Unacceptable Police Brutality Continues at Posco Site in Odisha, India

Below is an appeal from the protesters.

Courtesy: outlookindia.com

(NEW DELHI, India) - Villagers in this contested region of India have been cordoned off by the Police. Entry and exit into the villages are controlled and restricted.

Three prominent leaders remain behind bars for opposing the forcible occupation of their lands by POSCO, nominally Korean but largely an American and European banksters controlled firm.

People are finding it difficult to perform their normal work, even go out to other towns and villages to buy basic necessities.

Like the Israelis, the Odisha Government has created a mini Gaza for the villagers whose lands are being forcibly occupied by this bankster-owned company.

Below is an appeal from the protesters.

“

Dear Friends, On the 2nd of January 2012, around 2000 villagers gathered at Balitikiri, Govindpur village boarder in protest against the illegal arrest of our leader Mr. Abhaya Sahoo, Mr. Narayan Reddy and Mr. Jayant Biswal. We demanded that all the false cases against our leaders should be immediately withdrawn. This protest was organized in view of the Prime minister’s recent visit to Odisha on 3rd January 2012. In gathering on 2nd January, the peaceful democratic protestors gathered to reiterate that our area is not meant for industry. This is fertile agricultural land with a self reliant economy that feeds urban India which cannot be put to any other use. Let the Prime Minister and Chief Minister come and see it for themselves. The police have now virtually cordoned our area and are now hunting innocent people for the ‘crime’ of democratic peaceful protest. Our people cannot even access the nearest market for the medical treatment. Our people are in dire need of doctors and medicines and we need your help as the health conditions in our area continue to deteriorate. We earnestly request that all of our supporters consider arranging to send medical teams to the area through donations or direct assistance of medical personnel, equipment, supplies and medicine. We repeat, we will continue to fight against the forceful usurpation of our land and livelihood. Attached herewith is the resolution of the all party meeting held on 30th Of December 2011 at Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. We shall inform you the ongoing development here. Looking forward to your kind support. Kindly circulate this widely. In solidarity, Prashant Paikary Spokesperson, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti Mobile no - 09437571547 E -Mail- prashantpaikray@gmail.com The resolution below was posted on salem-news.

”

Resolution of the People’s  Convention at Lohia Academy, Bhubaneswar, Odisha on 30^th December 2011

On behalf of the POSCO Pratirodh Co-Ordination Committee, a people’s convention was organised at Lohia Academy in Bhubaneswar, The leaders and representatives of different political parties and civil societies made following resolutions in the convention.

For the last six years the state government under the aegis of Navin Pattnaik, has been carrying out repression and atrocities on the people of the region. Government repression has been compounded by the anti-people policies. This convention condemns these illegitimate practices of the government. In the supposed name of national interest the POSCO project will cause destruction of the regions flora, fauna and will eliminate community resources shared by the inhabitants of this area for millennia.

It is a shame to sabotage the peaceful democratic resistance of the people to protect their livihood. In this process the government machinery is working hand in glove with corporate actors and using violent means to thwart the democratic process.

The most recent condemnable violent incident on 14/12/2011- a peaceful demonstration against the construction of the coastal road, was marred by violence perpetuated by government sponsored private militia. The anti-posco protesters were attacked with arms and bombs. As a result of this incident, one person was killed. The irony of this murder is that instead of charging the goons and lumpen and militia, government officials have framed charges against the innocent villagers and their leaders. In the same incident, Narayan Reddy and Jayanta Biswal have been arrested and charged with false cases of instigating violence. This convention strongly resents this move of the government and demands for the immediate release of the detainees.

This convention also demands that the government will take immediate action against the real culprits who staged the violence on 14th of December 2011 and the withdrawal of all false charges framed on the villagers of the region.

In the six years of the peoples struggle to save their own homeland and culture, the region has seen every violation of human rights by the state and the corporate actors. Thus the convention has made a call to everyone who stands in solidarity with the people of the region to work collectively.

The committee has also taken a strong resolve to organise ‘peoples conventions’ across the state of Odisha, to build the peoples collective consciousness on the issues and bring out a collective voice.

The convention also demands for the immediate release of Abhay Sahoo the PPSS leader who has been put in detention with false charges.

The convention also demands a detailed enquiry into all past and present cases under the supervision of the Director General (DG) of Police. All political crimes surrounding the POSCO project under the superintendent of police (SP) of the Jagatsinghpur district should be transferred to the supervision of the Director General (DG) of Police.

The committee has also decided to meet the Home secretary and the DG of Police at the earliest.

Represented by,

Abani Boral
Gobardhan Pujari
Panchanan Kanango.
Bijay Nayak
Rabi Das.
Pradyumna Satpathy.
Prafulla Smathray.
Suribandhu Kar.

Arun Shrivastava is Salem-News.com's South Asia Correspondent. An accredited management consultant, Arun is also a highly experienced researcher and writer. He studied in India and England and returned to India in 1989, after a brief stint as senior officer with Economic Development Unit of Birmingham (UK). From 1989 to 1994, he taught Strategic Management and Long Range Planning to MBA students at International Management Institute in Delhi.

About twenty years ago he founded two institutions, one for consulting and another for doing sponsored research work; today both are known for excellence. Since the events of 9/11, he has devoted much of his time to researching NWO issues. Arun also moderates International Human Rights Organizations’ discussion group.

Salem-News.com is very pleased that Arun Shrivastava chose to join our dynamic team which has been paying increasing attention to problems taking place in India. He is Salem-News.com's 94th writer and his presence allows us to better cover important events in an increasingly interconnected world community.

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