Vedanta https://wri-irg.org/en en Niyamgiri is WON at seventh palli sabha!! https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2013/niyamgiri-won-seventh-palli-sabha <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--22149.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="22149" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 31 Jul 2013</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><div alt="" data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_full&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ea7acf17-1621-438d-a056-f3cd11d98d1e" title="" data-langcode="en" class="embedded-entity"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><p><img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/FV-default-banner1.thumbnail.png?itok=WkvA29U2 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/FV-default-banner1.thumbnail.png?itok=WkvA29U2" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /></p> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><p> <em>Posted on Foil Vedanta</em></p> <p>On Monday 29 July the seventh village – Phuldumer – again voted unanimously to reject <a href="/node/8070">Vedanta’s</a> mine. This means the majority have now spoken, and Niyamgiri is saved by the people’s vote as sanctioned by the Supreme Court of India! In Odisha activists are already celebrating after months of hard work to ensure this precedent legal process was fair, and not manipulated. This victory also shows the amazing strength of Niyamgiri’s the people. Despite all Vedanta and the Odisha state government’s attempts to subvert the process: by threatening villagers with guns and violence, by selecting just twelve villages, by choosing corrupt judges – Niyamgiri villagers have united, across caste, class and district to defend the mountain that gives them life and livelihood.</p> <p>There are over 300 villages who depend on and worship the Niyamgiri hill range. Today 240 km2 of mountain looks to have been saved, not to mention the hope and fighting strength that this victory will give to others fighting Vedanta, and similar industrial projects, elsewhere. We will be celebrating this amazing victory for people’s movements, people’s democracy and grassroots international solidarity at Vedanta’s AGM on Thursday. Kumuti Majhi, a Kond tribal and leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti said on Friday: <em>"We thank the Judges who gave us a opportunity to voice our opinion. We are hoping that the rest of the villages will vote no."</em></p> <p>This is. of course, not the absolute end of the line. When the other five villages have held palli sabhas, the resolution agreed at Niyamgiri will go to the Tribal Affairs minister of Odisha, and then be passed to the Ministry of Environment and Forests who will give the ultimate nod. However, with such an unanimous verdict, and the national media of India following every move, the MoEF will have a very hard time opposing the people’s decision.</p> <p>31 out of 40 voters from the Dongria mountain village of Batudi in Rayagada district attended its palli sabha on Saturday 27th July. 31 out of 40 voters attended and once again unanimously voted against Vedanta’s mine. The village also rejected the state government’s ‘joint verification report’ which alloted tiny amounts of land to settle claims filed by the community and individuals. Dasru Jakesika, secretary of the village forest rights committee, said:</p> <p><em>“We were cheated. They got our signatures by fooling us. We don’t agree to 5, 10 or 20 acres. The whole of Niyamgiri belongs to us,”</em></p> <p>Another Dongria resident Dukhi Jakesika said:</p> <p><em>“Our Niyam Raja is situated at “Niyam Dangor” where Vedanta proposed Mining lease area and planning to extract bauxite. All the employee of Odisha Government are cheater for us. In future we can’t believe to them.. they could have done joint verification properly… we saw they gave very scanty place to our Niyam Raja, streams, tiger habitat and beer habitat. Tiger and Beer can stay at one place their catchment area is like over the Niyam Giri range .Our Niyam Raja is in all the hills… .But we are surprised to see that , how they mapped. So all the officials are working for Vedanta not for us. We worship the entire hills top as Niyam Raja in Niyam Giri. Not only we collects fruits, Medicinal plants, tuber, green leaves but also all the communities collects the same things over the hill tops.”</em> (Source: Sushanta Kumar Dalai)</p> <p>Disari Sikoka echoed:</p> <p><em>“Vedanta Company, Govt., Police, Goons are are asking us to leave Niyamgiri. With the money power they all act like their agent and show us Gun. We won’t leave Niyamgiri.”</em></p> <p>But the most telling and nerve wracking of the palli sabha’s was Phuldumer, Vedanta’s darling village where it has focused many of its Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, bragged about in its annual reports and large public billboards. This was the seventh village to vote, critically determining whether a majority of votes and villages out of the twelve total would stick to the unanimous NO verdict and so win the fight and save the mountain.</p> <p>49 voters from 22 families attended the Phuldumer meeting and once again unanimously voted no. The papers quoted Chanchala Harijan. She had earlier been a Naib Sarpanch of the village and is quoted in Vedanta’s CSR reports (see pic) as saying that no state welfare had ever been provided to the village before Vedanta came along and helped them. She has now changed her tune dramatically and spoke at the palli sabha saying poigniantly:</p> <p><em>“We will die but won’t give up Niyamgiri. Can the Government create a mountain like this?”</em></p> <p>Another voter Rama Majhi said:</p> <p><em>“We can’t live in the cities without Niyamgiri. We have to save Niyamgiri.”