[Reader-list] Update from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti ( PPSS) as on 10th March 2013.

[Asit Das]

The PPSS condemns in unequivocal terms the assault on the  Civil Liberty
Fact Finding Team (CLFFT) consisting of  Meher Engineer (Scientist,
Kolkata),      Sumit Chakravartty( Editor, Mainstream Weekly), Manoranjan
Mohanty (Former  Prof. Delhi University),Kamal Nayan Choubey (PUDR),
Ranjana (PUDR), Pramodini   (PUCL, Odihsa), Mathew Jacob (Human Rights Law
Network), Partha Ray, Sanhati, Sanjeev Kumar (Delhi Forum)when they were
returning from  visit to our villages on March 9, 2013. We feel sad because
they had come all the way from Delhi and Kolkota to find out truth relating
to bombing and lathicharge that resulted in the killing of three of our men
on March 2 and severe injuries of several women on March 7.


When the world was preparing to celebrates Women’s day, the village women
of Govindpur , Dhinkia, Patanahat got brutally beaten up by police and
goons close to armed police camp in Govindapur as they had gone there to
demand withdrawal of police camp from the area and to allow them to live in
peace on March 7 as continuous deployment of five platoons of police at
Govindpur village has made life miserable for everybody. Police presence is
also a major reason why bombing has taken place and we have lost 3
important lives. The presence of police is only encouraging the criminal
elements to unleash a region of terror which was also experienced by the
fact finding team on March 9, 2013.


Perhaps it does not require any emphasis that women are the worst hit in
today’s situation. Our women don’t at all feel safe and the administration
is fully aware of this fact. Despite that they are not doing anything which
prompts us to say that they might be behind all these acts of violence.
Everything could have come out in open by independent fact finding teams
but now even such teams are attacked.


One can understand what might have happened to our women protesters on
March 7. Around 2.30 p.m. on 7th March 2013, hundreds of men and women of
PPSS came in procession and staged a peaceful demonstration near the
Mangalapada police camp at the entry point of Gobindpur village demanding
withdrawal of armed police from their locality. The police fired teargas
shells and made a lathi-charge on the peaceful protestors as a result more
than 40 persons have sustained injury. Women activists were cornered and
beaten up by plain-clothed policewomen. Bilochan Khatua, Sulochana barik,
Solia mallick, Sati Barik, Nayana Dash, Tulashi Dash, Basanti Mandal, Satya
Mallick, Pravati Swain, Taaopi Samal , Lopa Samal and many more of
Govindpur village were injured.


Women claimed that their eyes burned when the police fired teargas shells.
This shows the government’s double standards. On one hand, the government
is claiming that it was acquiring land peacefully while on the other hand
it is using police force which is contradictory.


Meanwhile the South Korea’s Ambassador Kim Joong Keun visited Odisha on 6th
march 2013. When people in the proposed POSCO project site are mourning the
killing of 3 activists of the movement who were killed in a bomb attack on
March 2, the Ambassador did not say anything to express his grief. He was
obsessed with the progress of POSCO project.


We also condemn in strongest terms POSCO’s attempt to take Odisha Scribes
for pleasure trip to outside. We also appeal friends from media please not
to fall in the trap as people will lose complete faith in them.


Meanwhile , the CPI (ML) leader K N Ramachandran and Sarmistha Choudhury,
who attended an anti-Posco meeting have announced a ’Jana Sansad’ at
Jantarmantar in New Delhi on March 15 to protest ‘forcible’ land
acquisition for POSCO.


Different social action groups organized a protest meeting over the
 killing of Anti-POSCO Protesters and Forcible Acquisition of Land in
Odisha, at Odisha Bhawan, 1 Niti Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, on 9th
March (Saturday), 2013.


I am attaching herewith the statement of various social action groups on
the murder of PPSS leader, Complaint to NHRC* *by Center for Legal
Awareness and Human Rights (CLAR)  and the  latest interview of our
activists Mr. Debendra Swain prepared by Video Volunteers. This is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZfaKYUkiLM&feature=youtu.be

 We express our gratitude to all our friends for their support and
circulating their statements.


We call on all democratic and progressive organizations and individuals to
condemn the blatant use of brute force through police as well as goons to
brutally crush our democratic movement.


