Panama – against the will of the Indians – Frankfurter Rundschau

June 23, 2015

fear of doom: Native Panamanian protest against a dam, which is funded with German assistance. Photo: picture alliance / Demotix

A subsidiary of State Bank KfW contrary in the financing of a dam in Panama against their own standards

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The Ngöbe-Buglé are an indigenous people in Panama. 1997, they were granted a separate, semi-autonomous province in the west of the Central American country. There live the Indians of subsistence farming, plow it, keep livestock, hunting and fishing in the river Tabasara. But a part of the indigenous habitat could soon go down.

A dam should flood native settlements, 6.7 hectares of their land would disappear. Velvet houses, a school and spiritual sites with petroglyphs -. Rock have scratched occult character in the ancestors of the Indians

Since 2011 already running the works for the power plant Barro Blanco – with stronger German support. For DEG, a subsidiary of the State Bank KfW financed the controversial dam with a loan of over 25 million dollars. At 95 percent, the project has been completed, the dam is. Nevertheless leave the Ngöbe-Buglé in their protest, which is already several times were bloody and deadly clashes with the police, not loose. Just last week, they blocked again the Panamericana and the access road to the power plant construction site.

New food gets the resistance now by the final report of the Appeals Commission of the German Investment and Development Company (DEG), via the also “Report Mainz” reported in the ARD on Tuesday evening. Three set up by the DEG independent experts come in to the conclusion that had taken place “no adequate consultation” with the affected indigenous peoples. DEG had failed at the time of project completion against several of its own and international standards. Important steps had been “unnecessarily delayed or not taken out”. The bank had “not taken seriously enough the resistance of the indigenous”.

Barro Blanco is the first DEG project was verify the bank as part of its newly established human rights complaint process. Indians had argued the case in May 2014 with the support of several international non-governmental organizations at DEG in Cologne. “We were not even asked, no one has informed us before the start of construction, is that our property perish,” said a Ureinwohnerin reporters of “Report Mainz”. The flooding of the area will uproot several hundred people.

The lock Barro Blanco is almost completed. Photo: Report Mainz is

fact that according to FR-information the 6.7 hectares legally to this day are not Genisa owned by the project company that the hydroelectric power plant commissioned Panamanian government built. The fact that the three villages feel ignored and have not given their consent, is contrary to both Panamanian and international law as well as against the performance standards of the World Bank subsidiary IFC, that guide the DEG. An essential part in the in the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples legal right to a “free, informed and prior consent” of indigenous people in them relevant projects.

And we will respond to the DEG the results of their own expert panel? “The findings of the panel, we see it as important to improve processes,” which KfW subsidiary announced on request FR. Future projects should be better tested. However, DEG also places emphasis on the finding that she had “a number of important studies and action plans made up and found to comply with standards,” the project Barro Blanco until the first loan disbursement. It will be nevertheless continue to work together with the Dutch Co-financier FMO “for a solution with the indigenous population”.

with clean electricity

The construction of the power plant, the once of 70 000 people should, however, rests since February this year. The government of President Juan Carlos Varela imposed a temporary freeze due to a faulty environmental study. The project was contrary for shortcomings in an environmental report to national law, the environmental authority Anam justified the decision. It also lacks an archeological protection plan because of the dam on flute also sites that are culturally significant for the Ngöbe-Buglé.

Together with two other financing banks, DEG few weeks ago with a letter to the Panamanian Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado responded to the freeze and called for the resumption of work. Actions such as these could otherwise burden decisions for future investments, it is said in the letter, present the FR.

human rights and environmental organizations such as Urgewald, Fian and Rainforest Rescue criticize the DEG had the conflict thus further fueled during the appeal proceedings. Hold the letter for a blatant threat. “The actions of the DEG is unacceptable, we expect that the DEG Board dealt with the case,” demanded Urgewald environmental expert Kathrin Petz.

Fian CEO Ute Hausmann holds Barro Blanco however not for a single case. DEG agiere not according to its developmental mandate, but “basically like a private bank”.