Intag Solidarity Network Newsletter– April 9, 2006
Volume 2, Number 2

News for the North American community in solidarity with Intag. On the web at http://intagsolidarity.org/newsletter.htm

To contribute information, see the end of this newsletter.
To subscribe or unsubscribe see the end of this newsletter.

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[1]  Cyril Mychalejko prepares for year long service as human rights observer in Junín.
[2]  New observers trained and orientated in Junín.
[3]  ISN-USA delivers new equipment to Intag communities.
[4]  News update from Carlos Zorrilla, April 3.
[5]  News update from Carlos Zorrilla, March 12.
[6]  News update from Carlos Zorrilla, March 7.
[7]  Cyril Mychalejko article in Upsidedownworld.org
[8]  ISN-USA pays a visit to Ascendant Copper CEO, Gary Davis.

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Editor’s Note: The struggle against mining continues throughout Intag region, Ecuador.  In this newsletter, we have abundant information to pass along.

Ascendant Copper is currently moving aggressively to complete its environmental impact study in order to legally move to the next stage in the project, exploration.  The company is required to do “consultations” with the community.  But, communities in resistance have refused to allow Ascendant to enter their community to have the consultation.  As consequence, the company has taken measures such as offering a free football (soccer) jersey to anyone who signs a statement saying they consulted the 250 plus page study.  Likewise, the company has posted signs throughout Intag inviting people to their office in Garcia Moreno in order to spend 5 minutes reviewing the study.  They have a form where people are expected to put their name, a comment, and a page number to the section of the study the comment pertains.  We anticipate that the “consultation” process will come to a conclusion soon, and Ascendant will attempt to move quickly to exploration.  They are under immense pressure to move ahead with the project, and to show some concrete results.  We estimate that if Ascendant is not actively putting exploration machinery in the field by May, it will be far too late for them to conclude work before next rainy season.  So, we are braced for an escalation of the conflict as Ascendant Copper faces a make or break moment.

We are pleased to report that the international human rights observation program is in full swing.  Two new observers are now in Junín, and the community is very excited to have them present.  A third observer will join those there mid-April.  We thank everyone who has assisted with generous financial support.  We will soon be asking for more money!

While tensions are very high in Intag region, the communities remain united in resistance to Ascendant.  There is high energy, and people are ready to finish off Ascendant once and for all by blocking their efforts to move forward.  Ascendant’s past errors are catching up with them.  Andrade, an ex-congressmen and former ally of Ascendant and head of CODEGAM, has turned against Ascendant.  With him, Andrade brings a large group of people who used to favor mining, especially in Garcia Moreno.  Andrade constitutes a major headache for Ascendant, and has the potential to expose the company’s corrupt behavior.  All and all, it is a very unfavorable scenario for Ascendant.

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[1] Cyril Mychalejko prepares for year long service as human rights observer in Junín.

Our new International Human Rights Observer, Cyril Mychalejko is in the Philadelphia news.  He is preparing to for his work in Junín, which starts April 19th.  Cyril has been working hard to do fund raising in his community, as well as popular education about the struggle in Intag.

“Think globally, jam locally” By Kate Fratti. PhilyBurbs.com  March 24, 2006

If you believe it’s a parent’s job to instill in a child a sense of independence, adventure, curiosity and compassion for his fellow man, then you should consider Walt and Suzanne Mychalejko, of Holland, role models.

I suspect they’d consider you weird, though. The two raised such a child in son Cyril, 29, but they’re not crowing so much as praying.

I met Cyril last week over white tea at the Zebra Striped Whale in Newtown.

I’d suggested Starbucks, but Cyril steered us to ZBS because it’s locally owned. Add conscientious to his resume.

The graduate of Council Rock and Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., leaves on April 19 for Junin, Ecuador. There he’ll spend a year as an international human rights observer with the Intag Solidarity Network, a group whose goal is to prevent violent conflict in the region as locals resist efforts by the Ecuadorian government and multinational corporations to build a large-scale copper mine.

Activists such as Cyril say a mine would mean massive environmental damage and the forced relocation of hundreds of families.

