Joint Resolution passed at the joint convention at Gandhi Peace Foundation
on 24 October 2008
Demanding Immediate withdrawal of all cases against and immediate release of Abhay Sahu and other activists of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, and Condemning the increasing state repression in Orissa against peaceful resistance of people against anti-people steel project
In exercise of their Constitutional right to dissent, and the right to a life with dignity, which includes the right to a livelihood of their choice, people of Dhinkia, Gobindpur, and Gadakujang panchayats of Jagatsingpur district in Orissa have put up a non-violent resistance for the past three years against forcible take-over of their lands and resources by the Korean steel giant POSCO. The state government’s dubious plans to build a mega steel plant on their lands will not only devastate the sustainable livelihood systems of thousands of local people, it will also pauperize many more lakhs of people, when the port and mining associated with the project are considered.
Using force to repress people’s democratic voices is not new to the state, though this method of repression has reached another high point with the arrest of PPSS president Abhay Sahu, who was arrested on 12 October 2008. The police claim to have registered as many as 25 (completely false) ’direct’ cases against him. In all Abhay Sahu is implicated in over 70 cases. The police have also simultaneously launched a malicious campaign against him through the already corporatised media. The sole object of employing such tactics is to prolong the process of Abhay Sahu’s release, and further intimidate people opposed to the project and such projects elsewhere in the state including Kashipur, Lanjigarh, and Kalinganagar.
The state’s latest action is also an attempt to hide from the public gaze its utter inability, and barefaced unwillingness to contain the communal violence in Kandhamal and other parts of Orissa. In other words, while the state is working overtime to squeeze all democratic spaces and deny people their rights, it is opening up new areas for communal hatred and corporate land-grab.
Despite the state’s increasingly repressive regime, the ongoing struggle by the PPSS has been intensified to a new height since Abhay Sahu’s malafide arrest, with more local residents, especially women, joining in and more democratic voices from all over the world condemning the state for acting in denigration of Constitutional values and human rights, and in favour of corporate interests.
We demand:
•Withdrawal of all cases against Abhay Sahu and other PPSS
activists
•Immediate and unconditional release of Abhaya Sahu and other
PPSS activists
•Immediate withdrawal of police forces which have surrounded the
area affecting the day-to-day life of the people
•Scrapping of the POSCO project, which has been strongly resisted
by the local people since it displaces people, violates their land rights,
deprives them of their livelihood and destroys natural resources and the
ecology of the region
•Stop repression on people fighting to protect their lands and resources throughout the state.
Endorsed by:
Organizations/Groups
All India Youth Federation
All India Students Federation
Bharat Jan Aandolan
Bonded Labour Liberation Front
CACIM
Centre for Studies on Developing Societies
Communist Party of India
Council for Social Development
Delhi Forum
Critical Quest
Delhi Solidarity Group
Friends of the Earth, Finland
Global Gandhi Forum
Hazards Centre
Himalaya Seva Sangh
INSAF
Jan Sangharsh Vahini
JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA)
Kalpavriksh
Kashipur Solidarity Group
Kriti
Matu Peoples’ organisation
Mainstream
National Alliance for Agricultural Worker’s Union
National Campaign for Land and Livelihood
National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR)
National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW)
PEACE
POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS)
POSCO Pratirodh Solidarity
Pratidhwani
Peoples’ Union for Democratic Rights
PWESCR
Saheli
Samajwadi Jan Parishad
Sandharbh Kendra
South Asian Dialogues for Ecological Democracy
Teesra Swadhinta Abhiyan
The Other Media
Individuals
Aanchal Kapur, Activist
Afaq, Researcher
Ambuja Kumar Tripathy, Academic
Anil Chaudhary, Activist
Anita Soni, Activist
Aparna Sarin, CPI-ML (New Democracy)
Asit Das, Researcher and Activist
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
B D Sharma, Activist and Ex-Bureaucrat
Babulal Sharma, Socialist
Bhupendra Singh Rawat, Activist
Bipin KR, Activist
Biswajit Mohanty, Academic
D Bandopadhya, Academic & Intellecutal
Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Activist
Himanshu Upadhyay, Researcher
Jang Bahadursingh, CPI
Jaya Mehta, Activist
Jibin Robin,
Josna, Researcher
K B Saxena, Intellectual
K Murugan, Youth Activist
Kalyani, Researcher and Trainer
Kamal Kesari, CPI
Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Academic
Kanchi Kohli, Environmental Researcher and Activist
Madhuresh, Researcher and Activist
Mamata Dash, Researcher and Activist
Manju Menon, Researcher
Manoj K Sinal, Researcher
Manoj Pande, Activist
Manoranjan Mohanty, Academic and Intellectual
Manshi Asher, Independent Activist
Marko Ulvila, Researcher
Mousami Basu, PUDR
N Bhattacharya, Academic
P Santosh Kumar, Activist
Poonam
Prashant Paikaray, Activist
Priiti Darooka
Priya Jain, Photojournalist
Rakesh Bhatt, Researcher
Rakesh Raman, Activist
Rakesh Rafiq, Activist
Ravi Hemadri, Activist
S R Hiremath, Activist
Soumitra Ghosh, Activist
S Sarangi, Journalist
Safiara, Activist
Samar Basu Mullick, Activist
Savyasaachi, Academic
Sayantoni Datta, Researcher
Seela M, Researcher
Shah Alam, Activist
Shaweta Anand, Researcher
Shree Prakash, Activist
Shreya, Researcher
Sridevi Panikkar, Advocate
Sourabh, Cultural Activist
Sreedhar, Environmentalist
Sreerekha, Academic
Subrat Kumar Sahu, Filmmaker
Sudeep K S
Sudhir Pattnaik, Journalist
Sumit Chakravorty, Journalist
Surya Shankar Dash, Filmmaker
Udayan Roy, Activist
Usha Ramanathan, Independent Law Researcher
Vijendra Kesari, Student Activist
Vimalbhai, Activist
Vineet Tiwari, Researcher