Obituary of Sunilbhai

Tuesday 22nd April.  On Monday night the world lost a brilliant and dedicated political activist, people’s movement leader and socialist thinker. Sunil Gupta, better known as Sunilbhai was the general secretary of the Samajwadi Jan Parishad (the Socialist People’s Council), a political party founded by the deeply respected socialist Kishen Pattnayak, and dedicated to supporting people’s struggles across India. As a political activist and people’s economist Sunil succeeded in sustaining the movement of the Adivasis, Dalits and other oppressed caste people’s movement for 32 years from 1984 till his untimely death in 2014.

Sunilbhai trained as an Economist from Jawaharlal Nehru University, but rather than follow a career in the city, settled in the remote Keshla village of Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh in 1984, and organised the locals against oppression under the banner of Kisan Adivasi Sangathan (KAS). He was associated with Samata Yuba Jan Sabha, Samata Sangatahan and Samajwadi Jan Parishad since its inception in 1995.

A pamphlet written by Sunilbhai

He rose to prominence leading agitations for rehabilitation of Tawa Dam oustees in 1995 and established India’s most successful adivasi fishing cooperative in the Tawa Dam area. 44 tribal villages were displaced by the Tawa dam, and another 34 by an Army Proof Range Establishment and ordnance factory. Sunil organised them in a struggle for rights and proper rehabilitation, coordinating rallies dharnas and chakka jams which demanded that the fishing rights in the reservoir be given to the displaced tribals. Finally the Madhya Pradesh government conceded the demand and the Tawa Matsya Sangh (Tawa Fishermen Cooperative) was formed in 1996 with the right to fishing and marketing its product for five years. It was later broken up when the catchment area was absorbed by the Satpura Tiger Reserve.

Sunil was a mentor for many activists, some of whom have become prominent socialist lawyers and politicians. Sunilbhai will be deeply missed by his family, friends, colleagues and comrades, and by the thousands of farmers, fishermen and Dalits whom he worked tirelessly in service of.

Please see films of his speeches and interviews below
and read his dedication in the Hindu newspaper and on Anaarkali blog.
One of his articles on the ‘Socialism of the New Century’ is copied below.

Protests at Zambia High Commission demand KCM publish profits and taxes

Today more than 40 protesters from Foil Vedanta, the Afrikan diaspora and other organisations in London chanted, played drums and held banners and placards outside the Zambia High Commission in London. They demanded that some of the revelations in Foil Vedanta’s groundbreaking report Copper Colonialism: British Miner Vedanta KCM and the copper loot of Zambia are addressed by Vedanta and the Zambian government, and asked the UK Government to formally investigate the company. Meanwhile Vedanta may be about to de-list from the London Stock Exchange as Chair Anil Agarwal becomes the 70% owner by buying up shares in the suffering company.

See the videos here! and here, and more pictures here.

and read the national debate following the demonstration in the Post Newspaper, Zambia:

London protestors call for KCM probe – Saturday 12th April

Lingaraj Azad – Niyamgiri movement leader and political activist

7th April 2014. This interview with Lingaraj Azad, one of the key Dalit leaders of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, who won in their ten year struggle against Vedanta’s bauxite mine last year, and a close associate of Foil Vedanta, was published in the Nov-Dec 2013 issue of Samayaik Varta. This English translation has just been released.

Niyamgiri mountain and the movement’s leader Lingraj Azad

-  Shiuli Vanaja

 

Tom Albanese – blood on your hands

On 6^th March Tom Albanese, the former Rio Tinto CEO, was appointed CEO of Vedanta Resources, replacing M S Mehta. The newspapers are billing his appointment as an attempt to ‘polish the rough edges off [Anil] Agarwal’s Vedanta’ and to save the company from its current crisis of share price slumps, regulatory delays and widespread community resistance to their operations. This article looks at Albanese’s chequered history and the blood remaining on his hands as CEO of Rio Tinto – one of the most infamously abusive mining companies.

The Financial Times notes the importance of his ‘fixer’ role, noting that:

The quietly spoken and affable geologist is seen as someone willing to throw himself into engaging with governments and communities in some of the “difficult” countries where miners increasingly operate. That is something that Vedanta is seen as desperately needing – not least in India itself. Mr Albanese may lack experience in the country but one analyst says that can give him the opportunity to present himself as a clean pair of hands who will run mines to global standards…“There’s a big hill to climb there” Mr Albanese said.(1)

Copper Colonialism in Zambia – report launch, discussion and demonstration.

You are warmly invited and encouraged to attend one of these events in the coming weeks to launch our groundbreaking report, and join us in developing much needed grassroots solidarity at our demonstration over Vedanta and the UK government’s neo-colonialism of Zambia for copper.

For a summary of the issues read our two page newsletter on Vedanta in Zambia HERE: Copper Colonialism newsletter

2nd April 2014, 18:00 – Official UK launch of Foil Vedanta’s groundbreaking report - Copper Colonialism: British Miner Vedanta KCM and the copper loot of Zambia, Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS, London.

Speakers: Samarendra Das and Miriam Rose from Foil Vedanta
Cecil Gutzmore, Chair of Pan-Afrikan Society Community Forum
Chaired by Esther Stanford-Xosei, Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe

9th April 2014, 12:00 – 14:00 - Demonstration at Zambia High Commission in London, in solidarity with communities poisoned and exploited by Vedanta KCM in Zambia. Meet at Zambia High Commission, 2 Palace Gate, London W8 5NG with placards, banners and loud voices.