</em></p> <p><strong>For more information</strong><br /><a href="http://www.foilvedanta.org">http://www.foilvedanta.org</a></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-programmes-projects--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Programmes &amp; Projects</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/programme/war-profiteers" hreflang="en">War Profiteers</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/90" hreflang="en">India</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-companies--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-companies.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Companies</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/423" hreflang="en">Vedanta</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=22149&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="aOUXTXnGnFGGs9d0_x7Uk--_CJbWjdA2DR8gTsrm5YM"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:27:23 +0000 javier 22149 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2013/niyamgiri-won-seventh-palli-sabha#comments Protest targets Vedanta mines ‘abuse’ https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2012/protest-targets-vedanta-mines-abuse <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--20367.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="20367" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 03 Sep 2012</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><div alt="" data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_full&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="29a145ab-1336-4df1-ac59-cb0477261ed6" title="" class="align-center embedded-entity" data-langcode="en"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><p><img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/20120828_141120.home.jpg?itok=K3PQ2oLI 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/20120828_141120.home.jpg?itok=K3PQ2oLI" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /></p> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><p> On 28 August a demonstration against the mining giant Vedanta Resources took place during Vendata's AGM in London.</p> <p>The demonstration was a joint effort between War On Want, Foil Vedanta, the London Mining Network, Amnesty and Survival International to protest outside the multinational corporation’s annual meeting at the Lincoln Centre in London’s Covent Garden.</p> <p>Demonstrators accused Vedanta of causing death and displacement on a massive scale, as well as poisoning water and the environment.</p> <p>The British government and the World Bank also came under attack for helping Vedanta to spread in India, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Ireland and Liberia.</p> <p>Graciela Romero, international programmes director at War on Want, said: “The London Stock Exchange should ban multinational companies which commit human rights violations and question their corporate governance and ethics.”</p> <p>London Mining Network researcher Roger Moody said: "Vedanta's annual report says the company regrets six employee and 16 contractor 'losses.' It can't even bring itself to acknowledge these are lives sacrificed to its uncaring pursuit of profit.”</p> <p>Amnesty deputy director Polly Truscott, commenting on the corporation’s report about its operations in India’s Orissa region, said: “Vedanta may be making the right noises and made a few changes, but the reality is that its new approach remains both meaningless and hollow."</p> <p>Sreedhar Ramamurthy, who chairs Indian NGO Mines, Minerals and People, said: "This is a company which has been violating corporate governance, financial, human rights, indigenous rights and environmental laws from the beginning.”</p> <p>Foil Vedanta, which organised the protest, says the firm is owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal and his family through companies in tax havens.</p> <p>In the face of people’s movements, Vedanta, with UK ministers’ support, is diversifying into iron in Goa, Karnataka and Liberia, zinc in Rajasthan, Namibia, South Africa and Ireland, copper in Zambia and oil in Sri Lanka’s ecologically fragile Mannar region.</p> <p>Foil Vedanta spokesperson Amarit Wilson said: “The list of Vedanta atrocities is longer than ever and there are massive popular struggles in India and Zambia. Vedanta, like the notorious Lomin in South Africa, is bringing shame on the Stock Exchange.”</p> <p><a href="http://www.waronwant.org/">http://www.waronwant.org/</a></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-companies--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-companies.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Companies</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/423" hreflang="en">Vedanta</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=20367&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="hrFOFzfUGuwiDVyPOdVfEeagDtKLdOVihr-vF1pJ9NU"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:57:25 +0000 javier 20367 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2012/protest-targets-vedanta-mines-abuse#comments Campaign against Vedanta- stepping up the pressure https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2010/campaign-against-vedanta-stepping-pressure <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--10776.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="10776" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 24 Aug 2010</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><div alt="" data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_1_3&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="003b4b3d-1d14-4b1c-a7bb-e035cf024eaf" title="" class="align-right embedded-entity" data-langcode="en"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><p><img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_325x325/public/images/Avatar-and-Bianca-Jagger-Vedanta-AGM_397645.thumbnail.jpg?itok=_avzo9z6 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/medium/public/images/Avatar-and-Bianca-Jagger-Vedanta-AGM_397645.thumbnail.jpg?itok=qwfE6767" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /></p> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><p> On the 28th of July a large group of activists campaigning against mining corporation <a href="/node/8070">Vedanta</a>, gather outside their AGM to protest against the wrong doing of Vedanta, especially to demand the withdraw of Vedanta from the Nyamgiri mountain in Orissa, India. Mountain that is sacred for the Dongria Kondh tribe.