Activist from El Salvador to speak at AFTINET's AGM

AFTINET ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
13th November, 2013
5.30pm: AGM | 6pm: Guest Speaker
Finance Sector Union, Level 2, 321 Pitt St, Sydney

Vidalina Morales is a small scale farmer and a mother of five from El Salvador. In 2006 she discovered that her community was under threat from the El Dorado mining project by Canada-based mining company, Pacific Rim. She is now recognised as one of the leading voices in the environmental defense movement in El Salvador.

After widespread community protest, the government in El Salvador suspended mining licences for environmental and public health reasons. Pacific Rim is now using investor-state dispute settlement in a trade agreement to sue the government because this legislation. An Australian company, Oceania Gold, has a major shareholding in the company. Vidalina will speak on behalf of anti-mining group La Mesa.

These are the same investor rights to sue that we are campaigning against in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and other trade agreements.

“Instead of a law allowing Pacific Rim to sue our government, they should be sued. The company should be made to pay for all the damage they’ve caused to our environment and our community”– Vidalina Morales

Free – Please RSVP to campaign@aftinet.org.au by COB Nov 10

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