The Waiting Game
Have yourself a very merry, little Christmas…but if you’re a Costa Rican environmentalist it doesn’t look like Santa will be bringing any big gifts on “navidad.”
The Sala IV, Costa Rica’s Supreme Court most likely will not be delivering any decisions concerning Las Crucitas Gold Mine. Fifty-seven plaintiffs filed a constitutional injunction, naming President Oscar Arias and his Minister of Mines as defendants because in October 2008 the president declared the Crucitas Mine open for business. For 15 years the anti-mine movement has successfully kept Canadian-owned gold companies out the of the Crucitas area.
The mine is ready to go if the Supreme Court rules in favor of Infinity Gold, the most recent Canadian company to attempt to get gold out of two hills located only a few kilometers from the Nicaraguan border. A couple of posts ago I outlined a very brief history of Canadian-owned mines in the region.
While it is unclear which way the Supreme Court decide, the anti-mine movement is concerned…and for a number of good reasons.
First, back in September the President of the Supreme Court Luis Paulino Mora and a magistrate Ana Virginia Calzada visited the mine and spoke only to the mining company — they kept the environmentalists away using a sizable police presence. Environmentalists asked the court to annul the visit. The magistrates are to erase the visit from their memories??
Another reason to be concerned — the government will not show up to debates and the decision-making process has been anything but transparent. In a recent interview I conducted with anti-mine activist and University of Costa Rica international law professor, Nicolas Boeglin, he said that government embraces Infinity Gold’s talking points. As Mr. Boeglin pointed out, “there are things that are said that do not correspond to the scientific knowledge that we have of the region or the legal knowledge we have in Costa Rica…it’s one thing one the company says this, but when the top officials of the country repeat it, like Macaws…or parrots, something wrong is happening.”
While the Supreme Court should announce a decision 30 days after hearing ended on November 17th, rumor has it that we won’t hear anything until after the presidential election at the end January. Certainly, they weren’t about announce anything while Copenhagen is going on — Costa Rica has an image to uphold.
So, if you are a anti-mine activist, have yourself a merry, little Christmas. But don’t stay up too late waiting for Santa.
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