The struggle is not new. Since the 1990s, Japanese and then Canadian interests have claimed substantial finds of copper in this area of the Intag cloud forest, one of the world’s most biodiverse areas, according to Conservation International. They’ve fought to mine it.

So what?

So, it’s wrong, says Cyril. And although his loving, supportive conservative dad wishes he’d find a traditional career path and a nice girl to settle down with — read “get a job, make some money, give us some grandkids” — Cyril strives to match the way he spends his days with his belief system. He believes governments and multi-national corporations shouldn’t run roughshod over people. Any people.

“For me, it’s no different than if this company were trying to disrupt families or poison water supplies here,” he says.

He’ll stay with Ecuadorian families who live without plumbing and electricity to document interaction between community leaders and a Canadian mining company.

At Evergreen, Cyril interned by living on a Cheyenne Indian reservation in South Dakota and reporting on racial profiling there. Next, he wrote for the Chicago Reporter, an investigative paper focused on race and poverty.

Writing is central to his activism.

Today, he’s an assistant editor for Upsidedownworld.org, which reports on politics and activism throughout Latin America. He’s encouraged that readership is strong, and the site’s editor, Ben Dangl, an expert on Bolivia, recently landed a book deal.

Who knows? Maybe writing is how he’ll make his living one day.

For now, he’s on his way to Ecuador to fight the good fight.

And he’s inviting your kids to “think globally, jam locally” by attending a benefit concert of Bucks County bands from 4-8 p.m. April 2 at Sacred Grounds, 9300 New Falls Road in Fallsington. (www.sacredgroundpa.com) Tickets are $10 at the door. All proceeds benefit the observer program.

If your kid tells you he’s bored that night, you might point him in Cyril’s direction. He’s not a bad role model himself.

Kate Fratti, whose column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, doesn’t have the courage to live without plumbing or electricity for a weekend, let alone a year.   http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/257-03242006-631374.html

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[2] New observers trained and orientated in Junín.

The international human rights observation team is now back in full swing after a rigorous rainy season in Junín.  Wayne and Ping are the new observers, both from New Zeeland.  They received training and orientation recently, and are now acting in full capacity as human rights observers.  They were warmly welcomed by the community, and are excited about serving until the end of July.  As rainy season draws to an end, we anticipate that the conflict will pick-up in intensity, especially if and when Ascendant moves toward the exploration phase of their misguided efforts.

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[3] ISN-USA delivers new equipment to Intag communities.

ISN-USA recently delivered important photographic and electronic materials to communities in Junín.  A donor provided the resources, secured by DECOIN, for 3 digital cameras.  These will be used by the most at threat communities to document the actions of Ascendant Copper and pro-mining factions in the region.  The cameras also provide the opportunity for community members to have greater voice in documenting their struggle.  ISN-USA also delivered four new Motorola “walkie-talkies.”  These wireless communication devices are essential for the struggle as the allow for rapid communication between community members and between communities.  The Motorolas allow people to do regular security check-ins as well as communicate news as it is happening.  ISN-USA will be delivering two more units mid-April.  We note that the environment in Intag is especially harsh on electronic equipment.  Items like digital cameras, Motorolas, and lap-tops have short lives.  So, we truly appreciate those who have offered financial support for helping us purchase these products.  Key point is that even a little money goes a very long way in making a huge difference in the struggle.

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[4] News update from Carlos Zorrilla, April 3.

Ascendant’s Continued Troubles with CODEGAM

On February 17th, and as reported earlier, Ascendant was not only blocked by anti-mining forces from holding a major forum on their doomed mining project in what they considered to be their stronghold- the community of Chalguayacu Alto- but Codegam’s break with Ascendant Copper became official.  On that date several truckloads of CODEGAM supporters showed up unexpected at Ascendant’s new headquarters, the Villa Dorita farm where Ascendant had relocated after a forced retreat from their intended forum at Chalguayacu Alto.  The Codegam delegation, led by its president, Ronald Andrade, previously pro-Ascendant supporter- publicly humiliated Ascendant’s legal representative in Ecuador, Mr. Juan Carlos Bermeo, lambasted the company for failing to live up to previous agreements with CODEGAM and the communities and for failing to sign a financial agreement to benefit local communities. The next day, CODEGAM’s board, including representatives from the Garcia Moreno Parish government (and, according to CODEGAM’s president) thirty-five community presidents, signed a strongly worded document addressed to Ascendant’s stockholders denouncing the company’s lack of ethics and failure to live up to its agreements. The letter included a strong denunciation of the company to Ecuadorian government institutions, calling for a complete investigation. DECOIN saw a copy of the signed document. If this wasn’t enough bad news for the company, CODEGAM also took the decision to present a criminal lawsuit against Ascendant Copper Corporation.

