Saving Iceland

On January 6th, more than 50 protesters stopped Vedanta, a British mining company from entering the land of the Dongria Kondh and other Kondh tribes in the state of Orissa in India. Vedanta plans to mine bauxite in the Dongria Kondh’s sacred mountains, destroying the forests – the tribe’s livelihood.

Survival International says:

Last night’s action follows high level meetings at the weekend between Vedanta’s billionaire chairman Anil Agarwal and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who backs the mine. After the meeting, Agarwal told journalists that mining would start ‘within a month or two’.
India’s Supreme Court has approved Vedanta’s plans, but the mine is yet to receive the environmental clearance required for it to go ahead.

The stand-off between local villagers and Vedanta’s bulldozers at the blockade site continues. Protestor Ajun Chandi, who has received a series of threatening phone calls from Vedanta, says, ‘You must let the whole world know what Vedanta is doing.’

Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘Vedanta won’t be able to hide its work by invading the Kondhs’ land at night. It doesn’t even have official approval. Whether or not it gets it, the Dongria aren’t likely to agree to their homeland and most sacred site being destroyed. Vedanta is trying to intimidate the tribespeople. This is an appalling way for a major British company to behave, it isn’t going to work and Vedanta must now expect international opposition to grow.’

During Saving Iceland’s fourth direct action camp, which took place last summer, Samarendra Das, an author, activist and filmmaker, visited Iceland and spoke publicly about the situation in Orissa, the global effects of aluminium production and the connection between the struggle in Iceland and in India.

Some of Samarendra’s articles have been published on this web: Agya, What Do You Mean with  Development? and Double Death – Aluminum’s Link with Genocide.

You can read more about the Dongria Kondh tribe and it’s struggle here on Survival’s website.