[WSF-Discuss] Fwd: Tata-orchestrated 'Green Hunt' against nonviolent tribal movement in Kalinga Nagar

Mon Mar 29 10:00:20 UTC 2010

Monday, 29 March 2010

This posting is to give you a more detailed picture of what is going  
on in India today – and which is directly why, also, there is such a  
widespread fire raging, involving both armed Maoist-led resistance and  
also non-violent and non-politically-aligned resistance.

‘Tata’ is a household name in India, and has always – till recently -  
been seen as one of the ‘good guys’; a clean industrialist firm – the  
founder of which also set up Air India, which (again till recently)  
was a source of great nationalist pride for Indians.

As far as we in India know, it has however carried this good name as  
it has morphed into becoming a multinational – buying out Corus Steel  
in Brazil, Rover and Jaguar in the UK, and so on.

No more.   It’s time that everyone, all over the world, knows what the  
Tatas are today really doing.

Here’s one report among many.

Please spread this word, and get people to take another look at Tata  
and begin to boycott their goods.

             JS

fwd

Begin forwarded message:

> From: F Padel <nrymja at gmail.com>
> Date: March 27 2010 8:26:30 am GMT+05:30
> To: John Rowley <festival.of.nonviolence at googlemail.com>, johnathon <themccullough at hotmail.com 
> >, nrymja at gmail.com, subrat69 at gmail.com, Mamata Dash <mamata68 at gmail.com 
> >, Anne Miller <aph.miller at yahoo.co.uk>, kalyanaugust at yahoo.com, rajaheibam2 at gmail.com 
> , saritchai at rediffmail.com, opmonga2001 at yahoo.com, sabinejb at aol.com
> Cc: eirian.heledd at ntlworld.com, nthomas at eezeedata.co.uk, jclark19 at ntlworld.com 
> , moiralewiscymru at tinyworld.com, chrischarliepaul at gmail.com, raycat at hotmail.co.uk 
> , joe at ukycc.org, m.h at inbox.com, nigelthomascymru at yahoo.co.uk,  
> Natasha C <nchroustchoff at hotmail.com>, mikejosephwales at yahoo.co.uk,  
> Paul Sambrook <paulsambrook at btinternet.com>, vickymoller <vickymoller at ukonline.co.uk 
> >, Felix P <felixorisa at yahoo.com>, joan at penquoit.plus.com, elizcave at bigfoot.com 
> , estella <estella24 at tiscali.co.uk>, Miranda Watson <mirandajwatson at mac.com 
> >, ruthnharry at btinternet.com, marie.gulde at freenet.de, daveinthegarden at googlemail.com 
> , durrant589 at btinternet.com, rrhodestaylor at tiscali.co.uk, dianadurey at hotmail.co.uk 
> , bamboojack at hotmail.com
> Subject: [wri-ahmedabad-2010] Tata-orchestrated 'Green Hunt' against  
> nonviolent tribal movement in  Kalinga Nagar
> Reply-To: wri-ahmedabad-2010 at lists.wri-irg.org
>
> Dear friends
>
> Extremely disturbing news here about repression in an area of Orissa  
> where Tata has been trying to build a massive steel factory since  
> Jan. 2006, when police opened fire killing 14 tribal people. Tata  
> has an undeservedly good reputation - Kalinganagar is one of several  
> sites in India where its projects are at the centre of massive  
> environmental & human rights abuses.
>
> The write-up below is from Prafulla Samantara, one of Orissa's most  
> persevering activists. As he says, this repression has been  
> escalating for months, with NO media coverage. What makes this  
> situation so important to highlight is the fact the the BBJM (a  
> local tribal organisation meaning 'People's Platform Against  
> Displacement') is non-violent, and has not allowed Maoist  
> penetration - while being repeatedly branded as Maoist by the Govt &  
> media. This repression is therefore part of a trend that threatens  
> to drive Orissa towards the polarisation of a civil war situation of  
> Maoists versus state forces, where the middle-ground of nonviolent  
> movements is destroyed or shown to be ineffective. So please send  
> this news to anyone you know who can highlight it. The Niyamgiri  
> situation may be 'sexier', but this Tata-Kalinganagar situation is  
> just as significant - please encourage journalists to cover it.
>
> From: Prafulla Samantara <psamantara at rediffmail.com>
> Date: Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 10:43 PM
> Subject: URGENT: Tata sponsored 'Green Hunt' in Kalinga Nagar to  
