DISINFORMATION
The EXCOM’s discourse about the mining case, inside and outside the IC, has been characterized by equivocating and vague information. Sometimes the EXCOM has stated things that are half-true, misleading, or sometimes plainly wrong. Sometimes this discourse of the EXCOM has been contrary to information the EXCOM is clearly aware of themselves. This makes it hard to avoid the conclusion that this is done deliberately.
This chapter discusses two statements from the EXCOM that the author thinks are wrong or misleading.
1. The IC is not party to proposed project in Þorlákshöfn or to the mining extraction
In Vísir’s interview with IC President Gavin Anthony, 3 September 2022, and in the EXCOM’s statement in Hafnarfréttir on 27 January 2023, the reader was faced with this statement:
It is proper to note that the IC is in no way party to the plans concerning the proposed mining extraction or the raising of a cement factory. The IC has made an agreement with Eden Mining concerning the mining rights in Mt. Litla-Sandfell, but apart from that it has no direct interests in the matter to protect.[1]
This is perhaps technically correct, if “party” means “operating party”. But the tone on this issue was quite different when the EXCOM administrators announced the contract between the IC and Eden Mining to church m embers in Kirkjufréttir on 1 February 2022. The administrators discussed the mining extraction of Eden Mining and the involvement of Heidelberg Materials in direct connection with the contract, stating for instance:
The terms have been negotiated on behalf of the Church by contract lawyers at Lex. This process has involved lawyers for the Conference, Eden Mining, and Heidelberg [Materials].[2]
In the EXCOM’s open letter to the church boards, the discussion is similar:
Heidelberg is Europe’s largest supplier of aggregates and Europe’s second-largest cement producer. The project focuses on producing a more ecological cement product made possible by utilising the minerals found in the mines on the Church’s land. With this collaboration, the material from our mines will be processed in a factory that Heidelberg will build in Þorlákshöfn which will become part of Heidelberg’s supply chain.[3]
The way the EXCOM depicts things in its statement in Hafnarfréttir is therefore misleading. The EXCOM tries to dismiss the IC’s responsibility concerning the proposed project and the business connection between the IC and Heidelberg Materials.
2. The IC has no interest to protect concerning the proposed project of Heidelberg Materials
This assertion appears in the EXCOM’s statement in Hafnarfréttir (see the quotation above) where they stated that, apart from their mining contract with Eden Mining, the IC “has no direct interests it needs to protect.”
This is technically correct in the sense that the IC did not make a contract directly with Heidelberg Materials. But the EXCOM presented this matter in a different light when it announced the contract in the aforementioned issue of Kirkjufréttir. In that issue, the EXCOM explained that the contract between the IC and Eden Mining was based on the co-operation between Eden Mining and Heidelberg Materials. The EXCOM continued:
The potential of this contract is that it not only provides financial security for the Church in the long term. It also opens the possibility for our Church to become a donor for missions.[4]
In the EXCOM’s open letter to the church boards, the EXCOM also stated:
This guarantees a reasonable rate of return and a long-term source of income for the Church. If this [project of Heidelberg Materials] is successful, the minimum annual income to the church will increase to more than our total tithe income. This is an exciting project that will give our church a good financial foundation.[5]
If the contract between the IC and Eden Mining was based on Eden Mining co-operating with Heidelberg Materials, and if the EXCOM writes that in case Heidelberg Materials manages to realize its contract, then its project will create “financial security” and “a good financial foundation” for the IC—how then does the IC have no interest to protect in the matter?
[1] Jakob Bjarnar, „Ólga meðal aðventista“; Samtakastjórn KSDA, „Yfirlýsing frá Kirkju Sjöunda dags aðventista vegna umræðna á íbúasíðu Ölfuss“.
[2] EXCOM administrators, Námufréttir – Mining news, 1 February 2022.
[3] EXCOM, open letter to the church boards, 16 M arch 2022, p. 5.
[4] EXCOM administrators, Námufréttir – Mining news, 1 February 2022.
[5] EXCOM, open letter to the church boards, 16 M arch 2022, p. 5.