Speakers: authors of the report – Samarendra Das and Miriam Rose from Foil Vedanta

Following their visit to Zambia in December, the speakers report on tax evasion, environmental devastation, worker’s rights abuses, and the interests behind copper mining companies – from financiers to the UK government (DfID), as well as the suppressive role of NGOs as ‘parasites of the poor’.
The report published after their trip remains a top news item in Zambia today, and is changing the narrative of resource exploitation in Afrika created by corporate colonialism. Vedanta’s executives are battling to cover up the evidence presented.
Vedanta is a British FTSE 250 company known as the ‘world’s most hated mining company’ for their pattern of abuses and illegalities. It is 68% owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal.

Foil Vedanta is a London based international solidarity group, linking and supporting grassroots struggles against Vedanta, and carrying out cutting edge research on the company, and the UK’s role in global mining.

Copper Colonialism report shakes Zambia

10th March 2014.  Over the past few weeks Foil Vedanta’s report Copper Colonialism: British Miner Vedanta KCM and the copper loot of Zambia has been creating national level debate in Zambia and even globally. Vedanta’s executives have now flown out to Zambia four times in the last month to try to minimise the reputational damage caused by the evidence presented in the report, including tax evasion, misdeclaring of profits, environmental devastation and abuses of worker’s rights. Following a series of closed door meetings the Government of Zambia has now made a deal with Vedanta which claims that they will not sack any workers and will pay off debts. The truth in this claim in yet to be seen but many other issues remain unaddressed. Primarily, Zambians must demand that the Annual Reports of KCM and the government’s investigation into the company are made public.

This is a compilation of some of the articles covering these issues in chronological order, with a few key excerpts from each one.

Copper gate scandal deepens

03 February 2014. Zambian Daily Nation

Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) has instituted investigations into a report by Foil Vedanta which shows that KCM made $360 million in the year 2013.

MUZ general secretary, Joseph Chewe confirmed having received the report which has since been given to the union technocrat team comprising director of research Charles Muchimba and his deputy Yoya Kumwenda.

The report contains various contentious issues such as how much KCM was bought by Foil Vedanta and how much it makes which the Zambian people do not know about.

The report also shows that KCM contaminated water supply in Helen and Shimulala communities which are located near KCM’s Nchanga mine in Chingola as well as the Mushishima stream which runs nearby.

Foil Vedanta responds to Tom Albanese on Vedanta in Zambia

12^th February 2014

Last week several articles were published in the Zambian media reporting on a press briefing held by Vedanta executive Tom Albanese following a ‘closed door meeting’ he held with Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda in Lusaka, Zambia, on the 7^th February. Mr Albanese met with the Minister to refute claims made in Foil Vedanta‘s report ‘Copper Colonialism: Vedanta-KCM and the copper loot of Zambia‘, released to the Zambian press on January 31^st. The report demonstrated that, contrary to their claims, Vedanta’s subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) are making considerable profit in Zambia and are guilty of casualising the labour force as well as causing severe environmental damage.

We want to respond to some of the claims made by Mr Albanese, and present more evidence of Vedanta’s campaign of misinformation here.

Please click this link to download the full report: Copper Colonialism: British Miner Vedanta KCM and the copper loot of Zambia

or read it online at this link.

Our response also has been printed in the Lusaka Times and national level debate around the report is documented in the Zambia Post newspaper.

Copper Colonialism – Foil Vedanta Zambia report launched

21st January 2014.  In December Foil Vedanta activists made a trip to Zambia to investigate the operations of Vedanta subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Zambia’s biggest copper miner, and to make links with grassroots movements, academics, journalists and those in the political system who may be questioning the unjust terms of copper mining in their country.

We were shocked to discover the environmental and social devastation wrought by Vedanta’s operations, and the lack of information held by policy makers and regulators in Zambia on this multinational as well as on wider issues with copper market manipulations, material flows and the real interests controlling their country. This report is a comprehensive account of the origins of, and interests behind the rapid loot of Zambia’s copper resources which is currently taking place.

The Mine Workers Union of Zambia have now launched a full investigation into the evidence in the report, and Vedanta Executive Tom Albanese has been flown out to Zambia to refute the evidence we have published.

Download the report here, or read the full (35 page) report online below.

To download the report click here: Copper Colonialism: British Miner Vedanta KCM and the copper loot of Zambia

Vedanta loses $10 billion investment at Niyamgiri and slips to FTSE 250

Celebrations of the Niyamgiri victory at Jarapa in August

On Saturday 11th January the Ministry of Environment and Forests finally gave its statement formally rejecting permission for Vedanta’s Niyamgiri mine. In late December another major disaster hit the company when low share prices got them officially demoted from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250, removing their ‘blue chip’ status.

The failure of the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project is estimated by some to have cost Vedanta $10 billion in lost investments. Vedanta boss Anil Agarwal had built the Lanjigarh refinery at the foot of Niyamgiri mountain, and even expanded it sixfold, so sure was he that he would gain permission to mine despite the local inhabitants’ dissent. In November 2004 he even used a Financial Times article to mislead investors and create confidence, by claiming that he already had permission to mine the mountain.

Sulphur Dioxide leak grounds residents in Chingola, Zambia

This report comes from local residents and research direct from Zambia where a Foil Vedanta team is currently investigating British based Vedanta’s copper subsidiary KCM and making links with Zambian communities.

In the early morning of Friday 13th December high levels of Sulphur Dioxide were released from Vedanta subsidiary KCM’s Nchanga copper smelter in Chingola, Zambia. KCM’s Public Relations manager Joy Sata (a former journalist for Daily Mail Zambia) warned affected communities to stay in their homes until the pollution passed. See news article below.

Sata was quick to point out to the media that the pollution was caused by a national power outage due to disruption at the Kafue Gorge Power Station run by the government power company ZESCO. However, this does not explain why KCM’s smelter was the only one of many other mining companies affected by the power cut to release toxic emissions into the local community. It is clear that KCMs back up power supply was not effective causing their production to stop and releasing damaging emissions.