</p> <p>Vedanta has long been criticised by activists for its cavalier attitude to environmental protection, worker safety and other issues at its operations in Africa and India, and every AGM since it was listed on the London Stock Exchange has been punctuated by protests. But as the Indian government comes close to issuing its final verdict on the mine, the protests have become noisier and more impassioned. Vedanta argues that it's not infringing human rights and that it's bringing wealth to the region.</p> <p>Nyamgiri is regarded as a god by the Dongria Kondh tribe that lives on it, so for them and their supporters, tearing the peak of the mountain apart for bauxite would be sacrilege. In their effort to spike this argument, this year the company rolled out the top manager at the company's nearby bauxite refinery, Mukesh Kumar, who claimed that the tribe no longer worship the mountain and welcome the mine's arrival. Music to shareholders' ears – but was it true? You could only pronounce with confidence on the question if you were yourself a Dongria Kondha, or at least on pretty familiar terms with the tribe. Did Mukesh Kumar pass muster? This was the point seized on by Samarendra Das, an Indian research scholar and activist from Orissa, who rose from his seat inside the AGM session to ask Mr Kumar a simple question: by what name do the Dongria Kondh refer to Nyamgiri, their holy mountain? The silence was deafening – until filled by the boos and catcalls of the activist-shareholders at the meeting, which from that point onwards went down hill.</p> <p>The AGM went into a spin after Samarendra stood up &amp; shouted at the Lanjigarh refinery director, unmasking his lie that Niyam Dongar isn't sacred.... After this, the first formal question was posed by Lib Dem MP Martin Horwood about why the CO hadn't engaged with the OECD investigation into its malpractice, why they hadn't let the shareholders know about the report [which is damming], and whether the directors would engage with the all-party MPs committee on indigenous rights, which he chairs. One the Directors, Naresh Chandra [India's ex-home Secretary &amp; ex-ambassador to US] made the revealing comment "we went to the top of OECD in Paris who said there's no requirement to engage with the OECD enquiry". As for the invite to engage with British MPs or answer any aspect of these questions - the directors didn't seem to even understand the questions or realise there was a British MP in front of them!! They made fools of themselves in every way, &amp; this unmasking happened in so many ways over a 2 hour period during the AGM.</p> <p>Whether this will make a difference we have yet to see. India's environment minister is trying hard to prevent mining &amp; has made a press statement that they will not be allowed to mine Niyamgiri, but there are massive power struggles behind the scenes.</p> <p>The last final development against Vedanta was the findings of a Green Panel in India that considered Vedanta's mines illegal. The findings of the four-member N C Saxena committee, which on the 16th of August recommended that the company not be allowed to mine in the hills that are the abode of the Dongaria Kondh and Kutia Kondh tribes in Orissa. The panel was set up by the Indian ministry of environment and forests to investigate if the state government and the aluminium giant had complied with the Forest Rights Act and Forest Conservation Act while mining for bauxite. But the committee, even as it recommended that the mining project be disallowed, stopped short of asking for prosecution of the officials involved in what seems to be a blatant fraud that went unchecked for years.</p> <p>For more information:</p> <p>Survival International (<a href="http://www.survivalinternational.org">http://www.survivalinternational.org</a>)<br /> Articles in The Independent (<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/peter-popham-vedantas-very-embarrassing-silence-2039015.html#">http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/peter-popham-vedantas…</a>), The Times of India (<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6321872.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz0wnqAfPIH">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6321872.cms?prtpage=1#ix…</a>)</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/90" hreflang="en">India</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-companies--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-companies.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Companies</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/423" hreflang="en">Vedanta</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=10776&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="1nB-TBNaCpyoAweKWKkrwd_tn5xnszfBWrRjqcbjxHc"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:57:05 +0000 javier 10776 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2010/campaign-against-vedanta-stepping-pressure#comments Church of England exits Vedanta over ‘ethics' https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2010/church-england-exits-vedanta-over-ethics <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--9674.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="9674" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 17 Feb 2010</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>London-listed Vedanta Resources came under further pressure over ethics as Britain's Church of England said it was selling all its shares in the company, worth around £3.8 million.