'Historic moment': Panama activists celebrate ruling against copper mine

Source: The Guardian

‘Historic moment’: Panama activists celebrate ruling against copper mine

Campaigners take to streets after supreme court ruling that could shut down contentious copper mining project

Luke Taylor
Tue 28 Nov 2023 16.25 GMT
Last modified on Tue 28 Nov 2023 20.22 GMT

Environmental activists in Panama have taken to the streets to celebrate a ruling by the country’s supreme court which could shut down a contentious copper mining project and bring an end to weeks of mass protests which have paralysed the country’s major roads and ports.

“Today Panama celebrates a historic moment that we have been waiting for for years. At first there were only a few of us but now we all understand that Panama’s gold is green,” said Serena Vamvas, who has been protesting the mine since 2021 with Foundation My Sea (Fundación Mi Mar).

Flag-waving activists filled the square in front of the courthouse in Panama City tocelebrate a ruling they said would prevent 20 years of environmental damage to Panama’s jungles from the giant copper pit.

Lilian Guevara at the Environmental Advocacy Centre (CIAM) said the protests and the result served as a referendum on the environmental future of Panama.

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Read more: https://archive.is/BJmWP

Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/panama-supreme-court-canadian-copper-mine-unconstitutional