[Reader-list] Fwd: News on POSCO

Asit Das asit1917 at gmail.com
Tue Jul 9 02:28:18 CDT 2013


The development of human knowledge still comes with a barbaric touch !! The
practise of human sacrifice for the welfare of all has still not
disappeared from this earth.

Viren




On Tue, Jul 9, 2013 at 9:10 AM, CSD Odisha,Moderator <csdorissa at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear Friends,
>
> Please find news covered today on POSCO;
>
>
>
> http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/us-bodies-allege-rights-violations-at-posco-site.html
>
> US BODIES ALLEGE RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AT POSCO SITE
>
> Tuesday, 09 July 2013 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR | in Bhubaneswar
>
> The State Government may heave a sigh of relief after declaring that
> the land acquisition drive for the Posco project in Jagatsinghpur
> district has ended, but the protests to the biggest FDI for the
> country have not been limited to the native district. A few human
> rights groups in the US have protested the forcible land acquisition
> by the Government machinery and breach of human rights.
>
> ‘The Price of Steel’, a report produced by the International Human
> Rights Clinic (IHRC) at NYU School of Law and the International
> Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) based on a
> year-long investigation, called for a suspension of the Posco project
> and a halt to abuses before they become even more catastrophic in
> scale.
>
> The Government of India must end human rights abuses tied to its
> project with South Korean steel giant Posco and must immediately cease
> illegal seizures of land which threaten to forcibly displace as many
> as 22,000 people in Odisha, said rights groups, IHRC and ESCR-Net, in
> their report, which was released recently.  These groups also shot off
> a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to immediately suspend the
> project over human rights abuse.
>
> The rights groups expressed concern over India’s attempts to forcibly
> evict traditional communities, which stand in violation of
> international and domestic law.
>
> The rights groups urged the Indian Government to suspend the project
> until and unless it complies with international human rights standards
> and domestic law; cease all attempts at forced evictions and land
> acquisition; end the excessive use of force and of arbitrary arrests
> and detentions; and ensure project-affected communities’ unencumbered
> access to health care, education, work, and adequate food.
>
> They also urged the Republic of Korea to take all necessary steps to
> ensure that Posco respects human rights throughout the course of its
> activities, including by establishing a legislative framework to
> regulate the overseas activities of the Korean companies. They also
> urged Posco to fully implement its commitment to uphold human rights;
> comply with all relevant domestic laws; and provide for or cooperate
> in the remediation of any adverse impacts to date. Posco’s
> international investors—including ABP, Blackrock, Deutsche Bank,
> JPMorgan Chase, NBIM, and Bank of NY Mellon were also asked to
> persuade Posco to respect the rights of all communities.
>
>
> http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/govt-must-provide-remedies-for-project-affected-families-amnesty-113070800880_1.html
>
> Nirmalya Behera  |  Bhubaneswar  July 8, 2013 Last Updated at 20:12 IST
> Govt must provide remedies for project affected families: Amnesty
>
> Human rights watch dog Amnesty International India has urged the state
> government to provide remedy and reparation assistance to the families
> evicted to facilitate the proposed steel plant of Posco in
> Jagatsinghpur ditrict.
>
> The district administration has recently completed the acquisition of
> 2,700 acres of land for the South Korean steel behemoth, required to
> the start the first phase with eight million tonne capacity.
>
> Ever since, Posco India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
> with the Odisha government in June 2005, the project had been facing
> opposition over land acquisition issues.
>
> Alleging that the authorities acquired land without engaging in
> genuine consultation with the affected persons or providing adequate
> notice or compensation, Amnesty said, they (authorities) have been
> violating the rights of these villagers for years.
>
> They must now ensure that the affected families receive effective
> remedies, the Amnesty said in a statement.
>
> "These evictions were unlawful and have devastated the livelihoods of
> thousands of people," said Shashikumar Velath, Director of Programmes
> at Amnesty International India.
>
> The international advocacy group pointed out that the state government
> officials and the police resumed forced evictions on June 28 to
> acquire land for the project and the police personnel baton-charged
> protesters.
>
> The Union home affairs ministry has also written to the state
> government recently on the latter's alleged plan to forcibly evict
> about 20,000 people in the district for the project. The Union
> ministry wrote to the state government after receiving a communication
> from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
>
> "All farmers in the area had been consulted and given compensation - a
> one-time fixed cash payment - for land seized, and farmers had
> 'voluntarily' dismantled their betel vines," the Amnesty statement
> said, quoting Satya Kumar Mallick, Jagatsingpur collector. However,
> local activists and some residents said that they were not consulted
> or given adequate notice, and that those who refused compensation had
> their land seized under physical duress without their consent.
>
> The human rights watch dog said, according to the UN Basic Principles
> and Guidelines on Development based evictions and displacement, all
> persons threatened with or subject to forced evictions have the right
> to timely remedy which includes a fair hearing, access to legal
> counsel, legal aid, return, restitution, resettlement, rehabilitation
> and compensation.
>
> Pointing out that the victims of forced evictions must have access to
> effective remedies and the right to reparation, Amnesty International
> proposed Posco to carry out a comprehensive human rights impact
> assessment in consultation with local communities.
>
>
> --
> Moderator
> CSD,Odisha
>



-- 
"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers alone. The people
themselves, therefore are its only safe depositories"  Thomas Jefferson
((1743- 1826).
"The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always
stretched  out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking
and writing". John Adams ( 1735-18260.


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