Vedanta, a UK-based corporation that mostly operates in India, has a big PR problem of its own making. For example, it has been implicated in creating a toxic red mud pond that threatens the lives and livelihoods of thousands of tribal people in the eastern Indian state of Orissa.
You would think that Vedanta should do what’s right and take steps to ensure that the environment and livelihood of the neighboring villages are protected. Vedanta might have taken steps to apologize, compensate and clean up the mess that they’ve already made in those communities.
Amnesty International applauds the Government of India’s decision to reject a bauxite mine in the Dongria Kondh region of the state of Orissa.
We also welcome the government’s decision to suspend the clearance process for the sixfold expansion of the Lanjigarh refinery at the foothills of Niyamgiri, operated by Vedanta subsidiary Vedanta Aluminium, after a government’s expert committee found it to be illegal.
It’s not often that we get such a clear cut victory, but this is one of those occasions.
“After years of struggle and visits by committees our voice has finally reached Delhi,” a Dongria Kondh leader today told Amnesty International.
Lodu Sikaka, kidnapping victim and activist for human rights in Orissa. Copyright: Survival International
UPDATE 2: Lado Sikaka was released, so please stop action. Mr. Sikaka says that while he was there, he was beaten on his hands and legs, and interrogated about whether he had links with supporters of banned Maoist groups. and was involved in any violent incidents in the Niyamgiri Hills. He replied in the negative. However, his captors forced him to sign two blank pieces of paper, before taking him to the nearby town of Kalyansinghpur and releasing him there. He is currently walking back to Lakpaddar, the village where he lives, accompanied by several Dongria Kondh Indigenous people. The Rayagada district police superintendent has denied that Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka were detained by police.
UPDATE: Here is the online action, where you can click to send an email. Thanks for writing on Lano’s behalf.
Sana Sikaka and Lano Sikaka were kidnapped by 15 armed plainclothes officers at the foothills of Niyamgiri mountain (in the eastern Indian state of Orissa), as they were leaving in a van to travel to Delhi, where they planned to campaign against a bauxite mine project. The gunmen confiscated the mobile phones of activists and their vehicle. They then detained Lado and Sana Sikaka, driving them towards the neighboring district of Rayagada where Sana suspects Lado is being held.
One of the activists, Sana Sikaka, was ‘released’ late last night by being thrown out of a van, and has alleged that the gunmen were police. Lado Sikaka, the most senior leader of the Dongria Kondh indigenous community, is still being held by the gunmen. It is a very urgent and dangerous situation for Mr. Sikaka, so I urge you to take action immediately.
Survival International, a group dedicated to the human rights of tribal peoples worldwide has more information and an action. I’m also embedding a video below. I find this especially outrageous that this kidnapping happened on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
The Amnesty International section in the UK announced today that Bianca Jagger (ex-wife of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger) has submitted 30,000 signatures on a petition asking Vedanta Resources, a large UK-based company to respect the human rights of the Dongria Kondh people of the Indian state of Orissa (see more, here and here).
The petition adds yet more voices to a chorus of criticism of Vedanta’s governance and ethical standards. Last week responsible investment research specialists EIRIS published recommendations to address investors’ concerns about Vedanta’s environmental, social and governance practices. Dutch pension manager PGGM divested their £11m stake in the company earlier this month.
Vedanta Resources, through its subsidiary companies, plans to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, considered sacred by the indigenous Dongria Kondh community. The proposed mine may also threaten the community’s rights to water, food, health and work. Final permission for the projects is pending with the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, whose expert panel is due to report their findings shortly.
Bianca Jagger said:
I appeal to investors – including local UK councils who still hold shares in Vedanta – to listen to the voices of the Dongria Kondh and consider the human rights consequences of the proposed mine. I will continue to campaign in support of the Dongria Kondh until their demands are heard.
We issued a report a few weeks back as part of Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity campaign which highlighted the human rights violations taking place in the Dongria Kondh region of the Indian state of Orissa. Since today is Earth Day, I thought it would be an especially good day to re-visit this since Vedanta Resources is helping to destroy the environment in the area. If you have not taken action, please do so at the link below.
To take action, click HERE. We are having an impact on the Government of India and the Orissa state government, so PLEASE keep sending those emails!
I often read to my almost four-year old daughter our favorite book– Dr. Suess’ environmental treatise, The Lorax. Unfortunately, this fictional account of environmental destruction is being played out for real in the Indian state of Orissa where Vedanta Corporation is wrecking the environment of the Dongria Kondh people. To take action, click HERE, but you can also read more below.
I often read to my almost four-year old daughter our favorite book– Dr. Suess’ environmental treatise, The Lorax. Unfortunately, this fictional account of environmental destruction is being played out for real in the Indian state of Orissa where Vedanta Corporation is wrecking the environment of the Dongria Kondh people. To take action, click