Breaking! Police Crackdown on People’s Movements!
Breaking! Police Crackdown on People’s Movements!
The administration in Singrauli is cracking down on voices opposed to Essar’s coal mine at Mahan. In a shocking case of intimidation, policemen entered Greenpeace’s Waidhan guesthouse near Mahan without any search or arrest warrant and arrested two of our Greenpeace colleagues a little after midnight on July 30.
The police also seized all communication equipment from our office and solar panels from Amelia village needed to keep our team in Amelia connected to the outside world the afternoon of July 30.
These attempts to silence and isolate MSS and the people of Mahan
who are fighting to save the forests, their homes and livelihoods are
outrageous. More repression is sure to follow as the companies try and
suppress any dissent before the Gram Sabha, and try and prevent the
outside world from knowing what is unfolding in the forests of Mahan.
We need you to urgently write to Jual Oram, the Minister of Tribal Affairs at the Centre, and ask him to intervene to stop threats to and repression of people’s movements! Demand that the Minister ensures that the Amelia Gram Sabha is conducted fairly and that it is open to external observers.
The
crackdown on forest rights activists continues in India. Yesterday, two
Greenpeace campaigners were arrested and their communication equipment
was seized. http://grnpc.org/Ig047
Indian coal company, Essar, wants to build a mine that would destroy
1,000 hectares of the Mahan forest, which the local communities rely on
for their livelihood.
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."
NOW is the moment to raise your voice: demand that Jual Oram, the
Tribal Affairs Minister, ensures that a free and fair community vote
(Gram Sabha) is held: http://grnpc.org/Ig047