Kindly forward this mail widely.



Hoping for Solidarity.


Prashant Paikaray


Spokesperson, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti.

Mobile no - 09437571547

E- mail- prashantpaikaray at gmail.com









1.      *STATEMENT ON THE MURDER  OF ANTIPOSCO ACTIVISTS *



We the undersigned are outraged and distressed over the latest turn of
events in the antiposco struggle villages of jagatsinghpur district Odisha.


            On 6:30 pm on 2nd March, hired musclemen of Posco threw bombs
at antiposco activists in patana village and killed 3 activists and
severely injuring several others; one of them is batting for his life at
cuttack medical college. This conspiracy was hatched by Posco management
and local contractors with active connivance with the Odisha government to
murder Abbay Sahoo the President of Posco pratihrodh sangram samity, and to
violently supress the antiposco struggle with despicabls unconstitunal
means by hiring criminal elements to eliminate and intimidate activists of
PPSS which is spearheading antipopsco movement.


            It is to be noted that few years ago the hired hoodlums of
Posco management attacked shri Dula mandal an antiposco activist of
Gobindpur village killing him. This indicates the criminal degeneration of
the corporate sector with a complicit probusiness and anti people state can
stoop down to any level for their greed.


             On 5th march 12 platoons of armed police led by the district
collector and SP forcible entered Gobindpur village and destroyed more then
25 betel vines the major source of lively hood of local people.


The state assembly session is in session from February 26- March 7, the
Odisha government has begun preparations to resume forceful land
acquisition in the village. The government was forced to stop land takeover
activities at Gobindapur village in the proposed project site in the first
week of February owing to stiff opposition from villagers and concerned
people across the globe.


The Odisha government is going ahead with the forceful land acquisition
process for the steel plant despite the fact that Posco does not have an
environmental clearance for the project. The environmental clearance given
by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on January 31, 2011 was
suspended by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on March 30 of 2012. Posco
was not even have a memorandum of understanding with the government now.
The one it had singed on July 22, 2005 lapsed on July 21, 2010 and no fresh
MoU has been signed so far.


Even, the palli sabha meeting of Gobindapur, and the gram sabha meeting of
Dhinkia panchyat on 18 October, 2012, more then 2000 residents unanimously
voted against diversion of land for Posco's project under provisions of the
Forest Rights Act 2006. The ongoing land acquisition is a blatant violation
of the Forests Rights Act as the rights over forest lands in the area are
not being recognized and vested and consent of the Palli Sabhas has not
been obtained by the state government.

The above incidents exposes the criminal nexus between national and
international big business with the comprador third world states, who can
go any extent to prostrate in front of  their imperial masters to hand over
the natural recourses to the Merauding Multinational Corporations.


We are worried of the growing criminilastion and lumpenisation and the
strengthening of the insidious nexus between the National and Multinational
Corporations with the third world states.


The bloodsucking neoliberal economy has created an equally predatory
neoliberal state which joins hand with hired musclemen of the corporate
sector and also sends its Coercive apparatus like the police and
paramilitary forces to forcibly dispossess the peasants, Adiasisard other
marginal communities from their land and livelihoods. This is the ugly
reality of 21st century primitive accumulation where accumulation through
violent dispossession is the sad story of contemporary land grab.


We condemn this dastardly act of violent attack and murder of PPSS
archivists   and demand the scrapping of the Posco project.



1)      Chittraranjan singh     National Secretary PUCL

2)      Ashok choudhury         NFFPFW

3)      Dr.Sunilam                  Kissan Sangharsh Smity

4)      Kiran shanheen           Women against sexual violence and state
expression(WSS)

