[Nettime-bold] Romania is getting global

I don't know how much attention the developments in central-southern-easter
europe grab on the list in those hot pre-war times. Towards none, I should
say. Which might be a pitty, because an interesting new fault line is
designing in that area, between western Europe as a potential development
partner falling quickly from favors, and the aggressively self-imposing US,
who became suddenly interested in pushing the agenda of NATO integration for
countries kept until now at the doors of Europe. If Czech republic has
already a foot in that door and indulges itself in snubbing EU integration,
if Poland is bargaining hard its participation in the European community,
places like Romania, Bulgaria etc. are more than eager to get there, and a
pro-US anti-Franco/German position is the smallest problem. Traditional
allies and players in the area, France and Germany failed to fulfill the
expectations of those peoples, as Western Europe failed to get a clean cut
in the misery of the latest balkan wars.

The outcome is a strange mixture of voluptous submission to the US pressures
(see the military bases appearing over night, and without any legal debate
in the south east of Romania) and total ignorance of any implications that a
commitment to this type of policies might bring upon a country that is,
after all, part of an uncertain tactical context.

Meanwhile, the common places of globalization are at works: poisonous media
entertainment, rampant poverty of the poor, excessive richness for few,
corrupt governance and business environments, high pollution, and now
pyramid schemes at governmental level.

Here is in short the scandal of Rosia Montana, an ecological and
archeological paradise, put by the Romanian government at high risk due to
obscure speculations on the price of gold (that is the cover story), but
probably just another fund-squeeze/money-laundry scheme at international
level.. After literally cluttering the country with casinos, the money
launderers world wide found a new scheme - cyanide mining. For more details
see www.rosiamontana.org

Rosia Montana Gold Corporation has been formed as a joint-venture between
Minvest, a Romanian, state-owned company and Gabriel Resources, registered
in Toronto and, offshore, in Barbados and Jersey. Gabriel Resources, which
has no mining experience, holds 80% of the shares. Many economists and
independent mining experts state that the project is not viable and is a
scam of a type previously seen in the mining industry - eg Bre-X, Indonesia.
Romania's national interest and that of the local people are not being
considered. The sole beneficiaries would be the proponents of the scheme -
both in business and in authority.

Officials and corruption attract each other like oppositely magnetised poles
in Romania.

Relatively little of the promised $400 million investment would be spent in
Romania. The Romanian government would receive 2% of any profit so Romania's
natural and cultural heritage would be gambled without the nation becoming a
significant stakeholder. The International Finance Corporation (World Bank)
has declined to invest.

Economics and environment are in conflict and the projected costs do not
reflect environmental controls that will certainly be necessary unless the
government takes the huge risk of flouting EU requirements whilst
negotiating entry to the EU. If the project were to proceed, a million units
of landscape (see photos) would be destroyed to obtain one unit of gold.
There would be explosions day and night for many years. The topography would
be devastated, hills transformed into massive craters in a toxic, sterile
desert.

Cyanide compounds would be employed to dissolve out the gold from the
pulverised rock. Although cyanide is incompatible with life, 16000 tonnes of
the lethal material would be utilised every year. There would be an unlined,
open holding lagoon for 250 million tonnes of cyanide solution in
contravention of EU law and 10km upstream of a town of 13000 population.

Several villages are located on the site of the proposed open-cast mine. 880
dwellings will be demolished and hundreds of smallholdings that sustain
families will be destroyed. More than 2000 people will be uprooted and
relocated, the majority against their informally expressed wishes. There has
been no formal consultation process. This contravenes the European
Convention on Human Rights, by which Romania is bound. A large proportion of
families have been established in the area for many generations. The
upheaval will undoubtedly result in deaths amongst the frail and the
elderly.

Apuseni is rich in resources other than gold. It has outstandingly beautiful
scenery, history and rich archaeology - both ancient and industrial. It has
forests and good terrain for grazing animals. There should be a viable
future for the people of the area based on tourism, agriculture, timber
products, craft enterprises, appropriate light industry. The alternatives
would be better than a single, short-lived industry that exports any profit
along with the gold and leaves a toxic desert, a devastated landscape in
which life will never again flourish.