On December 9, 2005, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz met with Mario Tema, an indigenous Maya leader from Sipacapa, Guatemala, and Magali Rey Rosa of the Guatemalan environmental organisation MadreSelva. Representatives of Friends of the Earth Canada, Oxfam America, and the Bank Information Center were also present. Tema presented Wolfowitz with a statement from Sipakapense Maya leaders outlining their demands regarding Glamis Gold’s Marlin mine. Glamis Gold received a $45 million loan from the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group, to construct the mine. The Sipacapa statement is available on our web site in English and Spanish.

Mr. Tema also presented President Wolfowitz with a statement from the community of San Miguel Ixtahuacán. This statement is available in English and Spanish. Both Sipacapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacán are affected by the Marlin mine.

For additional details, see the statement on our web site by Friends of the Earth Canada and the Halifax Initiative Coalition (of which MiningWatch Canada is a long-standing member) in support of Sipacapa’s demands, “Glamis Gold and the IFC: Gross Mismanagement in Guatemala”.