</p> <p>“We are not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect of companies in whom the Church investing bodies hold shares,” said Mr John Reynolds, the chairman of the Church's Economic Investment Advisory Group, which acts as the main advisor to the Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board.<br /> He said that the company had begun to examine its position in Vedanta following allegations about Vedanta's alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa, as well as its project in the Niyamgiri Hills.</p> <p>“The Church's unprecedented and very welcome decision sends a strong signal to companies that trample on tribal people's rights: we will not bankroll your abuses,” said Mr Stephen Corry, Director of Survival International, an international organisation supporting tribal people.</p> <p>The Church of England's disinvestment follows similar moves by foreign organisations, including the Norwegian Government, which sold its $13-million stake in 2007, and Martin Currie Investments which sold its £2.3-million stake in 2009. BP has also cut its stake in the company.</p> <p>Shares of Vedanta Resources fell steeply in London on Friday and were down over 3 per cent in the afternoon, well below the rest of the mining sector. The company was not available for comment at the time of publication.</p> <p>Vedanta is currently mired in a number of controversies – in November, a number of officials were arrested at Bharat Aluminium Co plant in Chhattisgarh after the collapse of a chimney killed over 40 people.</p> <p>More information from: <a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/06/stories/2010020653080100.htm">http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/06/stories/2010020653080100…</a></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/92" hreflang="en">United Kingdom</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-companies--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-companies.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Companies</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/423" hreflang="en">Vedanta</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9674&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="kKJMT8LHGQC-_vf56G-0ltdq1DrrLOfTm-nz832I9Ns"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:57:48 +0000 javier 9674 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2010/church-england-exits-vedanta-over-ethics#comments Campaign of the Month: Dongria Kondh against Vedanta mining https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2009/campaign-month-dongria-kondh-against-vedanta-mining <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--9296.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="9296" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 17 Nov 2009</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --></p><div alt="" data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_1_3&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6b57f602-4560-471d-bd50-81c89613956c" title="" class="align-right embedded-entity" data-langcode="en"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><p><img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_325x325/public/images/Dongria.home.jpg?itok=xtpI_iAW 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/medium/public/images/Dongria.home.jpg?itok=BWgP7UtA" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /></p> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><p> To be a Dongria Kondh is to live in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa state, India - they do not live anywhere else. Yet Vedanta Resources is determined to mine their sacred mountain's rich seam of bauxite (aluminium ore). The Dongria and other local Kondh people are resisting Vedanta and are determined to save Niyamgiri from becoming an industrial wasteland. Other Kondh groups are already suffering due to a bauxite refinery, built and operated by Vedanta, at the base of the Niyamgiri Hills. The Niyamgiri Hills are home to the more than 8,000 Dongria Kondh, whose lifestyle and religion have helped nurture the area’s dense forests and unusually rich wildlife. The Dongria farm the hill slopes, grow crops in among the forest, and gather wild fruit, flowers and leaves for sale. They call themselves Jharnia, meaning ‘protector of streams’, because they protect their sacred mountain and the life-giving rivers that rise within its thick forests. Vedanta’s open pit mine would destroy the forests, disrupt the rivers and spell the end for the Dongria Kondh as a distinct people. At the centre of the struggle is the Dongria’s sacred mountain, the ‘mountain of law’. The Dongrias worship the top of the mountain as the seat of their god and protect the forests there. Vedanta Resources wants to mine the bauxite from the top of the same mountain. The Dongria Kondh would lose their livelihood, their identity and the sanctity of their most religious site. Other Kondh groups are already suffering due to a bauxite refinery, built and operated by Vedanta, at the base of the Niyamgiri Hills. Villagers who have been removed from their homes for the refinery have suffered threats and intimidation. They have lost both their land and their means of supporting themselves. They are also suffering from health problems due to pollution from the refinery, which they blame for skin problems, livestock diseases and crop damage. The Orissa government’s pollution control board has ruled that chemical emissions from the refinery are ‘alarming’ and ‘continuous’. <strong>Dongria's actions</strong> Thousands of people rallied on October 5 2009 against billionaire Anil Agarwal’s mining company, Vedanta Resources, which wants to mine a sacred mountain in India for aluminium ore. The event marked the end of a week-long march around the villages of the Niyamgiri mountains in Orissa. This is just one of the many actions (<a href="http://wri-irg.org/node/6444">http://wri-irg.org/node/6444</a>) Dongria people have taken against Vedanta. The demonstration brought the town of Muniguda to a virtual standstill, shutting down the main road for several hours. The crowd of over 3,000 protestors – comprising members of the Dongria Kondh tribe and other local communities – had a unified message for Vedanta: leave our forests, streams and sacred mountain alone. One of the organizers of the rally, Balachandra Sarangi, said, ‘The Mahayudh [great war] against Vedanta has started- the people have united against Vedanta to oust it and never to allow mining of Niyamgiri.’ <strong>‘GUILTY’: UK government blasts Vedanta in unprecedented attack 12 October</strong> The UK government on October the 12, 2009, blasted FTSE-100 company Vedanta Resources over its treatment of the Dongria Kondh tribe in Orissa, India. The damning verdict came after a nine month investigation into a complaint submitted by Survival International against Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mine on the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountain. The complaint, upheld by the government, was brought under the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises – the key principles for ethical corporate behaviour. In an unprecedented attack on a major British company, the government ruled that Vedanta, ‘did not respect the rights of the Dongria Kondh’; ‘did not consider the impact of the construction of the mine on the [tribe’s] rights’; and ‘failed to put in place an adequate and timely consultation mechanism’. Devastatingly, it concluded, ‘A change in the company’s behaviour’ is ‘essential’. Astonishingly, despite repeated requests from the UK government, the company ‘failed to provide any evidence during the examination’. This is the only time a company has refused to participate in an OECD investigation. <strong>Act now to help the Dongria Kondh</strong></p> <ul><li>Write to India’s Minister of Environment and Forests asking him to safeguard the Dongria Kondh’s rights.</li> <li>Donate to the Dongria Kondh campaign (and other Survival campaigns).</li> <li>Write to your MP or MEP (UK) or Senators and members of Congress (US).</li> <li>Write to your local Indian high commission or embassy.</li> <li>If you want to get more involved, contact Survival</li> </ul><p><strong>For more information:</strong></p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/dongria">http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/dongria</a></li> <li>On the connection between bauxite mining and the military industrial complex: <a href="http://wri-irg.org/node/8639">http://wri-irg.org/node/8639</a></li> </ul></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-programmes-projects--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Programmes &amp; Projects</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/programme/war-profiteers" hreflang="en">War Profiteers</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/90" hreflang="en">India</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-theme--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-theme.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Theme</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/498" hreflang="en">Extractive industry</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-companies--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-companies.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Companies</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/423" hreflang="en">Vedanta</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=9296&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="BKhEWwGRKfd9dB0zJ_ffiUz0oFsjN_zZnEBjC0VGHcs"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:20:18 +0000 Andrew 9296 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2009/campaign-month-dongria-kondh-against-vedanta-mining#comments Keep the Bauxite in the Mountains https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2009/keep-bauxite-mountains <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--8639.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="8639" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 03 Sep 2009</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><strong>Mining in the Age of Terror</strong></p> <p>The aluminium industry occupies a vital position in the military-industrial complex. Supply links between mining companies and arms companies are at the heart of this complex, along with the financial institutions that invest in both. In a context where state violence, as well as the terrorism it targets, is escalating in many countries, the “war against terror” has created a climate where too few are questioning the arms industry, and its role in promoting war. </p> <p>Among many other issues, the greenhouse gas emissions of arms factories are massive, yet barely studied, and conspicuous by their absence from most climate change debates. This is also true of metal production in general, when compared to attention given to the oil industry and individuals’ carbon footprint. What about our metal consumption? And who calculates the carbon footprints of our wars?<br /> The mining industry needs to be understood as intrinsically destructive to human life (if not life on earth) at both ends of the production line: the invasion of greenfield mines and factories onto indigenous communities and some of the world’s last pristine environments, that these communities have preserved; and the end result of metal consumed in weapons systems and wars, at exorbitant economic as well as human costs (our theme in “Double Death: Aluminium's Links with Genocide” 2006). Producing one ton of steel consumes an estimated 44 tons of water. Producing one ton of aluminium consumes a staggering 1,378 tons of water, so the expansion of aluminium plants threatens to disrupt water access for future inhabitants of Orissa and bodes ill for Orissa’s cultivators (Ritthoff et al 2002). Producing one ton also emits an average of 15 tons of CO2.