21 May, 2010. CHENNAI — Thirteen people representing Concerned Citizens of Chennai staged a silent protest outside the Indo Korean Cultural and Information Centre (INKO) against the Korean Government’s high-profile pro-POSCO lobbying with the Indian Government at 3 p.m. today. Holding signs that read “POSCO: Quit India” and photographs of women injured in the Police violence at Balithuta on 15 May, the protestors handed over a signed memorandum to be conveyed to the President of Korea through the Honorary Consul General, Mr. Venu Srinivasan. (Copies of press release, memorandum are below).

Ms. Rathi Jaffer, Director of the INKO Centre, received the memorandum from the protestors and said she would hand over the letter to Mr. Srinivasan. Ms Jaffer said the Centre was merely a cultural agency with no relevance to Indo Korean trade. However, Mr. Srinivasan who heads the Centre is not a cultural icon. Rather, he is the Managing Director of Sundaram Clayton Ltd, chairman and MD of TVS Motor Company, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Korea’s ties, and POSCO’s with Chennai are quite deep-rooted and set to increase. As an emerging automobile and auto components hub, Chennai represents a major industrial customer base for POSCO. POSCO already has a foot in the door with POS-Hyundai, a joint venture warehousing facility of POSCO and Hyundai in Hyundai’s SEZ in Sriperumbudur. In September, 2009, the company also broke land in Oragadam, near Chennai, for a new POSCO-ICPC to supply steel sheets and offer technology support to the auto majors in the region. The Oragadam plant is coming up in the auto component supplier park of Renault-Nissan. At least 32 acres of land for this were Bhoodan lands forcibly acquired from landless Dalits. POSCO’s other businesses in India include a similar steel sheet and technology supplier centre in Pune, and one proposed in Delhi, near the auto manufacturing hub in the region.

The media presence at the protest in Chennai was encouraging, with ANI TV (TV wire service), News X, Associated Press (Photo), European Photo Agency, New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle and PTI.

Rights activists send a memorandum to South Korean President on POSCO violence

Chennai, 21 May 2010 – Tamil Nadu based human rights activists and civil society groups today presented a memorandum for the Korean president, Lee Myung-bak through officials at the Indo Korean Cultural and Information Centre. The activists demanded the diplomatic intervention of the Korean president in order to end the spate of violence in Orissa over the land acquisition for Pohang Iron and Steel Company’s (POSCO) mega steel plant. POSCO is a Korea based transnational company that has been trying to acquire more than 4000 acres of land since 2005 for its 12 million ton steel plant at the Jagatsighpura district of Orissa.

The steel plant will directly affect 4000 families in Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gobindpur panchayats, and an additional 20,000 will lose their homes and livelihood to the proposed captive port at the Jatadhari river mouth. Residents of three affected village panchayats have been sitting on a peaceful protest against the project at a place called Balithuta since January 26th, 2010.

On 15th May 2010, 1500 armed Orissa police cadre broke up the peaceful demonstration using rubber and metal bullets, tear gas and lathi (baton) charge injuring hundreds of villagers. The activists demanded POSCO should withdraw its proposal given the local opposition to the project from the time that the Memorandum of Understanding with the Orissa government was signed in June 2005.

Chennai-based activists said that the Government of Korea and POSCO have been actively pressuring the Indian and Orissa Governments to facilitate POSCO’s investment at any cost, and that this pressure has translated into violence by the police against dissenting villagers.

For more information contact:

Madhumita Dutta, Concerned Chennai Citizens Against POSCO: 9444390240
c/0 42A, 1st Floor, 5th Avenue, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090

LETTER

To,
President Lee Myung-bak
Republic of South Korea
Via,
Consul General of Republic of South Korea
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
21st May 2010

Dear Mr President,

Subject: Urgent intervention to halt the ongoing human rights violations in the proposed POSCO project site in Jagatsingpur District, Orissa.

We, the concerned citizens of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, urgently appeal to you to intervene in halting the ongoing human rights violation and state-sponsored brutality on villagers of Jagatsignhpur District , Orissa, who stand to lose their land, forests and livelihood to the proposed POSCO steel plant and captive port.

Since January 26th, 2010, people of three affected village panchayats- Dinkia, Nuagaon and Gobindpur under Kujang Tehsil, Jagatsingpur District, have been sitting on a peaceful protest at a place called Balithuta opposing the proposed POSCO project. Atleast 4000 families from these villages will be directly affected by the proposed 12 million tonne POSCO steel plant and 20,000 people will be displaced from their livelihood from the proposed captive port in Jatadhar in Paradip port.

On 15th May 2010, the Govt. of Orissa used 1500 armed Orissa police force to break up the four month-long peaceful demonstration with rubber and metal bullets, tear gas and lathi (baton) charge. Women, children, men—old and young, were mercilessly beaten up and fired at by the armed police. Women were dragged by their hair and brutally beaten by the men in uniform. Fleeing villagers were chased with batons, the camp site of the demonstrators were set on fire by the police.

The whole area is under siege by the armed forces. Injured villagers, and others who are ill and ailing are unable to leave their villages for medical care fearing further police brutality and illegal arrests. Women with metal pellets embedded in their bodies, fractured limbs and bruised bodies lie unattended and in pain inside the villages. Police has blocked all entry points to the villages and no human rights groups or health workers can reach the injured villagers.

This is not the first time that the Orissa state has unleashed such violence on its own people. In November 2007, similar state brutality was witnessed in the area.

POSCO is very well aware of the local people’s opposition to the project right from the beginning when it had signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Orissa Government in June 2005. But it has persisted in its attempts in acquiring land in the contentious area ignoring all local opposition. It has continued to put pressure on the Indian government to help them acquire the land at any cost.

The legality of the forest clearance is in question given that it was granted without settling the rights of forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and based solely on an aerial survey of the lands as access to ground-level survey was denied by dissenting villagers.

The situation in the area remains grave and tense even today. Villagers are determined not to give up their land and forests, even if it means sacrificing their lives. The continued presence of armed forces and state repression will see more violence and bloodshed in the area.

We understand that the Government of Korea is also keen in ensuring that POSCO’s investment is successful, but we are sure that you would not want this success to come at the cost of the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people. Also, we are certain that you do not intend to twist laws and pervert due process in order to facilitate investments by a Korean company. We are hopeful that you will speedily intervene to defuse the volatile situation in the proposed POSCO project area. We urge you to immediately intervene and ask the Government of Orissa to withdraw its police, and urge POSCO to drop its plans for forcibly acquiring the lands in the above villages.

Sincerely,

Concerned Chennai Citizens Against POSCO

1. T Venkat
2. Eshwar
3. Prof A Marx
4. V Srinivasan
5. C Srinivasan
6. Madhumita Dutta
7. Nityanand Jayaraman
8. Asma
9. V Aniruddhan
10. Srijith Sundaram
11. Archaana Seker
12. Dharmesh Shah
13. S Calyanaraman

Related posts:

1. STOP POLICE ATTACKS ON PEACEFUL PROTESTORS IN ORISSA
2. Why Posco is in trouble in India
3. Push POSCO project: Centre tells Orissa