The INFAMOUS Environmental Impact Study.

There’s more trouble brewing for Ascendant with their Environmental Impact Study.  First of all, the study:

1) Confirms the existence of primary forests within the mining area

2) It identified 9 species of mammals under some kind of protection by the CITES treaty (globally recognized endangered species treaty). Those 9 species fall under Cites Categories I and II- the highest protection categories.  One of the species is considered critically endangered. If we include those covered under category III, the total of endangered mammal species goes up to an astonishing 15. In all, the list includes Anteaters, the Three-toed Sloth, four species of felines, and two species of monkeys. The mammal species protected by CITES or Ecuadorian legislation include: Jaguars, Ocelots, Pumas, the brown-headed Spider Monkey, Pacaranas (very rare large rodent), and a Anteater (Northern Tamandua (see below for complete list). Because the study didn’t include species on the higher parts of their concession, it left out other endangered species, such as the Spectacled Bear, the Mountain Tapirs and an extremely rare canid-species that the Japanese listed on their 1996 EIA.

But there’s more.

BIRDS. The study identified four endangered bird species, and holds that 28% of the species can be classified as being highly sensitive to habitat disturbance. 35% were recorded as being of medium sensitivity.  An shocking 98% of the species are considered either rare (37%), or uncommon (61%)!!  This, in spite of the fact the biologists only studied a miniscule part of the concession and didn’t venture too far from their home base for fear of being harassed by community members (in total they only spent 5 days on the field).  By avoiding the higher parts of the mining area, they also conveniently avoided having to put on the list other endangered species, such as the spectacular Plate-billed Mountain Toucan.

FROGS.  The herpetologists discovered six species of frogs threatened by extinction (two threatened and four vulnerable).  One of the species is considered extremely rare, and previously only found in three other localities in another province.  Keep in mind that the study was done during the end of one of the driest years on record.  The biologist suggested another study be undertaken during the rainy season.  Interesting too was the statement that 85% of the amphibians found had a tight relationship with forested habitat.  In the past Ascendant had claimed the area had been completely deforested.  The study accepted the fact that the amphibians would likely be impacted by the opening of trails and roads to cart in the drilling equipment (to be transported by caterpillar tractors).

ARCHEOLOGICAL WOES.  One of the more important chapters in the study was the reported finding of major archeological sites within the mining concession. The EIA reported an abundance of burial mounds and several pyramids, some with dirt ramps.  There are very few of these pyramids in Ecuador, and there’s no doubt that the discoveries will be of immense importance for the country’s archeological patrimony. That, and the simple fact that it is illegal to mine in archeological sites, should put a major bend in the company’s project.

It’s important to recall that in the past Ascendant’s president and CEO, Gary Davis, has said that the company would NOT mine in archeological sites, nor in areas with primary forests.  But, in effect, this is a moot point- because even if Ascendant was to go back on their word,  local laws prohibit mining in native forests (not just primary), and national law prohibits mining in archeological areas. Destruction of the habitat of bird, amphibian and mammals in danger of extinction (some critically endangered), will also be a tough hurdle for any company to overcome nationally and, especially, internationally.

If Ascendant is trying to dump their troubled mining concessions on some unsuspected and larger mining company, they could be subject to lawsuits after the recent turn of events, especially if they don’t truthfully inform the new company or their stockholders of the real situation.

