Romanians protest against a Canadian gold mine project in Bucharest, September 1, 2013.
Thousands of Romanians have staged protests against a controversial Canadian gold mine project using cyanide and a US companyâ„¢s plans for gas exploration.
Between 4,000 to 7,000 people gathered in the capital of Bucharest on Sunday to march between the central University Square and the government building chanting slogans against the plans by Canadian company Gabriel Resources’ to mine in the village of Rosia Montana in the region of Transylvania.
The crowd also protested against the governmentâ„¢s support of the project, which would become Europeâ„¢s largest open-cast gold mine.
“We are angry because the right to a safe environment is violated and because the government adopted a draft law saying the mine is of national interest”, said Irina Enea, a protester.
Protesters say the project would damage the environment, as the company plans to destroy four mountain tops and wipe out three outlying villages in the area.
The project would also involve using an average of 12,000 tons of cyanide a year to mine the estimated 314 tons of gold and 1,500 tons of silver.
The protest came as the Romanian government approved on August 27 a draft law granting national interest status to the Canadian project. The draft must however receive approval from the parliament before becoming a valid law.
The government granted the draft after it received a bigger stake in the project by the Canadian company, which has been waiting 14 years to receive permit for the mine.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta voted for the draft law even though he was a strong opponent to the project before taking office in May last year. Ponta told media that after the approval he would vote against the project in parliament.
Meanwhile, demonstrations were held on the same day in several other Romanian cities including in the northeastern city of Barlad, where more than 3,500 people protested against the US oil giant Chevronâ„¢s plans for shale gas drilling in the area.
The controversial drilling technique also known as Å“fracking” involves injecting large amounts of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, at high pressures to break rock formations and release the gas. The protesters say the exploration techinique will poison their land.
CAH/HMV
Republished from: Press TV