South Asia Citizens Web

The government of India and the state governments have turned a blind eye to illegal mining in the rush for economic growth. Unregulated mining is proliferating at an extraordinary rate. It is not without consequences: hundreds of thousands of people, mainly Adivasis, have been dispossessed from their lands without resettlement and rehabilitation.

Millions of people in developing countries rely on affordable generic medicines to stay alive. More than 80% of the medicines used by MSF to treat AIDS across the developing world are produced in India. But the European Commission is now shutting off the tap of affordable medicines by attacking the production, registration, transportation and exportation of generic medicines. People who need these will be left without a lifeline.

The eviction plan [in Colombo] will encompass not just unauthorised settlers but even families with legal titles to their lands. Each family will be paid the princely sum of Rs 100,000, as compensation (some ministers receive as much per month, as rent allowance). When private land is appropriated for developmental purposes, owners are paid the market value. Will the legal owners among the evictees receive identical treatment or will they too be paid Rs 100,000 for land which is worth much more?

Tomorrow (Dec 10), all better-governed nations of the world are likely to examine ways and means of improving their human rights standards. In Pakistan, on the other hand, a persistent decline in respect for human rights will be a major cause for concern.

For more than five years the people of Jagatsinghpur, Orissa (India) have borne the brunt of an ambitious and reckless project launched by the Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) of South Korea and the Government of Orissa (GoO). On December 10, 2010, the South Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI) and the Mining Zone Peoples’ Solidarity Group (MZPSG) will hold a press conference and protest outside the Korean Consulate in New York City urging the Government of the Republic of Korea to intervene positively and seek an immediate withdrawal of POSCO from Orissa.