MORE EIA TROUBLES.  And finally, Ascendant’s plan to turn in their Environmental Impact Study to the Ministry of Energy and Mines this month….is running into trouble.
Ascendant is supposed to be socializing their EIA with the communities most impacted by the project, as required by Ecuadorian law.  This includes Junin, Cerro Pelado, Barcelona and El Triunfo.  But the company  has not been able to even to into these communities due to road blocks organized by these communities.

What Ascendant has chosen to do, having the EIA available in García Moreno for people to look at, is not considered enough to comply with the law.  If true Daimi Services was hired to obtain what Ascendant itself called the area’s “social licence”, they are going about it completely the wrong way.  Not only are they unable to visit the communities most at risk by the project, but Daimi employees have to cart along armed bodyguards wherever they go.  What kind of social license are you going to get with armed bodyguards intimidating the communities?  And, what does that tell you about the acceptance of the mining project in Intag?  In addition, DECOIN has received denunciations of aggressive behavior by Daimi’s bodyguards, which we are asking human rights group to investigate.

From the Environmental Impact Study

Includes 6 Vulnerable species, 2 Almost Threatened, 1 in Critical Danger, 1 Threatened and 3 species with insufficient data and 2 with Less Concern. CITES (2000) Includes in its Apendix I a Alouatta palliata (Mantled Howler Monkey), Leopardus pardalis (Ocelot), Leopardus tigrinus (Oncilla), Leopardus wiedii (Margay), Lontra longicaudis (Neotropical river otter) y Panthera onca (Jaguar); Apendix II a Ateles fusciceps (Brown-headed Spider Monkey– critically endangered should be in Category I), Bradypus variegatus (Three-toed sloth) , Puma concolor (Puma); Apendix III a Agouti paca (Agouti) , Eira barbara (Tayra), Mazama americana (Red brocket deer), Nasua narica, Potos flavus (Kinkajou) and Tamandua mexicana (Northern Tamandua [Anteater]).

[Note:  CITES is an international treaty to protect threatened species by controlling the trafficking of animals or their parts.  Apendix I  includes species in danger of extinction, meaning they are under complete protection, and all trafficking is prohibited.  Apendix II species are less threatened, but could become so if trafficking is not controlled.  Apendix III allows trafficking is these species but under strict control of national governments].

The Study did not include the following threatened mammal species included in earlier studies:  Spectacled Bears (Tremarctus onatus); Bush dog (Speothos venaticus); and the Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)- All three species are listed as CITES Apendix I.

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[5] News update from Carlos Zorrilla, March 12.

Ascendant Copper Corporation Stopped Again in Ecuador

This time it was a meeting Ascendant had called in a village they considered “theirs”- Chalguayacu Alto, where Ascendant and Daimi Services thought it safe to hold a meeting to socialize the Environmental Impact Study.  It seems the natives were not as friendly as they imagined.

Anti-mining activists rose earlier than the pro-miners and split into two groups this Sunday.  One took control of the Loma Negra-Chalguayacu Alto road, and the other group waited in Chalguayacu Bajo peacefully blocking access to Chalguayacu Alto. Both groups waited patiently for Ascendant’s officials, who decided better not to show.  It’s also revealing that it was unnecessary to call upon anti-mining activists from other parts of Intag to undertake these new measures. This highlights, once again, the extent and determination of the resistance to Ascendant’s mining project.   Seeing the firm opposition in their own backyard, the meeting was changed to the Villadora farm, which has lately become Ascendant’s center of operations after the break with CODEGAM.  Villadora is far away from the mining area, so any socialization of the project was to people who do not stand to be directly impacted by the mining project. In other words, a meaningless meeting.

If Ascendant was expecting a warm reception at their new center of operations, they were wrong.  It was in Villadora that disgruntled CODEGAM members confronted the mining company and Daimi, and vented their anger and frustration at being lied to and taken advantaged of.  From reliable eye-witnesses reports, no one was hurt and there were no arrests, but we are trying to confirm this.

Many CODEGAM follower have expressed their desire to join forces with the Junín anti-mining group to, in their words, “kick Ascendant out once-and-for all”.
What is clear after this latest disastrous turn of events for Ascendant is that they and Daimi profoundly underestimated the level of resistance in Intag.  Coming on the heels of recent and major setbacks, including the burning of their camp in Chalguayacu Bajo in December, and the detaining of three Daimi employees in early March by community anti-mining activists, it can only confirm disaster for the future of this project.

