The Apuseni Mountains Free of Cyanide! (Preluare de pe CNN)

 This weekend, the volunteers from Save Rosia Montana Campaign, together with the locals, distributed 30.000 copies of the publication Apusenii Liberi in the area of the Apuseni Mountains.

The newspaper, written and distributed exclusively through volunteer work, contains eight pages of information concerning the results of the cyanide referendum from the 9th of December 2012. The idea of a publication containing information about the opposition to the mining project Rosia Montana appeared after the locals expressed their wish of having access to alternative information, different from the one provided by the company.

In the latest years, the locals from the Apuseni Mountains lacked correct information concerning cyanide mining and the possibilities for real sustainable development of their community. For many people who live in the area the only sources of information were the local and regional publications sponsored or funded by Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, or the series of TV commercials paid by the same company. More than that, the national press rarely presented the position of the local community opposing the mining project. On the occasion of the local referendum, mass-media led a campaign of misinforming the people about the real results of the voting, a fact which was later sanctioned through the decision of the National Audiovisual Council of Romania, from February 2013.

In this context, and as a reaction to the increasing pressure exercised by the mining company over the population from the Apuseni area, the Save Rosia Montana Campaign decided to publish an informative newspaper, financed from donations received by the Campaign. The publication was distributed door to door in the 35 localities where the referendum was held, plus the town Alba Iulia. This first edition of the newspaper covered in great detail the information concerning the invalidation of the referendum and the irregularities observed on the day of the vote by the 63 observers accredited by the Centre of Civic Resources.

The distribution of the paper was realised through the common effort of more than 60 volunteers from Aries Valley, and from many other localities from all over the country, from Timisoara to Sighisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu.

The testimony which follows describes the atmosphere the volunteers encountered during their action these days:
„Somewhere, in a little village mountain:
– Good morning, we have a newspaper for you!
– Good morning. What is it about?
– About free Apuseni.
– Free from what perspective?
– It depends what perspective you adopt while reading it.
– … Euro Gold?
– No!
– You are welcome, then!”

The electronic form of the newspaper can be read here: www.apusenii-liberi.ro

You can see the original text here