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Ban upheld: Avatar tribe ‘to decide’ future of Vedanta mine (India)
un articulo por Survival for Tribal Peoples
Video: Story of a Sacred Mountain
In a landmark ruling, the Indian Supreme Court
today rejected an appeal to allow Vedanta Resources to mine the
Niyamgiri hills. In a complex judgement, the court
decreed that those most affected by the proposed
mine should have a decisive say in whether it goes
ahead.
Copyright: Bikash Khemka / Survival
click on photo to enlarge
The court recognized that the Dongria Kondh’s right to worship
their sacred mountain must be ‘protected and
preserved’, and that those with religious and
cultural rights must be heard in the decision-
making process. The tribe now has three months to
decide whether to allow mining of their sacred
hills, but there are serious concerns over the
pressures that might be heaped on the community
during this crucial time.
The Dongria’s determined fight against the FTSE
100 mining company has been likened to the story
of ‘Avatar’ and has won them the support of
celebrities. British actress Joanna Lumley said
today, ‘It is wonderful to see justice finally
prevail. For the court to allow the mine would
have been unthinkable – the evidence against the
mine was so strong.’
The decision deals a blow both to billionaire Anil
Agarwal’s Vedanta and to the state-owned Odisha
Mining Corporation, which brought the appeal and
supported Vedanta’s mine from the beginning.
Final clearance for the mine was blocked by
India’s Environment Minister in 2010. Until
recently, however, Vedanta had kept its refinery
at the bottom of the hill in operation. The
refinery was closed in December 2012 due to a lack
of bauxite to supply the facility.
Opposition to the mine has been vocal across the
Indian state of Odisha. Thousands of protesters
joined a ‘rally of defiance’ last December and
hundreds of Dongria reasserted their pledge not to
leave the Niyamgiri hills at their annual
festival in February. The project has also come
under attack from the Norwegian and British
governments, the Church of England, and many
others, resulting in several shareholders disinvesting from
Vedanta.
At a time when the central government has been
reported to want to water down tribal rights, this
judgement will be seen as upholding the rights of
the Dongria and all of India’s tribal peoples.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said, ‘This is a
huge relief, and shows that companies like Vedanta
are not all-powerful: local and global campaigning
really does work. Companies and governments
worldwide should sit up and take notice – Vedanta
has learned the hard way that the days of stealing
tribal land with impunity are over. The Dongria
have consistently and passionately said no to
Vedanta’s mine. Let us hope that they have the
final say. It is essential that they are protected
from harassment and intimidation at this critical
time and that, when it is made, their decision is
respected by Vedanta and the government.’
(Click here for a French version of this article)
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The rights of indigenous peoples, how can they be protected?
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If readers of CPNN are not already familiar with the website of the organization Movement for Tribal Peoples, the above article is a good reason to discover the site. It is not only well laid out and presented, but also does a good job of covering stories concerning the survival of indigenous peoples.
Their annual report for 2012 is on line here.
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