On the other hand, on Thursday March 9th, presidents from all of Intag’s Parish Government Townships joined representatives of most organizations working in the region and community presidents to ask the central government to institute a 5 year moratorium on mining activities in the area.  The moratorium would also affect companies like CODEGAM and DAIMI Services.  The government is studying the request, and community members are hopeful it will be approved.

Meanwhile, and to illustrate how much Ascendant is really wanted in Intag, DAIMI Services employees have been forced to be accompanied by fully-armed bodyguards whenever they go to communities to talk about the wonders of mining and Ascendant.
You’d think they’d get the message by now.

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[6] News update from Carlos Zorrilla, March 7.

New Setbacks for Ascendant.

On Thursday, March 2nd, community members detained 3 employees of Daimi Services in Chalguayacu Bajo and were taken to Junin. Daimi is the public relations company  hired by Ascendant to, supposedly, socialize their Environmental Impact Statement and get the Social Licence from communities. They were retained not only to protest the presence of the company, but also to pressure Daimi officials to meet with Junin where they wanted to officially tell them they were not wanted.

The police sent their elite team (the equivalent of SWAT) to the rescue, and after the communities explained why they had taken this measure actually sympathized with what they were doing. In fact one of the team members publicly said next time they should just shoot them, and also said in the future they would not be wasting their time rescuing company employees.  They were released completely unharmed on Thursday, and there were no arrests.

Barcelona

On Tuesday of that same week DAIMI Services’ medical team tried to go into Barcelona to, supposedly, offer free medical services.    Everyone by now knows DAIMI’s real objective is to try and socialize the Environmental Impact Statement, a prerequisite to continued mining activities in Intag.  However, they were met at Barcelona’s road block and told they were not wanted and to turn around.  As word went out to other colleagues and from several other communities of their presence via walkie talkies they became nervous and agreed to leave.  They were lucky.  The anti-mining sentiment is very strong in communities in this area.

Two days later, and coinciding with the same day of the detention of the Daimi employees in Chalguayacu Bajo, a known land trafficker suspected of selling land to the company was stopped at the same Barcelona road block.  They were traveling in a brand-new double cabin pick-up truck that had no licence.  Some people are convinced the car belongs to the mining company.

This unsavory individual is known to be trying to get his hands, illegally, on at least 600 hectares of forests belonging, to the Junin community, which sits right over the bulk of the mineralized zone.  He was accompanied by an official of the Ministry of the Environment from Ibarra and were supposedly on routine inspection of another piece of land.  On their way back from the inspection they were stopped. Since they could not correctly explain what they were doing, word went out quickly to other communities of their presence. At the same time, and for some mysterious reason, all four of the car’s tires were punctured.  Both individuals decided it was a better idea to abandon the brand-new car, and left on foot.  This was Thursday.  As of yesterday (Monday 6th), they had not returned.

All in all a pretty bad week for Ascendant.

Legal Processes.

Administrative legal processes were presented against the Ascendant Copper Corporation 10 days ago.  One seeks to force the company to reveal information they have not reveal to the public regarding their activities in Intag and Ecuador (the Habeas Data).  Another administrative legal process against the mining project used a new strategy to annul Ascendant’s  mining concessions.  It is based on a violation of a legal requirement contained in the mining regulation.  Both are still pending.

Last week DECOIN’s Carlos Zorrilla had to testify before the equivalent of the District Attorney’s office in Ibarra in response to a new accusation by Ascendant claiming he was the brains behind the burning down of Ascendant mining camp in Chalguayacu Bajo on December 10th 2006.  Four or five individuals that Carlos doesn’t even know told the Attorney that he is responsible for organizing the people against the mining project.  One even went so far as saying Carlos was behind the torching of the Mitsubishi mining camp in 1997!  Needless to say they are absurd accusations, and probably indicative of Ascendant’s displeasure at having its shares lose 45% of their value (about 22 million dollars) the past few months, partly due to Carlos’ reporting of the anti-mining activities and factual news that has hurt the company’s image.  That, and the flawed logic that makes them think that if they get rid of Carlos the resistance to the project will come to an end.  To justify the ludicrous accusation, the company presented copies of updates like this one taken from our web site, decoin.org.  Previously, the company had put in an official request asking the Ministry of Foreign Relations to investigate Carlos.