</p> <p>Among India’s most significant people’s movements are those resisting new mining/metals projects in Orissa and neighbouring states, and the dams that feed them. In places, violent repression of these movements threatens a state of civil war. To put this another way, a number of “resource wars” are escalating in several parts of India. Examples are south Chhattisgarh, where the Salwa Judum militia’s battle against Maoist insurgents has involved burning and displacing hundreds of tribal villages, in a context of vast new iron/steel projects; and the Lalgarh area of West Bengal, where police suppression of Santals protesting against Jindal’s steel plant plans has sparked another war zone between Maoist-supported tribal villagers and state security forces. This follows the success – at high human cost – of the Singur and Nandigram movements in defeating plans for vast factories on cultivated land. In these areas of West Bengal, as in Orissa, protest is often erroneously branded as Maoist-led, justifying increasingly harsh repression. The Orissa Government is even copying the Salwa Judum model, training several hundred tribal youths as Special Police Officers (SPOs) in Maoist-affected districts.</p> <p>This brings closer a danger of civil war, in a context where neoliberal orthodoxy views most of India’s cultivators as “inefficient” and in need of removal from the land, to make way for bio-tech models of large-scale farms. India is repeating the pattern of European history in which subsistence farmers are removed by enclosing and clearing the land.<br /> Already, an unequal war is being waged in India, with the Prime Minister speaking of Maoists as India’s biggest security threat (Al Jazeera news 17th August 2009, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpKQBJMfY68">www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpKQBJMfY68</a>). In a typical incident, police on 12th August killed 6 villagers in Dantewara district – the epicentre of the war on terror since 2005 (<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chhattisgarh-net/message/12649">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chhattisgarh-net/message/12649</a>). </p> <p><strong>“Aluminum for defence &amp; prosperity” – the scene in Orissa</strong></p> <p>This text by Dewey Anderson by the Public Affairs Institute in Washington in 1951 (sold for 50 cents but now hard to access) is perhaps the only time a top aluminium expert has written frankly about the industry: </p> <p><em>Aluminum has become the most important single bulk material of modern warfare. No fighting is possible, and no war can be carried to a successful conclusion today, without using and destroying vast quantities of aluminum[…] Aluminum making is dependent on vast continuing grants of low cost electricity[…] Aluminum reduction is no great maker of employment, uses little skilled labor, and adds little to the independent development of an area […] the US cannot any longer afford to make aluminum if it can be obtained in large enough quantities and on favourable price terms from other sources. (pp.3, 10, 21)</em></p> <p>New aluminium projects in East India, based on plans for mining some of the biggest mountains in south Orissa and north Andhra, are on a huge scale. Already Sterlite/Vedanta has built a new refinery and smelter, and Hindalco/Utkal is constructing the same, while other companies have advanced plans for more refineries. In the words of a leader of the Kashipur movement against Utkal, Bhagaban Majhi:<br /> To destroy the millions of year old mountains is not development. If the government has decided that we need alumina, and we need to mine bauxite, they should oblige us with replacement land. As Adivasis, we are cultivators. We cannot live without land… If they need it so badly, they need to tell us why they need it. How many missiles will our bauxite be used for? What bombs will you make? How many military aeroplanes? You must give us a complete account. (quoted from A &amp; S. Das: Matiro Poko Company Loko, 2005)</p> <p>Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery was constructed right next to Niyam Dongar, in the Niyamgiri range, one of the best forested mountains in India, due to the protection of primary forest on the summit by the Dongria Kond tribe. Following the Supreme Court case (2004-8), which basically granted clearance for mining on Niyamgiri, Vedanta is trying to construct a mining road and conveyor belt up this mountain, despite opposition from Dongria and other villagers. The Supreme Court case excluded Dongria opinion – one of the judges said that “tribal people have no place in this case”. But the judgement did extract a promise from the company to commit huge sums for tribal development, reforestation and wildlife management. Considering that tribal development is notorious for its corruption (P.Sainath 1996), and that tribal leaders have often said “Don’t flood us out with money”, these plans are not in line with the wishes of most tribal people. The timber mafia is known to have been extremely active on new roads built into the Dongria hills to co-ordinate with Vedanta – and operates along new roads built for mining projects as a matter of course. Moreover, the plantations planned, or used to “rehabilitate” bauxite mines by Nalco, Balco and other companies, are mostly of foreign species such as eucalyptus – no substitute for the biodiversity destroyed. As for wildlife management – a leopard photographed on top of Niyam Dongar (shown in Down to Earth) has already been shot. </p> <!