Guatemalan anti-mining activist wins rights prize

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Friday, 05.08.09
Guatemalan anti-mining activist wins rights prize

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press Writer
DUBLIN -- A leading Guatemalan environmentalist who recently survived an assassination attempt won an international human rights award Friday for his efforts to stop the rapid development of mines in the mineral-rich Central American nation.

Dr. Yuri Melini received the annual Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk from American actor Martin Sheen in a Dublin City Hall ceremony attended by dozens of Irish politicians and human rights activists.

Melini, 47, had to use a walker to reach the winner's podium. In September, he was shot seven times in his stomach and legs on a Guatemala City street - just three months after winning a four-year legal battle against the Guatemalan government and mining companies. Nobody has been charged with the attack.

"I accept this reward on behalf of the people of Guatemala, because the environment belongs to everyone, not just to one small group," said Melini, who has spent two decades promoting a range of causes related to protecting Guatemala's wilderness and nature reserves and the indigenous Maya people who live there.

In remarks translated from Spanish, Melini said he has continued to receive death threats following the attempt on his life. He said he hoped international recognition would spur Guatemalan authorities to expose those behind the intimidation and to solve several killings of environmental activists and park rangers in the country.

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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1038182.html