Human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger and social activist Arundhati Roy expressed their solidarity with a protest outside the venue of annual general meeting of UK-listed mining company Vedanta Resources, which is planning to construct an environmentally devastating massive bauxite mine in the Indian state of Orissa.
Bianca Jagger joined Dongria Kondh tribal representative Sitaram Kulisika, and eighty others, at the protest at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. The protestors demanded that the company withdraw its plans to construct the massive mine in the lush forests of Niyamgiri Hills, considered sacred by the Dongria Kondh tribes, an already vulnerable indigenous group who have lived there for centuries.
The Kondh tribals rely on the forests to graze livestock and gather food and water. Environment groups from across the world have been campaigning against the proposed mine.
Jagger said, "The mine will damage the cultural and economic rights of the Kondh people as well as the fight against climate change. There is plenty of proof that the best protectors of the forests and other vital eco-systems are local people themselves."
Arundhati Roy said: "If Vedanta is allowed to go ahead with its plans for mining the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa for bauxite it will lead to the devastation of a whole ecosystem, and the destruction of not just the Dongria Kondh tribal community, but eventually all those whose livelihoods depend on that ecosystem."
The Dongria Kondh have been actively resisting Vedanta’s plans, building road blockades and human chains to prevent bulldozers from passing. They are adamant that nothing, be it financial compensations or relocation packages, can compensate for the loss of their livelihood and their pristine and ecologically fragile land.
Dodi Pusika, a Dongria Kondh elder, said, ‘Niyamgiri [the mountain] is our God and he is guiding us all the time, he has kept us alive. Our God has been looking after us for thousands of years. We must make sure that we keep our mountain safe.’
Stephen Corry, director of UK-based Survival International, said, "The days of British companies taking tribal peoples’ lands with impunity are over. The court of public opinion will ensure the Dongria Kondh don’t face this threat alone: it will ensure that the damage to the company’s reputation will, in the long run, outweigh its profits. As well as being a gross human rights violation, it’s just economic madness for Vedanta to mine Dongria land.’
PR offensive
According to Survival International, Vedanta Resources, together with its PR company Finsbury and ‘corporate social responsibility’ consultancy CO3, have been on a PR offensive to gather support for its plans. Much of this material has been manipulative; some has been completely untrue, claims the group.
According to Survival, the PR drive includes a false claim that Vedanta had received ‘Golden Peacock award, which in fact was later withdrawn. The company also claimed, among other things, that the tribals are in favor of the mine and that it wouldn't cause any harm to them.
Bianca Jagger joined Dongria Kondh tribal representative Sitaram Kulisika, and eighty others, at the protest at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. The protestors demanded that the company withdraw its plans to construct the massive mine in the lush forests of Niyamgiri Hills, considered sacred by the Dongria Kondh tribes, an already vulnerable indigenous group who have lived there for centuries.
The Kondh tribals rely on the forests to graze livestock and gather food and water. Environment groups from across the world have been campaigning against the proposed mine.
Jagger said, "The mine will damage the cultural and economic rights of the Kondh people as well as the fight against climate change. There is plenty of proof that the best protectors of the forests and other vital eco-systems are local people themselves."
Arundhati Roy said: "If Vedanta is allowed to go ahead with its plans for mining the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa for bauxite it will lead to the devastation of a whole ecosystem, and the destruction of not just the Dongria Kondh tribal community, but eventually all those whose livelihoods depend on that ecosystem."
The Dongria Kondh have been actively resisting Vedanta’s plans, building road blockades and human chains to prevent bulldozers from passing. They are adamant that nothing, be it financial compensations or relocation packages, can compensate for the loss of their livelihood and their pristine and ecologically fragile land.
Dodi Pusika, a Dongria Kondh elder, said, ‘Niyamgiri [the mountain] is our God and he is guiding us all the time, he has kept us alive. Our God has been looking after us for thousands of years. We must make sure that we keep our mountain safe.’
Stephen Corry, director of UK-based Survival International, said, "The days of British companies taking tribal peoples’ lands with impunity are over. The court of public opinion will ensure the Dongria Kondh don’t face this threat alone: it will ensure that the damage to the company’s reputation will, in the long run, outweigh its profits. As well as being a gross human rights violation, it’s just economic madness for Vedanta to mine Dongria land.’
PR offensive
According to Survival International, Vedanta Resources, together with its PR company Finsbury and ‘corporate social responsibility’ consultancy CO3, have been on a PR offensive to gather support for its plans. Much of this material has been manipulative; some has been completely untrue, claims the group.
According to Survival, the PR drive includes a false claim that Vedanta had received ‘Golden Peacock award, which in fact was later withdrawn. The company also claimed, among other things, that the tribals are in favor of the mine and that it wouldn't cause any harm to them.
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