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><div alt="" data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_full&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b296fac7-6c04-40f9-be8e-e26cf3ef6616" title="Dongria villager on Niyamiri mountain" class="align-left embedded-entity" data-langcode="en"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- THEME DEBUG --><!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --><!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><p><img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/kondh%20forest03_small1_1.home.jpg?itok=WoVaIapH 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/kondh%20forest03_small1_1.home.jpg?itok=WoVaIapH" alt="" title="Dongria villager on Niyamiri mountain" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /></p> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --><p> Most Dongria strongly oppose the mine, but some have been bought up by the company, or believe its promises. A classic tactic of mining companies, as of colonial powers throughout history, is to divide the people like this, and the situation replicates the scene in Kashipur, where massive construction of Hindalco’s refinery is under way. Each mountain is a sacred entity for local Adivasis, who remain active against the mining companies, which include Jindal, Larsen &amp; Toubro, and companies from the United Arab Emirates, while BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Alcoa are waiting in the wings. </p> <p>Though Vedanta and Hindalco have built (or part-built) their refineries in south Orissa, as well as smelters in north Orissa, neither have yet been able to start mining bauxite, while mines of Vedanta’s subsidiaries Malco and Balco have been closed or forbidden to expand by government orders, due to negative impacts on the environment and local communities. The smelters, which are designed to draw huge amounts of water from the Hirakud reservoir, face repeated protests from farmers who were promised water from this reservoir’s refurbishment, only to find that their canals are running dry, since most of the water is going to factories (POKSSS 2008). These movements against these bauxite-aluminium projects, and by Orissa’s farmers, are among the strongest in India. </p> <p><strong>Stronger than Steel</strong></p> <p>As with aluminium, so with steel. When Sir Ratan Tata signed a deal for a joint venture with Lockheed-Martin, India's main newspapers had a photograph of him smiling rather maniacally as he sat in the back seat of a F-16 for a test flight (8th Feb 2007).</p> <p>A movement of tribal people in Jajpur district against Tata’s plans for a steel plant at Kalinganagar hit the headlines after police opened fire on protestors on 2nd January 2006. Local people’s ‘Platform Against Displacement’ kept up a blockade on the north-south highway for a year after this, disrupting the transport of iron ore for export from Paradip. Near this port, attempts by Posco (Pohang steel company of South Korea) to build a new steel plant-cum-port have faced strong, sustained opposition by betul vine cultivators and fishermen, one of whose leaders, Abhay Sahu (of the Communist Party of India), was arrested when he left his village of Dhinkia for a serious medical condition (e.g. The Hindu 31.5.09). </p> <p>Many of the mountains of north Orissa are already ravaged by iron ore mining, while some of the last intact areas are under threat from Tata, Posco, Mittal and other companies. When a Public Hearing was held for Mittal’s iron ore project in Keonjhar, police arrested 250 tribal villagers to make sure they would not attend (Samaj, Bhubaneswar, 6.11.08). Near Kalinganagar the Sukinda chromite mines have been judged one of the ten most polluted places on earth (by the Blacksmith Institute, see The Independent, London 16 Sept 07 &amp; <a href="http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org">www.blacksmithinstitute.org</a>). This region contains 98% of India’s chromite, and is the reason for siting the Kalinganagar complex of steel plants nearby. </p> <p>The spate of new steel plants in Orissa started in the mid-90s with a Tata plant near Gopalpur that has never been built, where resistance was Stronger than Steel (title of Vandana Shiva’s book, co-authored A.H.Jaffri 1998), yet several women in a Nari Sena (Women’s army) were killed in police charges, and several villages displaced.</p> <p>In Chhattisgarh, iron min ing &amp; steel plants by Tata and other companies``` are at the heart of the Salwa Judum war against Maoists. The state-sponsored militia has burnt about 600 tribal villages, and turned over 100,000 villagers into refugees (PUDR 2006, Padel 2007). </p> <p><strong>Resource Wars</strong></p> <p>These “resource wars” are driven by foreign investors keen to gain control of Eastern India’s “mineral assets”, with promises of a new age of prosperity once these assets are being “utilised”, even though the whole history of the “resource curse” shows that countries – and even more, regions of countries – that are rich in minerals or oil, far from benefitting from extraction, are launched into a cycle of poverty and violence worse than anything that came before. India’s mining regions are generally its most impoverished and conflict-stricken (Kalshian 2007, CSE 2008). Vedanta is driven by a range of the world’s biggest financial investors. For Tata, its recent acquisition of Corus, Landrover and Jaguar, and the oversize loans it took to finance this, are factors driving its India projects.