Sign The Greenland Ruby Petition
Below, you can sign the petition written by the August 16th Union to the Premier of Greenland (Hans Enoksen), requesting the right to artisanally mine rubies and sell rubies from their ancestral land. (This is supposed to be protected under Section 32 of the Mineral Resources Act of Greenland.)
~ Marc Choyt, Publisher
The 16th August Union
Petition
In the summer month of August 2007, five local native gemstone collectors on Greenland were forced to abandon their ruby prospecting camp in the field, by the Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) and the Greenland Police, and banned from all collection and trade in all of Greenland.
The authorities denied the five local people permission to continue practicing their historical and tradtional rights of collecting the stones out in nature as their ancestors have done through generations, and centuries.
(Thue Noahsen, here with chainsaw, had an export license under Section 32 that was violated when he was detained at Kangerlussuaq airport and stripped of 5 kg of ruby rough by Greenland Police at the request of BMP.)
Since then members of the 16th August Union have had their stones confiscated from them by the BMP and have been effectively criminalized and prevented from earning an honest living through collecting and jewellery activities.
(Niels Madsen - One of the Five Inuits who had their rights under Section 32, violated)
As a union, we believe this criminalization, obstruction and breach of our historical and traditional right to collect rocks is an unconstitutional abuse of power on behalf of the authorities.
We therefore respectfully request that everybody support our petition on behalf of the whole population of Greenland to enshrine our rights in a clear, transparent law that secures the following simple idea.
"The fundamental rights for indigenous and native Greenlanders under section 32 of the current Constitution to be able to collect, transform, commercialize and export all natural minerals of any sort.
Of course except oil gas, radioactive elements and areas with monopoly."
The signatures will be handed to the chairperson of Greenland parliament Ruth Heilmann, the Prime Minister of Greenland Hans Enoksen and all the political parties in Greenland at the next session of the Parliament.
(The petition is both on the internet and in a physical paper edition, please be aware to only sign one of them)
After you have added your name to this petition an e-mail will be sent to the given address to confirm your signature. Please make sure that your e-mail address is correct or you will not receive this e-mail and your name will not be counted.
Last 10 of 40 signatories
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Eimear Looney
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"Their history gives them the right"
S.E. Hardy
Adem Certel
joelle coudriou
zenab mohamad ahmad,
"OI,
TENHO UM AGROMERADO MINERAL QUE CONTEM 8 GEMAS FEL DE ESPATO,CRISTAIS,AGUA MARINHA,ESMERALDA,QUARTOZ AMARELO,ROSA, E O RUBI E MICA ELA PESA 1kg.GOSTRIA DE UM CONTATO.
URGENTE TEL 71 9117 2240/ 71 8840 5912 ."
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ashley & josh spencer
