Massive human chain against open-pit mine, GCM’s consultant , RWE, in Germany
The chain is to protest RWE’s planned expansion of the mine and passed through “almost deserted villages” that “have gradually become ghost villages as residents have been bought out and communities broken down by utility company RWE.”
RWE was Contracted by GCM as an advisor for the Phulbari Coal Mine throughout project implementation? This very same RWE mine has been promoted in Bangladesh as a model for how open pit mining can purportedly be done in a socially and environmentally responsible way, and there was some controversy generated by sponsored trips for key decision-makers in Bangladesh to travel to Germany and visit the mine. At the time, we noted that claims promoting the mine and RWE as “models” for Bangladesh were contradicted by protests against the impacts of the company’s mining operations in Germany and Belgium.