RWE and Vatenfall continue to receive their Colombian Blood-Coal Imports from 2 companies operating their mines in Cesar region bordering Venezuela. Both of these companies: Drummond and Prodeco have been using right-wing paramilitaries as their private security force which has committed over 3,000 killings, over 59,000 forced removals and the disappearance of at least 240 people all in the region affected by coal mining. Nine different independent sources have confirmed that Drummond AUC made substantial financial contributions to the main right wing group in the region, Juan Andrés Alvares front. The payment methods ranged from direct cash payments to covert transfers via service providers and transfers of f set percentage yields of the mine operators. Drummond also ordered it official private security company AUC to remove “suspicious persons” from its premises. Telephone orders to do so resulted in the killing of these persons.
Several European companies, including the Danish state-owned energy provider Dong and Italy’s Enel, have stopped importing coal from the region and accepting it from RWE after carrying out their own investigations and have instead moved on to using other less controversial climate killing fossil fuels.
Both RWE and Vattenfall when confronted with this situation numerous times and by many groups,even at its stock holder meeting with documented and particular cases of murder, both companies responded by making references to their “Better Coal” Campaign. A Green Washing campaign that should be more appropriately called “Murder Coal”.
Background:
Over the last 30 years Colombia has become the 4th largest global coal exporter. Production quadrupled between 1990 and 2014. This happened while its domestic consumtion has been going down.
The response has been that Increasingly the Colombian society has acknowledged the environmental and social costs of coal mining by calling for the coal mining licenses to be revoked. There is growing movement to resist the capitalist growth economy that feeds global extractionism and to instead build alternatives models for food sovereignty, agro-ecology, and participatory consensus for the benefit of all.
From Hambacher Forest resisting coal as well, what at times can feel like a lonely voice as well, a call goes out to support our comrades in Colombia by keeping up with developments, making contact and engaging in Solidarity Actions.
To you you compañeros who have suffered so much to feed the Global’s North Capitalist Beast of Extractionism and Consumption, just want to say:
NO ESTAS SOLO!
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!