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The minister’s action is unprecedented and there exists no procedure for delaying a vote by the World Heritage Committee. What makes the matter even worse is that ICOMOS – an UNESCO expert advisory body – recommended Ro\u015fia Montan\u0103\u2019s immediate inclusion on the World Heritage in Danger List, insisting that the site is vulnerable and requires urgent protection measures.<\/p>\n
As a pretext for the delay George Iva\u015fcu mentioned the ongoing arbitration case between the Romanian State and Gabriel Resources and the later\u2019s claim for $ 4.4 billion in damages. Such statements are irresponsible, manipulative, and merely endanger Romania\u2019s position in the arbitration case. In fact, the only way this money will ever be paid is if Romanian officials agree to shove it, complicit, into the pockets of the Canadian company. Indeed, via his statements and actions, the minister for Culture Iva\u015fcu offered Gabriel Resources arguments that would give new credibility and weight to the company’s claims in the arbitration case. Victor Ponta made a similar gesture in 2013, saying that “if I did not do anything, I would have to pay, I do not know how many billions of damages to that company<\/em>.” [1] The Prime Minister’s statement at that time is now being used by the mining company in the case to invoke the promises and assurances given by Romanian officials that the project will be approved.<\/p>\n \u201cVictor Ponta, Sulfina Barbu and Kelemen Hunor told us that they will save the heritage by dynamiting it. Traian Basescu proposed to treat pollution by creating a cyanide pond. Today, George Iva\u015fcu “protects” us in an arbitration case by providing arguments for the adversary and worse still, by sacrificing the millenary heritage he should have protected instead<\/em>,\u201d says Roxana Pencea from MiningWatch Romania.<\/p>\n The minister for Culture\u2019s reasoning for delaying the nomination procedure is nothing other than a pretext. According to the legal expert, Dr. Marcos A. Orellana, associate professor at the George Washington University of Law, USA: “An inclusion of Rosia Montana to the World Heritage list does not jeopardize the position of the Romanian State in the arbitration case but would even bolster the defense of Romania, given that we are talking about a decision taken by the World Heritage Committee and not by representatives of Romania.<\/em>\u00a0”<\/p>\n In light of the above, George Iva\u015fcu’s action can only be explained by his desire to protect the huge corruption involved in the Ro\u015fia Montan\u0103 project. Indeed, since the inception of the arbitration procedure in 2015, Romania\u2019s Government blocked all civil society requests asking for transparency and to publicly communicate its argumentation. From documents declassified by the Washington-based ICSID tribunal it is already clear that Gabriel Resources’ pleadings are based on denouncing acts and decisions taken by Romanian officials.<\/p>\n Victor Ponta, C\u0103lin Popescu T\u0103riceanu, Mihai Tudose, Radu Berceanu, Kelemen Hunor, Sulfina Barbu, Traian B\u0103sescu, Rovana Plumb, Dan Sova, Florin Iordache, Darius V\u00e2lcov, Liviu Dragnea and Daniel Barbu are all directly invoked by Gabriel Resources in the arbitration case due to statements and endorsements made over the years.[3]\n Mining Watch Romania strongly condemns the public manipulation that the Minister for Culture, the actor George Iva\u015fcu, is staging. At the same time it considers that they run against the interest of the Romanian citizens.<\/p>\n