WACAM has described the recent media attacks and insults on it by some of the chiefs and youth in Akyem Kotoku area over the UN query of Newmont Gold Ghana Limited on the mining firm’s Akyem Project as ‘baseless, unwarranted, unnecessary and malicious’.

The chiefs reportedly influenced by Newmont with a total of $42,000 have embarked on a propagandist and negative campaign against WACAM for sending a petition to the UN based on which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights queried the government of Ghana on the negative effects of Newmont’s Akyem project in the Ajenua Bepo Forest in the Eastern Region.

But in a press release issued by WACAM to respond to the attacks by the ‘Newmont Chiefs’, it denied ever petitioning the UN over the Akyem project. WACAM stated that the UN Query was based on a global campaign and Urgent Action report on the open-pit Gold Mine in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve prepared by Foodfirst Information Action Network (FIAN).

It added that FIAN, “ a respected international Human Rights NGO that works globally on the Right to Food has confirmed to WACAM that in March 2009, it developed a global campaign and Urgent Action on the Open-pit Gold mine in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve by Newmont Akyem project”.

The statement continued that “a copy of the Urgent Action (No 09064GHA) which detailed the potential violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people in addition to the potential destruction of Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserves was sent to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food which formed the basis of the query of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to the government of Ghana”.

WACAM noted that when the ‘Newmont Chiefs’ started the media attacks against it for sending a petition to the UN based on which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights queried the government of Ghana on the negative effects of Newmont’s Akyem project, It thought it was the input it had made in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2008 which was the basis for the media attacks by the ‘Newmont Chiefs’. However later revelations confirmed that the UN Query was based on the FIAN Urgent Action report.

“If WACAM had sent such a detailed report of the violations of the economic, social and cultural rights associated with the Newmont Akyem project to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as FIAN did, we would have proudly accepted responsibility for it because WACAM is not afraid to take responsibility for actions that would promote human rights and environmental justice”, the release noted.

It added that “It is surprising that a query from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Newmont on the potential negative effects of its Akyem project based on the Urgent Action of FIAN did not receive a response from Newmont but rather turned out to be a campaign of insults and blatant lies against WACAM by some chiefs and people of Akyem Kotoku”

A petition presented to the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology by 270 farmers who would be affected by the operations of Newmont Akyem project, described the chiefs, youth and people involved in the media attacks on WACAM as paid agents of Newmont whose farms and properties would not be affected.

WACAM said it is aware of a grand campaign orchestrated and paid for by the companies that seek to destroy the country’s forest reserves to attack advocacy NGOs especially WACAM, adding that the media attacks by the ‘Newmont Chiefs’ is part of an orchestrated programme to intimidate WACAM and other advocacy NGOs that engage in campaigns against mining in forest reserves.