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Last Friday, the Indian Supreme Court issued two rulings against Indigenous People and rural farmers in the eastern state of Orissa. Favoring development over the people’s rights and livelihoods, the court gave the go-ahead to Vedanta Resources and their bauxite mine on the Nyamgiri Hills, as well as to the South Korean steel-maker Posco’s massive steel project in the same state.

“The announcements were hardly surprising, though they still had the power to shock,” notes a recent report by London Calling. “The court seemed determined to display its pro-industry credentials on both …

Following-up last week’s story about Vedanta and the Dongria Kondh, the company recently held it’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in London, where it assured shareholders and the attending Kondh that it will not proceed with it’s bauxite mine in the sacred hills of Nyamgiri without the tribe’s consent.

“I can only promise that we will only start work if we have complete permission of the court and the people,” said Vedanta CEO, Anil Agarwa.

According to Survival International, “[this] is the first time the company has made any such commitment to comply with …

The Indian Supreme Court has postponed its judgment on whether or not Vedanta’s controversial bauxite mining project in Orissa can go ahead.

The court announced its decision last Friday, July 25, following a promise by the company to spend five percent of its profits from the $800 million project on “rehabilitation” for the Dongria Kondh, who’s homes and sacred sites are facing destruction.

Following the announcement, ActionAid stated in media release that the Kondh, no matter the decision of the court, will not sacrifice their land for the mine.

“The resolve …

There were multiple offensives against indigenous people throughout the month of June. A Canadian court paved the way to reclassify 16 lakes as mine waste dumps; The US Supreme court issued at least three rulings against indigenous rights; Police in Australia barred a group of Indigenous People from visiting a scared site; and there was state-sanctioned violence against people in Guatemala, India, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.

In other news, the O’odham of Gila River became the first Indigenous Community in the US (perhaps in the world) to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights …

It was pretty much ‘business as usual’ for the month of February. Corporations continued acting as innocent third parties while Governments continued to demand indigenous People allow the theft of their lands and destruction of their cultures without question. “It’s in your best interests,” we’re told. “It’s for the greater good.”

Amidst this however, there was one important shift in the world this month–one that we can only hope will catch on in greater force. Governments began pulling back the reins of development, and a few corporations and Shareholders started withdrawing from and speaking …

On Wednesday, hundreds of children between the ages of 5 and 12 demonstrated against a proposed steel plant, in Orissa, India.

from http://www.andhracafe.com After walking across five villages including Trilochanpur, Patana and Govindpur, the children congregated at Dhinkia village. They were protesting under the banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the main organisation opposing the project in the district.

The children shouted slogans against POSCO, holding placards and distributing leaflets, the police official said. Some children also delivered speeches.

‘I am ready to give my life with my parents because we will lose everything if the plant starts,’ Sujit Das, 5, …

Land Acquisition In Bastar At A Critical Stage
By Debaranjan Sarangi, Countercurrents.org
March 15, 2007

The situation in Bastar is at a critical stage, with clashes on 27-28 Feb trying to force land acquisition for Tata’s steel plant. The “manufactured civil war” pursued by Salwa Judum continues with at least 80,000 tribal refugees in what are virtually concentration camps.

The steel plant is planned on 2,000+ hectares of tribal land belonging to 10 villages in Lohandiguda block, near the amazing Chitrakot waterfall on Indravati river. The agreement for the plant was signed between the Chhattisgarh Govt & Tata in June 2005 - precisely …