 4000 people to the FanFest (Hay Party) Protest Concert in Rosia Montana. According to ‘Alburnus Maior’, the event organizer and its partners MTV Romania, Rebel Music, Greenpeace CEE, Mindbomb and the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR), the FanFest Protest Concert was an unprecedented event uniting the "Save Rosia Montana" Campaign, Romania’s largest civil society movement to date. The campaign was born four years ago when local property owners founded ‘Alburnus Maior’ to oppose Rosia Montana’s destruction by Europe’s largest open cast cold mining project.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) which is 80% owned by the Canadian-based mining junior Gabriel Resources (TSX:GBU) intends to realize Europe's largest open cast gold mining project in Rosia Montana;
located at the heart of the country’s beautiful Apuseni Mountains. In addition to the employment of the controversial cyanide leaching method the development entails amongst other, the involuntary resettlement of
over 2000 people, the destruction of four mountains, two valleys, ten churches, nine cemeteries as well as unique archeological treasures. From its’ very onset the project has been beleaguered with scandals and operational problems; including local, national and international opposition by both civil society and expert institutions.
The arrival of the Solidarity March in Rosia Montana signaled yesterday’s first important event. Well over 200 marchers reached the village’s center at around 3p.m; after having walked 137 km from Cluj-Napoca to Rosia Montana in six days to express their solidarity with the affected population living along the so-called Ariesului
Valley. At Rosia Montana the participants were welcomed by locals and later joined the concert on a plateau overlooking the valley.
From 4p.m onwards over 4000 participants gathered for the FanFest Protest Concert to unite their voice into one loud message: "Rosia Montana is not for sale!" Performances started at 8p.m featuring
musicians and DJs such as Ombladon, Luna Amara, Freakadadisk, Zob, Bitza, Zale, DJ Dox, Romano/G- Force Sound, Unu, Shekinah, Spike, LBC KRU, Travka, Guerillas and Klan. All artists performed free of charge;
this explicitly against the destruction of Rosia Montana and for a sustainable future.
"Now you can see with your own eyes why we care so much about Rosia Montana and why we refuse its destruction by a monstrous project. Our lives and lands are not subject to negotiation. People are more
important than gold", said Eugen David, Alburnus Maior’s president, welcoming the crowd.
"We will not be intimidated by political or financial games. We came here to show that Rosia Montana belongs to people who are very much alive" (Shekinah). "We got up on the stage to sing for Rosia Montana because we don’t want it to be destroyed. It is a situation (of how many?) when people are crushed into an imbecile lure for gold. This time we are not only selling off people, but forests and mountains. Why do we
want to stop this project? Because money has no life!" (Luna Amara); were some of the artists’ protest messages.
The FanFest Project including the Protest Concert was sponsored by the Ratiu Family Foundation, the JMG Foundation, Greenpeace CEE, X minus Y Solidarity Fund, Atta, Magnum, Monopolis SA, Alimpam, Firma9, Romsver, and individual donations. The event was supported by media partners such as MTV Romania, Curierul National, Formula AS, Sapte Seri, Monitoul de Cluj, Radio Cluj, Stil FM, CD Radio, Revista 22, Radio Orion, Metronom, RTM Radio, Radio DaDa. The FanFest crew would like to thank all those who made it happen; especially to those who sent solidarity messages and offered on-line support. The concert was a strong peaceful action; this despite attempts to discourage people from reaching the event’s place by tearing apart posters, guiding signs and by handing out defamatory leaflets.
* * *
For more information
http://www.rosiamontana.org/
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) which is 80% owned by the Canadian-based mining junior Gabriel Resources (TSX:GBU) intends to realize Europe's largest open cast gold mining project in Rosia Montana;
located at the heart of the country’s beautiful Apuseni Mountains. In addition to the employment of the controversial cyanide leaching method the development entails amongst other, the involuntary resettlement of
over 2000 people, the destruction of four mountains, two valleys, ten churches, nine cemeteries as well as unique archeological treasures. From its’ very onset the project has been beleaguered with scandals and operational problems; including local, national and international opposition by both civil society and expert institutions.
The arrival of the Solidarity March in Rosia Montana signaled yesterday’s first important event. Well over 200 marchers reached the village’s center at around 3p.m; after having walked 137 km from Cluj-Napoca to Rosia Montana in six days to express their solidarity with the affected population living along the so-called Ariesului
Valley. At Rosia Montana the participants were welcomed by locals and later joined the concert on a plateau overlooking the valley.
From 4p.m onwards over 4000 participants gathered for the FanFest Protest Concert to unite their voice into one loud message: "Rosia Montana is not for sale!" Performances started at 8p.m featuring
musicians and DJs such as Ombladon, Luna Amara, Freakadadisk, Zob, Bitza, Zale, DJ Dox, Romano/G- Force Sound, Unu, Shekinah, Spike, LBC KRU, Travka, Guerillas and Klan. All artists performed free of charge;
this explicitly against the destruction of Rosia Montana and for a sustainable future.
"Now you can see with your own eyes why we care so much about Rosia Montana and why we refuse its destruction by a monstrous project. Our lives and lands are not subject to negotiation. People are more
important than gold", said Eugen David, Alburnus Maior’s president, welcoming the crowd.
"We will not be intimidated by political or financial games. We came here to show that Rosia Montana belongs to people who are very much alive" (Shekinah). "We got up on the stage to sing for Rosia Montana because we don’t want it to be destroyed. It is a situation (of how many?) when people are crushed into an imbecile lure for gold. This time we are not only selling off people, but forests and mountains. Why do we
want to stop this project? Because money has no life!" (Luna Amara); were some of the artists’ protest messages.
The FanFest Project including the Protest Concert was sponsored by the Ratiu Family Foundation, the JMG Foundation, Greenpeace CEE, X minus Y Solidarity Fund, Atta, Magnum, Monopolis SA, Alimpam, Firma9, Romsver, and individual donations. The event was supported by media partners such as MTV Romania, Curierul National, Formula AS, Sapte Seri, Monitoul de Cluj, Radio Cluj, Stil FM, CD Radio, Revista 22, Radio Orion, Metronom, RTM Radio, Radio DaDa. The FanFest crew would like to thank all those who made it happen; especially to those who sent solidarity messages and offered on-line support. The concert was a strong peaceful action; this despite attempts to discourage people from reaching the event’s place by tearing apart posters, guiding signs and by handing out defamatory leaflets.
* * *
For more information
http://www.rosiamontana.org/
groenbertje
e-mail:
bertvandilbeek@co.uk