CODEGAM and the Frankenstein Factor.

The company doesn’t quite know what to do with its monster these days.  After more than a year of happy co-existence, CODEGAM has now turned against their creator.  Why?  The story is a bit complicated, but it can boil down to,,,, MONEY and bad press.  The company publicly has stated it was not happy with some of CODEGAM’s actions (such as storming a Municipality meeting being held with the company), and they were being cut off economically.  Then, Ascendant hired DAIMI Services to take over some of the things CODEGAM was supposed to be doing.  Add to this the fact that a while back the company, along with CODEGAM, were offering all kinds of  public projects, such as road building, new schools, bridges over major rivers, football stadiums, computers in every school room, new homes, and on and on.  So, many people are upset that the great majority of these things were never completed- and they now see these false promises for what they really are.  As a consequence, even in their previous stronghold of the town of Garcia Moreno Ascendant and DAIMI are personas non-grata.  The rejection to both companies is such that they had to move their operations out of Garcia Moreno and to the village of Villadorita- about 40 minutes from Garcia Moreno, further away from their mining concessions!  The honeymoon is over.

Meeting on the 12th. Ascendant and Dami have organized  a meeting in the village of Chalguayacu Alto this coming Sunday, 12th of March to.  The main objective is to do what they haven’t so far been able to do in the communities most affected by the mining project:  socialize the Environmental Impact Statement.  It is interesting to note that, from the information we’ve received, they have invited community members from areas completely outside the mining concessions. It is also telling that they chose to meet in a town that is technically outside their mining concessions.  This is because there is not a single village or town within their mining concession where they could hold this meeting.  If they are dreaming that this meeting will satisfy the legal requirements for socializing the Environmental Impact Statement, they are in for a big disappointment.

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[7] Cyril Mychalejko article in Upsidedownworld.org

Wednesday, 15 March 2006.  Upsidedownworld.org

Canadian mining company Ascendant Copper has faced a litany of setbacks in recent weeks in their efforts to open a large-scale copper mine in the Intag region of Ecuador according to reports from Defensa y Concervacion Ecologica de Intag (DECOIN).

On March 2nd, community members detained 3 employees of Daimi Services in Chalguayacu Bajo and were taken to Junin. Daimi is the public relations company hired by Ascendant to socialize their Environmental Impact Statement and get the Social Licence from communities. Police were sent in but after talking with community members sympathized with them. The employees were released and no one was arrested.

“While these acts are unfortunate, they are acts of a small and distinct minority in the region,” said Ascendant President Gary E. Davis. “We will continue to finish the EIS and submit it to the Ministry in order to obtain the drilling permits necessary to take advantage of the upcoming summer season.”

On Sunday Ascendant and Daimi organized a meeting in Chalguayacu Alto, a town considered “friendly” to mining, to socialize the company’s Environmental Impact Study. But local mining opponents, who were conspicuously not invited to the meeting, set up successful roadblocks that forced the company to change the venue to a farm far outside of the mining area.

What the company didn’t expect was the arrival of disgruntled members of Corporación para el Desarrollo de las Comunidades de García Moreno (CODEGAM) at the rescheduled meeting. They came to confront the mining company and Daimi to vent their anger and frustration at being lied to and taken advantaged of. Many CODEGAM members have expressed a desire to join forces with the Junín anti-mining group to, in their words, “kick out Ascendant once-and-for all.” CODEGAM was previously in the pocket of Ascendant.

“The vast majority of the people in these communities want this project — which is committed to adhering to best industry practices on environmental and social matters — to move forward, and they recognize the many economic, as well as environmental, benefits to the region that will result from it,” said Davis last week.

Local residents wonder when Davis and Ascendant will actually get the message and leave.

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[8] ISN-USA pays a visit to Ascendant Copper CEO, Gary Davis.

