Romania: Movie scare tactics in Certej
Employees at Deva Gold mine assaulted the activists of Mining Watch Romania in an incident that occurred in late March on the public road near Certej gold deposits. Company representatives verbally insulted activists and violently tried to prevent them from filming the incident.
Eldorado Gold, a low-cost Canadian company intends to develop the first cyanide based open-pit gold mine in Romania. The Certej deposit is owned by Deva Gold S.A., a joint venture between Eldorado Gold (80%) and state-owned Minvest Deva (~ 20%). The project was facing both strong national and international opposition.
On Tuesday, March 28, Mining Watch activists drove to Certej to verify the legality of ongoing construction works and to inspect construction panels set on the site of works.
Once the activists were ready to leave, their car, positioned on the public road was blocked. As the company representatives refused to clear the road and verbally insulted the activists, they decided to call the police.
Tensions continued to rise and one of the employees tried to snatch the phone from one of the activists who was filming the event.
“A company that has nothing to hide does not block activists. The Canadian company is using bullying tactics to discourage Romanian citizens from finding out what is really going on and intimidating those disagreeing with the mine and excessive use of cyanide. The company has clearly forgotten that Certej is not in their private playground and they must respect the laws of our country” says Roxana Pencea, one of the activists present at Certej.
In Romania, Deva Gold has a long-standing reputation for not acting according to the rules. In 2014, Mining Watch Romania discovered construction works that turned out to be illegal. Last year, the company’s works were stopped by a court decision.
The activists were not injured in the incident, but in cooperation with the police they filed an official complaint.
Source: MiningWatchRomania
