宛て名;Mr David Copeland 役職;President and CEO 会社名;Continental Minerals Corporation 住所;1020 - 800 West Pender Street Vancouver BC V6C 2V6 Canada
[日付]
Dear Mr Copeland
I join tens of thousands of people who are deeply concerned over Continental Minerals’ continued mining operations at Shetongmon [Ch: Xietongmen] in central Tibet while the Chinese authorities are intensifying their crackdown on Tibetans in Tibet. I call on you to immediately cease all operations in Tibet or face increased global opposition.
Just one week after Continental Minerals published its latest report on the mineral deposits at the Shetongmon mine site, news reached the outside world of Chinese troops quelling Tibetans’ peaceful protests against natural resource projects:
On 24 May 2009, residents of Tawu and Nyagchu County (Karze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province) gathered at the local county headquarters to protest the planned forced-relocation of tens of thousands of Tibetans to make room for the construction of a hydroelectric dam. Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported that Chinese troops fired indiscriminately into the crowd of protestors, and six Tibetan women were seriously wounded. Their current condition is unknown. In Markham County (Chamdo Prefecture, Tibetan Autonomous Region) hundreds of Tibetans have been protesting against a planned gold mine by peacefully occupying the area for the past several months. AsiaNews reported that on 16 May 2009, the Chinese authorities responded by sending in security forces. However, up to 500 Tibetans blocked the road leading to the planned mine, which led to a stand-off lasting for several days. Subsequent news indicates that several hundred Tibetans have traveled to Lhasa to complain to the provincial authorities of the ongoing harassment of Tibetan protesters by local officials.
These protests are a clear indication of the Tibetan people’s opposition to the exploitation of their natural resources without their free, prior and informed consent – an international right that has been denied to them under China’s violent military occupation.
Tibetans who dare to protest mining projects do so knowing that they risk arrest, imprisonment, and even death. Following the Chinese government's crackdown on last year's overwhelmingly peaceful protests in Tibet, thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned or disappeared. Tibet remains a conflict zone, with Chinese armed forces patrolling towns and monasteries, and foreign journalists continue to be denied access to Tibetan areas.
On 19 May, you stated "the Xietongmen project can bring long-term benefits to the region." However, the Tibetan people have no say in the use of their land, and mining in this context poses a serious threat to the survival of the people, their culture, and the environment.
In March 2007, a report commissioned by the Government of Canada to look at corporate social responsibility in the extractive sector included the suggestion that “international ‘no-go’ zones for Canadian extractive companies be established, including countries with serious and widespread human rights abuses, such as Burma and Tibet.”
I am disappointed to learn that you have not heeded this recommendation nor responded to previous letters from Canada Tibet Committee and Students for a Free Tibet calling for your immediate withdrawal from Tibet.
By working in Tibet, your company is complicit in the Chinese government’s violent suppression of the Tibetan people's desire for human rights and freedom. I add my voice to the global opposition to your Shetongmon mine project and will continue to work to end your operations in Tibet.
a. コンチネンタル ミネラル社;Continental Minerals Corporation 最高経営責任者: Mr David Copeland 住所: Continental Minerals Corporation 1020 - 800 West Pender Street Vancouver BC V6C 2V6 Canada Fax: +1 604 684 8092 Email: info@hdgold.com
b. 親会社;Hunter Dickinson (住所、ファックス、Eメールはコンチネンタルと同じ) 最高責任者: Mr Ronald Thiessen Address: Hunter Dickinson 1020 - 800 West Pender Street Vancouver BC V6C 2V6 Canada Fax: +1 604 684 8092 Email: info@hdgold.com
We are overjoyed to report that Tibetans have successfully
stopped mining operations at Ser Ngul Lo mountain!
Thank you to everyone who responded to our urgent appeal for
action last week; more than 2,800 faxes were sent to the Chinese
government. Your actions have made a difference for Tibetans in
Markham County who have been peacefully protesting for months to
save this sacred mountain. Read more:
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2001
On Monday security forces were withdrawn from the area after an
agreement was reached between the Tibetan community and Chinese
officials. Negotiations continue over the clean up of toxic
chemicals left over from previous mining operations, which local
Tibetans believe have poisoned water sources leading to the
deaths of both people and cattle.
