Peru court orders indigenous governor of mining region to 6 years in prison

Bear Creek Mining

14/08/2019 20:35

LIMA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A Peruvian court ordered the arrest
of the indigenous governor of a mineral-rich southern region
after sentencing him to six years in prison on Wednesday for
leading 2011 deadly protests against a Canadian open-pit silver
project.
    Walter Aduviri, 39, the governor of Puno and an indigenous
Aymara leader, was found guilty in absentia by a criminal court
of disturbing public order, the office of the judiciary said on
Twitter.
    Aduviri did not appear at the trial and ignored a previous
judicial order to be held in jail ahead of it.
    His current whereabouts are unknown, leaving it unclear who
has been governing the highland region rich in gold, silver,
tin, lithium and uranium. Agustin Luque, the deputy governor of
Puno, was expected to replace him in office.
    One of Aduviri's attorneys, Aldo Valdivia, said he continues
to deny any wrongdoing and is at an undisclosed "safe harbor"
while he resists a judicial process he considers unfair.
    A trained accountant and a self-avowed admirer of indigenous
President Evo Morales in neighboring Bolivia, Aduviri spent most
of 2018 as a fugitive of a sedition conviction before being
acquitted on appeal and winning the governor's race in October
regional elections.
    The new sentence was a blow one of the more radical local
leaders in the country's mineral-rich south, a bastion for
opposition to politics dominated by Lima elites where many
clamor for a greater share of mining proceeds.
    However, the ruling might also fuel anti-mining sentiment in
a region that is already simmering with protests against an
industry that drives about 15% of the country's economic growth
and 60% of its export earnings.
    Aduviri plans to file an appeal as soon as he receives
official notification of his sentence. "We'll take it to the
Supreme Court," Valdivia said, arguing there was no direct proof
Aduviri had organized the protests.
    Known as the "Aymarazo," in reference to the Aymara Indians
like Aduviri who have led opposition to a Canadian miner Bear
Creek Mining Corp's plans to tap a silver deposit in Puno, the
2011 protests left five dead in clashes with police and led the
government to rescind the company's authorization to operate.
    Aduviri told Reuters in an interview last year that he and
other anti-mining activists had been unfairly targeted by the
country's justice system for exercising their constitutional
right to protest.
    Peru is the world's No.2 copper, zinc and silver producer
and the sixth largest gold producer. But conflicts over the
country's most robust industry have blocked billions of dollars
in potential investments in the past decade.
    In recent weeks, opposition to Southern Copper Corp's
 SCCO.N  $1.4 billion Tia Maria project by farmers who fear it
will contaminate crops has triggered clashes in the region of
Arequipa, suspending copper shipments from an important minerals
port for weeks as protesters seized key infrastructure.
    On Monday, a fresh strike against another mining project -
Anglo American PLC's  AAL.L  $5 billion Quellaveco project - got
underway in the neighboring region of Moquegua, with some local
media reporting protesters had occupied roads.
    Residents in Moquegua have complained that Anglo American is
not meeting its commitment to hire local labor for the mine's
construction, a charge the company has denied.
    Aduviri is an outspoken critic of Peru's decades-old
business-friendly economic model and has opposed Bear Creek's
efforts to revive its silver project, calling it "impossible."
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1XP1TM
    While he has not said whether he supports Plateau Energy
Metals Inc's  PLU.V  plans to build a lithium and uranium mine
in Puno, he has called for the Peruvian state to nationalize
strategic resources - a move beyond his powers as governor.

 (Reporting by Marco Aquino and Mitra Taj; Editing by Sandra
Maler)
 ((mitra.taj@thomsonreuters.com; +51 (1) 277-9550; Reuters
Messaging: mitra.taj.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))