Forum Tackles Mining Issues
Published by MAC on 2006-12-12Source: Inquirer Breaking News
Forum tackles mining issues
December 12, 2006
THE THREAT to ancestral domain posed by large-scale mining activities and the trampling of the rights of indigenous peoples (IPs) were the main issues discussed at a forum on Monday during the 2nd Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC) held at the Montebello Hotel in Cebu City.
During the forum, Filipino IPs and their Indonesian IP guests led by Cion Alexander and Norman Jijuan of the Dayak tribe shared lessons and insights and called for increased awareness of and government action on the matter in their respective countries. A guest speaker, Dr. Quang Toan of Vietnam, spoke on the experiences of IPs in his country.
"Since the Asean Minerals Cooperation Action Plan was approved, we noticed an aggressive promotion of large-scale mining. This poses a threat to IPs not only in the Philippines but also in other Southeast Asian countries," said Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM).