Don’t mine us out of existence
UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources threatens the human rights of indigenous communities in the Indian state of Orissa. Email the Indian authorities now: http://bit.ly/vedantareport
Even though the UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources tries to make itself look like a victim, it is the Dongria Kondh who will lose everything if Vedanta gets its way.
In April 2009 the company received approval from Indian authorities to mine for bauxite on top of the Dongria Kondh's most sacred site: the home of their god, Niyam Raja.
ActionAid once pointed out that Vendanta's plan is akin to destroying St. Paul's Cathedral to make a bunch of drink cans and foil for chocolate bars.
However, it is much more akin to destroying every single Church in the world---along with every Bible and Cross---and then poisoning the food in every supermarket and everyone's water supply.
To make the image even more troubling: instead of drink cans it's nuclear weapons: Vedanta hopes to send the Bauxite to Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO), who supplies 90% of the aluminum used to manufacture nuclear-capable missiles for the Indian government.
To date, the Dongria Kondh have not given their consent for Vendanta's mining project. They have stated many times since the mine was first proposed that they can never do so, because the destruction of their Mountain would guarantee their own death.
For more information, see Amnesty International's in-depth report on Vedanta's mining operations and the real (ongoing) and potential impacts on the Kondh. You can directly download the report here: 'Don't mine us out of existence' (PDF)
What You Can Do
Amnesty International is asking everyone to send a message to the Indian Minister of Environment and Forests, calling on him to refuse permission for the expansion of Vedanta's mining and refinery operations. Send the Minister a letter here: Mining and refinery expansion threatens human rights in Orissa
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Letter sent as, :
I am, along with others, concerned about the six-fold expansion plan for the refinery in Lanjigarh and its impacts on the human rights of the Majhi Kondh and other marginalised communities.
I am including the following web-article link, so that you will know that concerned indigenous persons on the other side of the globe are following these developments closely:
http://intercontinentalcry.org/dont-mine-us-out-of-existence/
Peace,
Billy Douthwright
I too am concerned about the six-fold expansion plan for the refinery in Lanjigarh and its impacts on the human rights of the Majhi Kondh and other marginalised communities.
Please refuse permission for the expansion of Vedanta’s mining and refinery operations.
Posting the following link to an Indigenous Environmental Network report, just received, interesting because it shows the financier linkages to BRS!as in ‘gotcha’!
The focus is on RBS, a publicly owned bank’s, investments in Alberta tar sands developments, with studies of the financier linkages to pipeline developments too, and investment links to Vedanta’s bauxite mines in India are given as well, so, becomes so interesting to see how we can directly affect them over there by working together to solve the same problems here :
http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410214267
… looks like the analysis of public opinion falling out from these banks’ investments is becoming the real story?