August 15, 2010 – Barrick Gold has come out swinging against Argentina’s leading daily newspaper Clarín, for running a comic strip depicting the unscrupulous destruction of Argentina’s glaciers and the contamination from Barrick’s operations at it’s Pascua Lama and Veladero Goldmines in San Juan Province.
NELLY (see below), a very well known local political comic appearing on the back cover of the daily Clarín, shows Argentine President Cristina Fernández and Barrick Gold’s CEO Peter Munke in a hot tub furnished with intentionally melted glacier water, toasting to Barrick’s bonanza earnings in Argentina. The Canadian flag is hoisted on a small boat floating in the hot tub along with the President and Munke. The flag alludes to a recent photo that ran in local papers of the Canadian flag carried on horseback across the Chilean/Argentine border to commemorate Argentine and Chilean independence.
San Juan Provincial governor Gioja is also depicted in one of the frames with Barrick officials encouraging Barrick to use more cyanide to contaminate local rivers. A last frame shows local communities infested with disease bathing in Barrick’s contaminated water.
A spokesperson from Barrick Gold Argentina sent an infuriated letter to Clarin after NELLY ran the Barrick comic on August 7th saying they don’t destroy glaciers or contaminate water.
NELLY’s critique of Barrick and its carnal relations with the incumbent government appears at the same time Congress is debating a glacier protection bill, which was previously voted unanimously by Congress but vetoed by the President, most say, because Barrick Gold didn’t want the law. It is euphemistically known to Argentines as the Barrick Veto.
Transcript of Cartoon:
Frame 1: GLACIERS: The Whole Truth
Who said the water is lost?
The three steps taking advantage of the planet’s purest water
STEP 1: (Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is in a hot tub with Barrick CEO Peter Munke, toasting to their gains, while Agustin Rossi, Peronist Party Head of the Argentine Congress acts as waiter – Rossi organizes the government’s opposition to a Glacier Protection Law in Congress at present, which Barrick Gold had earlier successfully lobbied for a Presidential Veto last year- the President and Munke toast to the benefits of Barrick Gold in Argentina – a Canadian flag is hoisted on a small boat floating in the hot tub)
SUBTITLE TEXT: The ice water is melted with subsidized energy and is used to feed a thermal spa (in which the Argentine President and Peter Munke bathe!)
Cristina: “Cheers! The State has earned $500 million in one year”
Peter Munke: (tapping his glass with Cristina in the hot tub)
“Yes Yes, Barrick has earned $165 billion in 25 years”
A.Rossi: “The [grilled] lamb is ready” (a reference to a traditional Patagonian meal as Cristina and her husband, former president Kirchner are from Patagonia)
STEP 2: (Barrick Gold worker at Barrick’s Pascua Lama/Veladero goldmine site with San Juan Province Governor Gioja observing and commenting cyanide runoff; contaminated water runs out of the Barrick Gold mining site into the local river; a sign on Barrick’s operations reads: “Barrick Gold: It’s better to do than to say”)
SUBTITLE TEXT: Then the water is utilized RESPONSIBLY in NON CONTAMINATING MINING (a reference to Barrick’s ubiquitous advertisements in Argentina of their supposed “responsible mining” ).
Barrick: “We’ve already used 100,000 million liters of water and 10,000 million liters of cyanide governor”.
Governor: “Don’t you think you need MORE cyanide?”
Gioja
STEP 3: (A group of people/families bathing in a nearby mountain pool, evidently affected by contamination)
SUBTITLE TEXT: “Finally the water arrives to community pools for the whole family.”
Boy: (to his mother who is green from poisonous contamination) “Ma, my arm itches!”
Mother: “It’s nothing Mat, you must have been bitten by a dengue mosquito”
For More Information:
Center for Human Rights and Environment
www.cedha.org.ar