7:28 pm - PANAMA CITY, Panama. (Xinhua) .- About 50 environmental organizations and civil society in Panama asked today to suspend the discussion on the government bill to amend the Code of Mineral Resources of the country.
The project, whose formal debate began Monday, is driven by the administration of Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli as an alternative to manage mining activity, attract investment and provide new development opportunities in the sector.
However, organizations like the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (Ancona), Panama Sustainable Environmental Advocacy Center (CIAM), Fundación Avifauna and Human Rights Commission of the Panamanian Ngäbe Bugle Indian region, questioned the way has handled the proposal.
In a press conference in Panama City, executive director of the Ancon, Alida Spadafora, expressed concern that the project threatens the environmental security and sovereignty of Panama.
In a statement of the organization noted that the project allows aspects prohibited by law, such as the State believes that private companies with state capital, thereby contravening the provisions of the Panamanian Constitution.
However, Martinelli administration has argued that its sole purpose is to use resources responsibly and as a way to help in the fight against poverty.