5)      Anand swarup verma Editor samkaleen tisri duniya

6)      K.K. Niyogi                   All India platform for labour rights

7)      Manj mohan               Hind mazdoor sabha

8)      Roma                           NFFPFW

9)      Anil chaudhury            INSAF

1    Insha malik                    Research sholar JNU

11Bhupen singh              Research sholar JNU

1  Vijay pratap                Socialist front

1   Madhuresh                  NAPM

14)  Rajendra Ravi                         NAPM

1 Anna khandre              Samajwadi party

1   Putul                            Yuva bharat

1  P.K. sundaram             IndiaResists.com

1  Prakash kumar ray      Editor bargad.org

1   Nayanjyoti                    Krantikari naujawan sabha

2   Vinod singh                 Samajwadi jan parishad

21  Rakhi scigal                 Labour activist

2   Gopal Krishna              Taxis watch

2 Mamta dash                Posco pratirodh solidarity Delhi

2  Asit das                       Posco pratirodh solidarity Delhi













COMPLAINT AGAINST THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL ATTITUDE OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION
TOWARDS THE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION AND BARBARIC ARBITRARY ACTION OF STATE
POLICE OFFICIALS ON THE PEACEFUL WOMEN DEMONSTRATOR IN THE VILLAGE
GOBINDPUR AND DHINKIA, JAGATSINGPUR DISTRICT OF ODISHA TO NHRC



 *From,*

*Mr.Chandranath Dani, Advocate*

*Secretary, Center for Legal Awareness and Human Rights (CLAR)*

*1384/4600 Sastri Nagar, Unit-IV*

*Bhubaneswar 751001 (Odisha)*

*Cell : +91-94392 28370.*



*To*

*Justice K.G.Balkrishan*

*Chairperson*

*National Human Right Commission*

*Farid Court House, Copernicus Marg*

*New Delhi 110001.*



* Dt. 8th March 2013*



*Sub:* *Urgent action against the in-human, unconstitutional attitude of
district / state administration towards the peaceful demonstration and
barbaric arbitrary action of state police officials on the peaceful women
demonstrator in the village Gobindpur and Dhinkia,  Jagatsingpur district
of Odisha, resulting severely injuring about 20 villagers (Women & Senior
citizens) human rights defenders.*

 Sir

 With due respect I like to bring the following matter of concern before
your kindness for urgent necessary action,

 That, on 7th March 2013 to withdraw police force from the area and to stop
the illegal forceful land acquisition, ladies from the village Gobindpur
and Dhinkia area had assembled peacefully at Phula Khai Temple in Gobindpur
village. After a meeting all of them then had organized a peaceful rally to
the Mangalapada area of Gobindpur village where about 10 platoon of police
force is assembled for the illegal land acquisition.



While the group were passing through the jungle and was about to arrive at
the Mangalapada the police force inflicted sudden lathi-charged upon the
protestor. Also had used teargas. As a result about 40 women are injured
out of them 12 lady defenders were injured severely.



Find append some of the photographs and news published in local daily
“DHARITRI”



 Hence I beg your kindness to act urgently upon the matter and oder an
enquiry by some independent authority *or* NHRC to dismiss the
intentionally field false cases upon the defenders in the area, “Issue an
notice to Home Secretary, Director General of Police Odisha to immediately
stop this kind of act upon  a peaceful demonstration and pass any other
order / orders for the act of kindness for which I shall be highly obliged.



Sincerely yours

* *

*(Chandranath Dani)*

Advocate,

Center for Legal Awareness and Human Rights (*CLAR*)



*Victims / HRD Details*:

*1.*      *Ms.Manorama Khuta aged about 27 years, D/O Baidhara Khuta, R/O
Vill- Dhinkia, PS- Abhyachandpur Dist – Jagatsinghpur Odisha And 11 others.*

* *

*Person Injured :*

1.      Rina Mallick

2.      Hemalata Samantray

3.      Chaena Das

4.      Liu Das

5.     Santi Sethi

*All the above are elderly lady are resident of village Gobindpur /
Patna. *Other
injured persons are;

1.      Sulochana Barik

2.      Solia Mallick

3.      Sati Barik

4.      Narayan Das

5.      Tulasi Das

6.      Basanti Mandal

7.      Satia Mallick

8.      Prabhabati Swain

9.      Tapoi Samal

* *

*Perpetrators:*

1.       *Mr.Satya Mallick, District Magistrate and Collector Jagatsinghpur
District Odisha*

2.       *MrSatyabrata Bhoi, Superitendent of Police Jagatsinghpur District
Odisha*

3.       *Mr.Gupteswara Bhoi, Inspector In Charge Kuganja Police Station,
District Jagatsinghpur Odisha*

4.       *Inspector In Charge Abhyachandpur Police Station, District
Jagatsinghpur Odisha*

*  *

* *