2023-07-04 10:21:36
Return of tensions in Taolagnaro. A clash took place yesterday between demonstrators who oppose the activities of the mining company QMM and the police. It resulted in the arrest of more than 80 people, the injury of 10 others, including 2 on the side of the elements of the police.
Since June 26, thousands of disgruntled protesters have once again blocked the road leading to the mining company’s Mandena site with dams. Several QMM employees had been detained on the site for several days. The total blockage and the manifestation of clearly characterized threats did not make it possible to ensure their succession, affirmed QMM. The security forces had to intervene to dismantle the dam but they were attacked by the crowd by throwing stones. In turn, they responded by firing tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators.
Since yesterday afternoon, according to local sources, calm has returned. The police remained on site to monitor and prevent possible demonstrations. However, it can only be a precarious lull, the arrest of several dozen demonstrators can only fuel anger among the local population.
Asked about the causes of this new movement, the demonstrators answered that, like thousands of inhabitants of the villages who are victims of the consequences of mining, they had not signed the agreement with QMM because they estimated that the amount of the compensation proposed by the company was much lower than the value of the losses suffered by each citizen concerned in terms of their environment, their health and their lives, reports the Collectif Tany in a press release published on July 2.
In March 2023, the mining company announced that it had given financial compensation to more than 5,000 beneficiaries, including usufructuaries and fishermen. These compensations related to the damages suffered by the local communities, linked to the activities of QMM, compensations in exchange for the cessation of grievances and demonstrations.
A new agreement has just been signed between the State and the QMM company, but the communities, which suffer all the negative consequences, were not involved in the negotiations and decisions, commented members of the LUSUD association (Lutte for the South) who initiated the movement. Last weekend, wanted notices were launched by the head of the Taolagnaro judicial police support group against two LUSUD leaders, Eugène Chrétien and Laurent Manjary, considered to be the leaders of the strike against QMM.
The LUSUD association was created in March 2023, after the signing of the agreement with QMM, it emphasized the high risks of contamination of the water consumed by the inhabitants of the villages neighboring the site because the wastewater from the QMM plant flow untreated into the waters of the river and the lake, which the population consumes and uses for its daily needs. Some talk about the presence of radioactive elements and the mention of the increase in the rate of aluminium, uranium and cadmium in various reports from the parent company and other experts. When dozens of dead fish rose to the surface of the water around the weir in March 2022, the Minister for Water had underlined the evidence of the responsibility of the company QMM, while the company had communicated on its disclaimer.
Demonstrations against the activities of QMM are recurrent in Fort-Dauphin. Since 2013, the local population has said that they have been flouted and have asked that the QMM company take their interests into account. QMM for its part has always demanded that dialogue and discussions take place not under pressure from the street but in a calm and structured framework.
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