Lessons not learned  from mine closures

Given that scandalous evidence has been found that there are mines in Panama that, although they have been closed, it has not been in the best way, since recent studies by the Technological University of Panama reveal a high concentration of dangerous chemicals – such as arsenic – in foods that are harvested in the area of ​​Remance, in the province of Veraguas, a place where twenty years ago a company extracted gold, we must be insistent with oversight by civil society and international environmental organizations with experience in the matter to the closure of the Donoso mine. Thus allowing Panamanians to know first-hand how this process is carried out. Furthermore, it is imperative that the Government name and inform the country who will be the negotiators who will represent the State in the talks for its orderly and planned closure, a procedure that, as is known, can take several years. This issue is of vital importance, taking into account the diseases – such as cancer – of which inhabitants of former mineral extraction areas are victims. But the government’s silence is deafening. They do not respond to the demands of the citizens, nor to the concerns of the Donoso mining company. It seems that the last month did not teach them any lessons. – LA PRENSA, Dec. 5.