Unfortunately, people in Junín do not have the financial resources at their luxury to pay for an airplane ticket to Denver in order to drop in and visit Gary Davis, CEO of Ascendant Copper.  Of course, Mr. Davis enjoys such power, as he flew to Ecuador last June to meet with pro-mining factions, as well as making a surprise visit at the house of a community member.  Likewise, power relations entitle Mr. Davis near absolute freedom to enter Ecuador with minimal paperwork, and minor visa headaches.  Someone from Junín, on the other hand, essentially needs a letter from God Almighty to secure a visa from the United States Embassy just to set foot in the United States.  Obviously, such differences in power are what makes our world so unjust and so undemocratic.  It is also what makes Ascendant Copper and its CEO, Gary Davis, imperialists, but of a very low grade.

Recently, two members of ISN-USA paid an unannounced visit to the office of Gary Davis.  We have long been curious as to what the facilities of this great mining company would look like.  At first, we were surprised to see that the office was nothing but a second rate, “rent-a-office” used by fly-by-night scam operations.  In this case the office building was located on a frontage road, in the Denver area.  It’s sandwiched between a very run-down discount gas station, the type of place where people buy cheap beer and discount smokes.  On the other side was a Grease Monkey.  It’s good to know Gary Davis can buy cheap smokes, a six-pack of Bud Lite, get his oil changed, all while plotting and planning the destruction of communities in Intag.  On reflection, we are not at all surprised that such a third rate Bozo operation like Ascendant is located in such a pathetic office.  Apparently corporate image is not a priority.

Ascendant’s Office is actually located in a small, tacky office suite, apparently owned by a firm known as Anatolia Mining.  When we entered, we asked if its was the office of Ascendant and if Mr. Davis was available.  When Gary came out, we introduced ourselves by saying that we understand that Ascendant was conducting public consultations about their environmental impact study and that we were the “public.”  He invited us into his office, which was small.  It had his desk, with a computer on it, a phone, and two chairs for visitors.  We spoke with Mr. Davis for about 20 minutes, emphasizing through out that our message was that the people in Junín will never let this mine happen.  Mr. Davis stressed throughout the conversation that his is a “smart guy,” and that he “knows Ecuador.”   Unfortunately, evidence to date would prove contrary to any reasonable evaluator.  Mr. Davis expressed that Ascendant is only talking about exploring, not actually building a mine.  We found this a fascinating statement, one that we wonder if the stockholders are aware of.  I bet the would sell if they knew that the only goal was to dig holes in the ground, but to never extract copper from the cloud forests.  Mr. Davis also articulated that his job was to balance the interests of community with those of the stockholders.  We pressed him on the issues, asking if it was his legal fiduciary responsibility as CEO to advance the interests of the stockholders over the community.  He eventually yielded, stating that stockholder interest to precedence over those of the community.  We learned from Mr. Davis that Ascendant’s next step is to start exploration, once the “consultations” on the environmental impact study were complete.  He indicated that Ascendant would be drilling over 20 exploratory holes.

The ISN-USA visit with Gary Davis served to deliver the clear message that Intag and Junín are steadfast in resistance to mining.  It also served as a reality check to Mr. Davis, that we will drop by for a chat just as he has in Intag.  Someday, we hope to be able to get a visa for someone from Junín and have them visit the United States.  During such a visit, it would be great if they could drop in for a conversation with Gary.

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USEFUL LINKS TO STAY INFORMED

Intag Solidarity Network [http://intagsolidarity.org]
Intag Newspaper [http://www.intagnewspaper.org/]
DECOIN [http://www.decoin.org/]

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TO CONTRIBUTE

Members of the ISN community are anyone in solidarity with the struggle in Intag is encouraged to use this newsletter as a forum to share important information. To submit an article, an update, or just a quick note simply e-mail the text to intagsol@intagsolidarity.org.

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TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE e-mail intagsol@intagsolidarity.org.

This is an official communication from the Intag Solidarity Network for members of the North American community in solidarity with the region of Intag. All content is produced by members of this community.

Copyright, 2006. Please credit Intag Solidarity Network and when possible specific authors if using information from this newsletter.