Gold mining: Le Pays criticises the Guinean method
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Le Pays (Burkina Faso)
After Guinea banned artisanal gold mining by decree on 2 November, including in Siguiri, the Burkinabè newspaper Le Pays considers the measure legitimate given cyanide pollution and forest destruction, but criticises the lack of consultation with the authorities of neighbouring countries whose nationals are being expelled. Ivory Coast and Senegal have taken similar measures, according to the daily.
The Burkinabè daily Le Pays has criticised the way Guinea ended illegal artisanal gold mining, denouncing mass expulsions of West African gold miners without prior consultation with neighbouring countries. In its edition this Sunday, the newspaper recognises Conakry's right to regulate artisanal gold mining, but considers that the measure of 2 November was applied "in a cavalier manner", without notice.
According to Le Pays, thousands of Malian, Burkinabè, Ivorian, Senegalese, Togolese and Beninese nationals were forced to reach Mali in difficult conditions. Ouagadougou described these conditions as "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment", recalls the newspaper, which points out that Ivory Coast and Senegal have also taken measures against illegal artisanal gold mining.
The Guinean authorities justify the ban by the risks to the environment and health: in Siguiri, hospitalisations linked to the use of cyanide and animal deaths have been recorded, as well as the destruction of forests and pollution of waterways. Guinea's foreign minister argues that "the protection of the environment cannot be sacrificed in the name of African brotherhood".
The Burkinabè daily's intervention comes after the arrest of 1,263 illegal gold miners in Siguiri since the ban of 2 November, and Ouagadougou's denunciation of violence during the expulsion of more than 8,000 Burkinabè gold miners.