As we share news of this remarkable victory, we are aware that
the situation inside Tibet remains incredibly tense.
Chinese armed forces are patrolling the streets of Tibetan towns
and villages, and we hear of harsh prison sentences, arrests,
and beatings almost daily. And yet, by barring foreign
journalists and closely monitoring phone and internet
communications, the Chinese government has effectively stopped
news and images of its ongoing military crackdown from reaching
the outside world.
Now the Chinese government wants to control every computer in
China and Tibet. China declared this week that as of July 1 all
PCs sold in China must be pre-installed with "Green Dam," new
Chinese-designed internet filtering software.
http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2003
Tell American computer giants HP and Dell to refuse to implement
China's new restriction:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/C1szAdY1nSz9//
"Green Dam" will not only allow the Chinese government to
further censor information about Tibet, human rights, and
anything else Beijing deems 'politically sensitive,' but it
could also be used to spy on and control PC users in Tibet and
China.
The move has prompted a global outcry from technology trade
associations, Chinese internet users, internet freedom
advocates, human rights groups, and Chinese lawyers.
Dell and HP are currently in discussions with the Chinese
government over the implications of this new software.
Please send a letter to Dell CEO, Michael Dell, and HP CEO, Mark
Hurd, urging them to uphold the principles of free speech and
internet freedom by refusing to install "Green Dam" on computers
headed to the Chinese market.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/C1szAdY1nSz9/
If you are a Dell or HP user, please make sure to include this
in the letter.
By standing up to China, Dell and HP can help to quash this
repressive restriction once and for all.
Thank you for everything you do to help make a difference for
Tibet.
Lhadon, Tendor, Kate, Heather, Chand and everyone at SFT HQ
We need your help to turn up the heat on HDI/Continental Minerals, a Canadian company that is preparing to begin operations at a massive mine site in Tibet.
Tibetans and their supporters in Canada have intesified pressure on the company. Protests were held this past weekend in Vancouver, Canada and further protests are planned.
Tomorrow, June 24th is HDI/Continental Minerals annual shareholders' meeting. YOU can help ensure that the company hears opposition from Tibetans and supporters globally.
TAKE ACTION!
1) Send a letter to David Copeland, CEO of Continental Minerals, a subsidiary of Hunter Dickinson Inc.
2) Call the company's head office at 1-800-667-2114 or +1 604-684-6365 to voice your opposition to HDI/Continental Minerals' Tibet operations. Click here for helpful talking points.
3) Post SFT's Stop Mining Tibet logo on your social networking site, website, and blog.
4) Change your Facebook profile picture and Twitter avatar to the Stop Mining Tibet logo and encourage others to take action on your twitterfeed and status update.
5) Post a comment on SFT's Facebook fan page about your interaction with the company after you call to voice your opposition to the project.
6) Download a sample letter, personalize it, and fax or mail it to HDI/Continental Minerals.
And, don't forget to visit: www.StopMiningTibet.org. If you're on Facebook, check out SFT's fan page for updates on this global action.
Now is a critical time to stop HDI/Continental Minerals in its tracks – before it launches full-scale operations for gold, silver, and copper in Shethongmon, central Tibet. With a proposed lifespan of 14 years, the mine will irreversibly disrupt the lives of Tibetans in the area. The mine is located dangerously close to the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which is the main water source for Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city and many other Tibetan towns and villages.
Even as Tibet remains under military lockdown, we're hearing incredible reports of Tibetans risking arrest, imprisonment, and even death to protest devastating resource extraction operations on their land. By stepping up the pressure on HDI/Continental Minerals, we can help stop foreign companies and the Chinese government from profiting off the Tibetan people's land and help protect Tibet's fragile environment for generations to come.
With hope,
Tendor, Lhadon, Kate, Heather, Chand and all of us here at SFT HQ.
P.S. Please take action now: Call HDI/Continental Minerals at 1-800-667-2114 or +1 604-684-6365.