</p> <p>The aluminium industry’s influence in Iceland, Guinea, Jamaica, Australia, Brazil and other countries is one of economic mayhem and environmental devastation, whose history has not been taken into account (Padel &amp; Das, forthcoming). In Vietnam, newly prospected bauxite deposits in the central highlands are about to be heavily exploited by Chinese and other foreign mining companies, despite strong protest from a range of respected citizens, including a 97 year old general who led resistance to the French and American invasions (International Herald Tribune 15.1.09). </p> <p>The base rock of Orissa's mountains was named "Khondalite" after the Konds. The layer of Bauxite near the top of these mountains holds monsoon water throughout the year, releasing it slowly in perennial streams, which dry up when the bauxite is mined (as at Panchpat Mali, mined by Nalco since 1980). The industry claims, absurdly, that the groundwater is benefitted because "during bauxite mining, micro-cracks develop in the mountain sides which facilitate run-off, recharging the groundwater below." In other words, during the hot season, these streams run dry. </p> <p>Aluminium forms 8% of the earth’s crust, and in the soil, it plays a vital, though little known role in holding moisture, by combining with H2O. Some of parts of the world richest in biodiversity are those rich in Bauxite, such as Brazil, West Africa, northern Australia and Orissa. Mining and metal factories reverse these life-giving properties. </p> <p>As a metal, the element’s combinability gives rise to a huge range of alloys, and a vast range of applications, not least in aerospace, where the lithium range in particular is exceptionally polluting. Extracting and processing aluminium from bauxite, and turning it into the igniting agency, fuel and casing of missiles involves a transformation from life-giving properties to "double death" – an agent of war, and a cause of environmental conflict.</p> <p>We cannot afford the war in Afghanistan, environmentally or economically let alone the human cost &amp; counterproductive strategy, that creates “terrorists” out of citizens outraged at the killing of brothers and sisters, and the double standards that count the lives of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan, but not the – far more numerous lives - of civilians killed, let alone of Taliban or even Afghan government soldiers. The war against Maoists likewise fuels an already smouldering injustice. </p> <p>So the movements against new industrialisation engulfing Eastern India is intimately connected to the war on terror, both because the metals’ apex use is in manufacturing arms, and because the attempt to set up new mining-metals projects is escalating conflicts over resources – the war on terror in India.</p> <p>Felix Padel &amp; Samarendra Das</p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <ul><li>Anderson, Dewey 1951. Aluminum for Defence and Prosperity. Washington: US Public Affairs Institute.</li> <li>Centre for Science and Environment 2008. Rich lands, poor people: Is ‘Sustainable’ Mining Possible? Delhi: CSE.</li> <li>Das, Amarendra &amp; Samarendra 2005. Wira Pdika or Matiro Poko Company Loko [Earth Worm, Company Man, documentary film in Kui/Oriya with English subtitles], available from <a href="mailto:sdasorisa@rediffmail.com">sdasorisa@rediffmail.com</a></li> <li>Goodland, Robert March 2007. Utkal Bauxite and Alumina Project: Human Rights and Environmental Impacts. (<a href="http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/Goodland-Utkal-Mar-2007.pdf">http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/Goodland-Utkal-Mar-2007.p…</a>)</li> <li>Kalshian, Rakesh ed. 2007. Caterpillar and the Mahua Flower: Tremors in India’s Mining Fields. Delhi: Panos.</li> <li>Moody, Roger 2007. Rocks and Hard Places: The Globalization of Mining. London: Zed.</li> <li>Padel, Felix 22. Sept 2007. ‘A Cry Against the Hidden War: Bastar’s Civil War,’ Tehelka magazine.</li> <li>Padel, Felix &amp; Samarendra Das 2006. ‘Double Death: Aluminium's Links with Genocide,’ Social Scientist no.394-5, pp.55-81.</li> <li>‘Cultural Genocide: the Real Impact of Development-Induced Displacement,’ in H.M.Mathur ed. India: Social Development Report 2008. Development and Displacement, pp.103-115. Delhi: OUP for Council for Social Development.</li> <li>[forthcoming] Out of This Earth: East India Adivasis and the Aluminium Cartel.</li> <li>Paschim Orissa Krishak Sangathan Samanbaya Samiti Feb. 2008. Chashiro Rekha. [West Orissa Farmers’ Line, in Oriya]. Sambalpur: POKSSS.</li> <li>People’s Union of Democratic Rights April 2006. Where the State makes War on its Own People (<a href="http://www.pudr.org/pages/salwa.judum.pdf">www.pudr.org/pages/salwa.judum.pdf</a>).</li> <li>Ritthoff, Michael, Holger Rohn &amp; Christa Liedtke 2002. Calculating MIPS: Resource productivity of products and services. Wuppertal spezial 27e. Germany: Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.</li> <li>Sainath, P. 1996. Everybody Likes a Good Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts. Delhi, London: Penguin.</li> <li>Shiva, Vandana &amp; Afasar H. Jafri 1998. Stronger than Steel: People’s Movement Against Globalisation and the Gopalpur Steel Plant. Delhi: Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology.</li> </ul></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/90" hreflang="en">India</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-theme--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-theme.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Theme</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/63" hreflang="en">arms trade</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-companies--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-companies.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-companies--story.html.twig * field--node--field-companies.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-companies.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Companies</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/423" hreflang="en">Vedanta</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=8639&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="NMZh1fGJGRjmi3OIgFVEzq3F8mudUNc5hS01_iT3GMw"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:45:09 +0000 javier 8639 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2009/keep-bauxite-mountains#comments