> destroy democratic tribal movement
>
> URGENT: Tata sponsored 'Green Hunt' in Kalinga Nagar to destroy  
> democratic tribal movement
>
> Yesterday the Collector of Jajpur district assured Dabar Kalundia, a  
> tribal leader of Bisthapan Birodhi Jan Manch (BBJM) that he would  
> come to Baligotha village on 28 March for a meeting with the  
> dissenting villagers and find a solution to the prevailing conflict.  
> But within a day the Collector has broken his word as today about 24  
> platoons of armed policemen have been deployed in Kalinga Nagar to  
> suppress the democratic & non-violent movement of the BBJM. It is  
> feared that there will be bloodshed at a larger scale than 2 Jan 06  
> when 14 tribal men, women & children were killed in a police  
> shootout. The villagers fear the police will attack tomorrow morning.
>
> For more than 3 months now the resistance villages of Kalinga Nagar  
> have been besieged by police forces who have randomly arrested  
> dozens of villagers who stepped out of their village. People have  
> been framed under false charges. There has been repeated midnight  
> attacks by policemen and Tata goons to annihilate key activists of  
> the BBJM. Hired assassins have also tried to eliminate the tribal  
> leaders of the movement and one such attempt caused the death of  
> Amin Banara of Baligotha village. Recently large number of police  
> forces had been deployed on the pretext of building a road through  
> the villages. Every attempt of the police and administration to  
> quell the dissent of the people has been countered in democratic and  
> non-violent ways by the BBJM.
>
> The BBJM has clarified several times that it is not a Maoist backed  
> organisation and does not want violence. The BBJM has made it clear  
> that it will not accept displacement and mindless industrialisation  
> that is already causing massive pollution in the area leading to  
> widespread disease, crop failure, air, water & sound pollution. The  
> Collector also agreed to the meeting only after the BBJM wrote  
> several letters to him demanding that their concerns be addressed  
> first as the Collector had been announcing in some meetings in the  
> area that the Common Corridor Road would be built at any cost.
>
> Surprisingly the print and electronic media have so far ignored  
> developments in Kalinganagar which itself is a threat to democracy.  
> Mainstream political parties also have reached a consensus with the  
> ruling party which creates concerns among all citizens who  
> understand the implications of mobilization of armed police in  
> kalinganagar villages resisting Tata induced displacement.
>
> We demand that the Govt should stop acting like a hired mercenary of  
> Tata Steel company and withdraw all police forces from the area  
> immediately. If there is any bloodshed the sole responsibility will  
> lie on the Govt. The Govt should also give up the Common Corridor  
> Road project as it will be built on fertile farm land and the  
> community land of the tribals. The Govt should respect the sacrifice  
> of the 14 tribals killed by the police and scrap the Tata project  
> immediately. There should be no further displacement & dispossession  
> of tribal people from their land. The Govt should immediately start  
> working towards restoring peace in the area by assuring the tribals  
> that there will be no attacks on them by the police or Tata goons. A  
> medical team should be sent to the villages immediately as people  
> have not been able to visit doctors for days in fear of arrest.
>
> We appeal to all concerned citizens, progressive groups & media  
> persons to raise their voice against the Fascist tendencies of the  
> Govt and express solidarity with the tribals of Kalinga Nagar.
>
> Prafulla Samnatara, Lok Shakti Abhijan
> Lingaraj, Samajbadi Jan Parishad
> Radhakant Sethi, CPI-ML Liberation
> Prashanta Paikrai, PPSS
> Bhalachandra Sadangi, CPI-ML New Democracy
> Lingaraj Azad, NSS
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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______________________________
Jai Sen
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