Troubled Ground

Radio Télévision Suisse | 11min
Postproduction script

00:00:03:01 VO: -The city of Zug, Swiss capital of the raw materials trade. Russian-Swiss mining company Solway has its offices in the centre. The advantageous tax system and Swiss discretion are bywords for this location. Solway is specialized in ore extraction in Russia and South America. A company that keeps a low profile, including regarding international sanctions. Thanks to an anonymous source, we know about most of its secrets. Our source has transmitted in bulk thousands of emails, of financial tables and internal reports of the Solway Group. With Forbidden Stories, a group of investigative journalists, we have verified these confidential documents. This is the "Mining Secrets" project.

00’56 Title: Troubled Ground

00:01:04:17 VO: In the heart of Latin America, Guatemala is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries. The indigenous populations live on the margins of society, far from the urban centres. Our investigation starts here. Solway has a nickel mine. The industrial complex stretches for miles. The mine uses all means to develop itself at the expense of the local population. The Maya Q'eqchi' community of Las Nubes overhangs the industrial complex. This village lives to the rhythm of the cardamom crops. Las Nubes is often mentioned in Solway's confidential documents.

00:01:58:05 Reporter: -Is this your house?

00:02:00:10 Abelino: -Yes, this is my house. I live there with my children and my family.

00:02:10:17 VO: -Abelino Pantzir lives in Las Nubes with his 8 children. The families established here are threatened. The mine is only a few kilometers away.

00:02:27:06 Abelino: -If the company evicts us, where will we go with our children and those who will be born? We were born in Las Nubes. This is where we have to be, and we will stay there our whole life.

2’30 Abelino Pantzir, Las Nubes resident

00:02:43:16 VO: -The mine does not talk about eviction. Its press office says it wants to maintain a relationship of good neighbourliness and mutual benefit.

00:02:53:20 Abelino: -The mine wants our land, because under the village, there is nickel. This ore, they are looking for it to export it to other countries.

00:03:12:20 VO: -These people don't know it, but Solway's subsidiaries have a strategy for the area. Objective: to silence the protest and get their agreement to enlarge the extraction areas. All means are used, even bribes. Confidential documents mention payments for fictitious jobs and artificial salaries. It says in full the purchase of local leaders.

3’31 On-screen graphic: ‘fictitious jobs’ …. ‘artificial salaries’

3’38 On-screen graphic: ‘buying out leaders’

00:03:43:24 VO: In El Estor, main city of the region, we have an appointment with Maria Choc, a fierce opponent to the mine. She is part of the of the ancestral council of the Maya Q'eqchi' communities.

00:04:04:02 Maria: -Solway divides our community and buys us out. For example, if you are an authority, I convince you to come to meetings, to accept things for a house, for work. This is how people are divided within the communities. They target the leaders, the chiefs of the region, of villages or the neighbourhoods.

4’11 Maria Choc, Member of ancestral council, Maya Q’eqchi’ community

00:04:34:10 VO: -Maria Choc assures us that she did not accept any money. Her name does not appear in the documents.

00:04:43:11 Reporter: -Do you have an example of someone who has been paid?

00:04:48:06 Maria: -From my community, yes, people are paid. I'm not going to give names, but there are some. As a leader, you are offered a monthly payment. You are satisfied to receive a payment, but you have to do the maths. How long will this money last? In reality, it's a pittance.

00:05:22:05 VO: -In a document entitled "Idea for Las Nubes", are listed all the techniques aimed at discrediting the opponents. For example, false rumors of AIDS infection against recalcitrant leaders. Other pressure tactics: the mine checks history of marital infidelity. One word comes up a lot: bribes.

5’32 On-screen graphic: ‘rumours of AIDS infection’

5’40 On-screen graphic: ‘history of marital infidelity’

5’45 On-screen graphic: ‘bribes’

00:05:51:20 VO: Faced with the methods of Solway's subsidiaries, we asked for an interview at the head office. The company did not want to to answer on camera. We still tried to confront them with the testimony of Maria Choc.

00:06:15:00 Reporter to Solway employee: Good morning, François Ruchti from Swiss television. Ok nobody is here today? The office is empty, ok. No problem, thank you.

00:06:26:13 VO: -The people in charge are not there. Solway has sent their answers by email.

6’35 On-screen graphic: this information (about bribes, rumour spreading and other methods) does not correspond to reality (source: CGN/Pronico (subsidiaries of Solway Guatemala)

6’42 On-screen graphic: ‘Solway Investment Group operates in full compliance with national and international legislation. we are audited [...] by certification bodies, as well as by the Swiss State Department for Economic Affairs’

6’50 On-screen graphic: ‘The Swiss Embassy is following our efforts to consult with local communities. [...] We reject any allegations raised without factual basis’ (source: chairman of Solway board, Dan Bronstein)

7’00 On-screen graphic: Video: Prensa Comunitaria, October 2021

00:07:06:12 VO: -Despite its methods and money, Solway has lost control of the of the situation in Guatemala. The Maya Q'eqchi' communities blocked the mine shortly before Christmas. A state of siege was declared, army and police are now patrolling to protect the mine. The Russian-Swiss company has become, in spite of itself, the symbol of the Maya Q'eqchi' struggle.

00:07:35:22 Maria: -Solway came to take and divide our community. It turns our forests into a desert. I shed tears for their being on our ancestral lands and for our violated rights. We want respect for our basic rights, our fundamental rights.

7’40 Maria Choc, Member of ancestral council, Maya Q’eqchi’ community

00:08:01:05 VO: -To get out of this situation, Solway has mandated in 2019 Swiss lobbyists. This is their mission.

8’13 On-screen graphic: ‘improving the company’s reputation, solving existing problems and prevention of future issues’

8’24 On-screen graphic: ‘‘improvement measures/quick fixes that could help ease the situation on

the ground, notably for the relocation of indigenous population’

00:08:34:02 VO: We are not at the end of our of our surprises. Behind the 2019 contract, Swiss lobbyists but also a foundation famous for its efforts to fight for peace. Swisspeace: a foundation financed in part by the Swiss Confederation, linked to the University of Basel and chaired by a former head of the ICRC. It has the reputation to be a neutral negotiator. But Swisspeace is paid by Solway. There's nothing problematic here according to its director.

00:09:07:17 Laurent: -Our mandate is to give an assessment. We do not look at individual behaviors of actors related to Solway, but the company's policy and its commitments to the international principles. Bribes are of course not commendable. It's very common, and we need to work on these issues. But it's not our mandate to look at these behaviors.

9’19 Laurent Goetschel, Director of Swisspeace foundation

00:09:44:06 VO: -For the foundation, there is no image damage. Their mandate has changed. They are legal and political consultants and political consultants for Solway.

00:09:54:15 Laurent: -The idea is to have the impression that through the council and the information that we provide, we could have a positive effect on the actors in question on the spot.

00:10:07:20 Reporter: -Do you think you have a positive effect?

00:10:10:05 Laurent: -Yes, we hope so. If we only wanted work with angels, we wouldn't work with anyone. The angels, in the field of peace, do not need us.

00:10:21:13 VO: -There is no simple solution to this drama. A conflict between the rights of a people and our needs raw materials. A clash between two realities.

10’41 Credits: François Ruchti, Stéphane Saporito, Christine Brunner, Estelle Ochsner, Sergio Cassini, Marcel Linder, Stephane Kirscher, Virginie Mivelaz, Edgard Biondina