Government and SOPAC ignoring communities

Press Release: Government and SOPAC ignoring communities

Papua New Guinea's major NGOs say their government and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community are continuing to ignore the wishes of Pacific people in their rush to allow experimental seabed mining.

"Most impact communities in PNG are still strongly against experimental seabed mining" says Rosa Koian from Bismarck Ramu Group, who has travelled extensively through New Ireland and New Britain talking to local people.

The PNG government has not provided a promised response to a community petition with over 20,000 signatures opposing ESM, which was presented to Mining Minister Byron Chan last year.

Instead the government last week held meetings with SOPAC, a division of SPC, to discuss new laws to allow ESM.

"We know SOPAC is being paid by the European Union to push the agenda of the foreign owned mining industry", says Effrey Dademo from community advocacy group ACT NOW! which helped organise the petition.

"But we don't know why our own government is so determined to push an experimental and dangerous new industry that will not provide any substantial benefits to PNG".

John Chitoa from BRG says local communities are becoming increasingly frustrated at seeing their government dancing to the tune of foreign companies.

"We are seeing peoples anger on a regular basis when they come in to talk to us. They don't understand why the Minister has not responded to their petition. Instead they see they see the government entertaining the mining executives in Port Moresby"."This is why most communities and NGOs are refusing to participate in the SOPAC and government meetings: we know they are only listening to the mining companies."

"The people tell us they will be the ones to suffer the environmental and social costs and they don't believe they will see any economic benefits".

For more information please contact:

John Chitoa, Program Manager for BRG + (675) 423 3011
Effrey Dademo, Program Manager for ACT NOW! + (675) 7100 1834

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