Thousands of evangelicals from the southern municipality of San Juan de la Maguana marched against mining in the San Juan Valley, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Canadian company GoldQuest.

The environmental mobilisation on 13 July covered three kilometres in the central area of San Juan de la Maguana, and was organised by the Confraternity of Evangelical Ministers and Churches of San Juan (COMIES), the Pastoral Union Visión de lo Alto, the Pastoral and Ministerial Alliance (ALPAMIS), the Pastoral and Ministerial Community of Villa Liberación ‘Esperanza Viva’ and the Block of Pastors United for Christ Córbano Sur.

The evangelical entities indicate that "they are carrying out this mobilisation to denounce that the mining company GoldQuest is going to destroy the land of the San Juan Valley through metal mining in the very centre of the Cordillera Central, on the banks of the San Juan River".

They warn that "the consequences of exploiting the Romero gold mine will cause irreversible damage that will affect five southern provinces (San Juan, Azua, Barahona, Bahoruco and Independencia), which is why authorising studies for its implementation would be senseless".

The San Juan Valley is a region located in the Dominican Republic, between the provinces of San Juan, Elías Piña and Azua. It has an area of approximately 2,500 square kilometres and a population of 306,000 inhabitants. The San Juan Valley is an area with great hydrogeological potential.

"Our forests do not belong to any transnational company that only seeks to profit. All of God's children must love nature, care for it and keep it healthy for future generations", said the evangelical churches in a statement read at the end of the march by Pastor Ramón Campechano.

For evangelicals, it is a contradiction that government officials, such as the ministers of the environment and natural resources and energy and mines, are agreeing with foreign companies to violate the Constitution of the Republic, which in Article 15 prohibits damage to rivers and mining in such an environmentally fragile area.

Finally, they demand an immediate response from President Abinader to "halt these devastating attempts in the San Juan Valley" and thus bring peace and tranquillity to the entire area.

Manifesto of the Evangelical Community of San Juan in defence of Water and Life

In Psalm 24, David testifies: ‘The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it, for he created them all, and he lives there. He has made heaven, and we live here in it.’ ‘The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it, for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.’

To demand that the contamination and destruction of the San Juan River and an environmental disaster in the Central Mountain Range be prevented, the evangelical community of San Juan, represented by the Confraternity of Evangelical Ministers and Churches of San Juan (COMIES), Pastoral Union Vision from Above, Pastoral and Ministerial Alliance (ALPAMIS), Pastoral and Ministerial Community of Villa Liberación ‘Esperanza Viva’ and the Block of Pastors United for Christ Córbano Sur is carrying out this mobilisation to denounce that the mining company GoldQuest is going to destroy the land of the San Juan Valley through metal mining in the very centre of the Cordillera Central, on the banks of the San Juan River.

In Genesis 2:15, God said, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” The consequences of exploiting the gold mine in its current location will cause irreversible damage that will affect five southern provinces (San Juan, Azua, Barahona, Bahoruco and Independencia), which is why authorising studies for its implementation would be senseless.

Our forests do not belong to any transnational company that only seeks to profit. All of God's children must love nature, care for it and keep it healthy for future generations.

The massive participation of the population in this struggle, reaffirmed in this massive march, demonstrates the level of unity, firmness and coherence of the people of San Juan in confronting this ecological crime planned for the Cordillera Central and the San Juan Valley.

Therefore, all the people of San Juan and the organisations that make up this community reiterate our opposition to the exploitation of the mine in Hondo Valle, La Ciénega section, marketed as the Romero Project.

For evangelicals, it is a contradiction that government officials, such as the ministers of the Environment and Natural Resources and Energy and Mines, are agreeing with foreign companies to make permits viable, violating the Constitution of the Republic, which in Article 15 prohibits damage to rivers and mining in a place of such environmental fragility.

The evangelical community calls on President Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona to stop officials under his shadow from putting the lives and health of this province and the entire southwest at risk. We vehemently demand an immediate response from the President to halt these devastating attempts in the San Juan Valley, which will bring peace and tranquillity to these towns.