Protests against the Base Toliara mining project have once again captured the public’s attention during the last week of August. The main development was the arrest of Solonarivo TSIAZONALY, a civil society leader (1), who was forced to sign an undertaking for his release (2). The TANY Collectif underscores this flagrant attack on democratic freedoms and provides new data on the danger of this project.
The grounds for arrest were “unauthorized demonstration and disturbance of public order”. According to our information, confirmed by statements made by the demonstrators, a request for authorization to demonstrate had indeed been submitted several days before the event. In the end, the Prefect’s refusal was not received until the evening before the peaceful march, by which time the community representatives had already arrived in Toliara. On June 26, 2024, demonstrators carrying banners demanding the opening of the Base Toliara project were not banned by the police. So why was the authorization requested by communities bordering the project refused, and why was this refusal only communicated the day before ? Article 6 of the Malagasy Constitution stipulates that “all individuals are equal before the law and enjoy the same fundamental freedoms protected by the law, without discrimination based on sex, level of education, wealth, origin, religious belief or opinion”.
The demande made to Solonarivo TSIAZONALY, upon his arrest, to sign an undertaking not to strike again in exchange for his freedom is a flagrant violation of human rights. The Constitution stresses “respect for and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms” in its preamble, recalling the international conventions ratified by the Malagasy state, and guarantees “individual rights and fundamental freedoms” in article 7 (3).
Preventing citizens from demonstrating peacefully, forcing some of them to commit themselves in writing not to oppose but to accept anything, while their rights are ignored and their existence jeopardized, intimidating, gagging and muzzling communities are methods of maintaining social peace that we strongly recommend abandoning. These methods are becoming increasingly widespread and may ultimately have the opposite effect to that expected by the country’s leaders, If we look closely at Madagascar’s history,
A statement and a question from demonstrators in Tuléar on August 27, broadcast on video after the arrest of Solonarivo TSIAZONALY, deserve to be brought to everyone’s attention : Defending one’s rights is not a crime. Why arrest a human rights defender while thieves and other bandits remain at large ? It is indeed with the aim of safeguarding their lives, their health, their sources of income and their descendants that these demonstrators continue to fight, in the face of the threat of annihilation of the few means of existence they have, despite the indifference and even contempt of certain decision-makers.
These communities are quite right to speak out and should enjoy their right to oppose the mining project, because :
* the list of illegal and illegitimate aspects of the Base Toliara project had already been published in 2020 by Madagascar’s Cour des Comptes. It had not called for the project to be stopped, as this institution does not have this prerogative (4) ;
* the land essential to the subsistence and survival of these communities will be taken from them for the needs and profits of the mining company and its local associates ;
* the hazardous nature of the Base Toliara project and the risks to the health and lives of local residents have been further confirmed by the December 2023 monazite mining pre-feasibility study published by Base Resources. Should the current negotiations result in a decision by Madagascar’s leaders to authorize the resumption of Base Toliara’s activities, including monazite among the minerals extracted, “there would be risks of radioactivity for workers and the community, which would have to be properly managed. (…) Monazite from the Toliara project will be classified as Class 7 dangerous goods (…) due to the levels of radioactive material it contains, and will require specialized handling and distribution” (…) as well as a dedicated vessel (“sharing with other cargoes on board a vessel is not permitted) ” (5).
Finally, Base Resources mentions fiscal matters among the issues currently under negotiation with the Malagasy government (6). Their content probably concerns a point mentioned by some national media : the mining company Base Resources alias Energy Fuels would like to benefit from the 2005 Large Mining Investment Law (LGIM) (7), already enjoyed by the company Ambatovy. To better understand the advantages of this LGIM, one need only read the long list of benefits granted to mining companies, including relief from several taxes, in the “Madagascar, An Island of Treasures” section of the EDBM (Economic Development Board of Madagascar) investment promotion agency website (8). The local communities will therefore pay a high price and become even poorer, and the Malagasy population as a whole will earn even less, in order to increase the profits of already very rich mining companies, if the high Malagasy authorities decide to get down on their knees, prioritize the profits of investors to the detriment of the rights and interests of the communities, and accept the resumption of the Base Toliara project ?
THE BASE TOLIARA PROJECT MUST BE STOPPED FOR GOOD !
4 September 2024
Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY
References :
(3) Constitution dated 2010 :
(4) https://ccomptes.mg/fr/rapports/publics
(5) Toliara Monazite Project Pre-Feasibility Study, 14 December 2023 : https://mb.cision.com/Public/22548/3893356/89a168c3d231921e.pdf
(8) https://edbm.mg/informations-economiques_secteurs_mines-madagascar-l-ile-aux-tresors/