Category Archives: Uncategorized

Can Zambian claimants get justice in the UK Supreme Court?

January 20, 2019UncategorizedCity of London, Foil Vedanta, justice, KCM, Pollution, protest, Samarendra Das, Vedanta, Zambialankoid

Report on the Supreme Court appeal hearing in the case Lungowe vs Vedanta, 15 – 16 January 2019.

This report follows our previous detailed write up of the Court of Appeal hearing, entitled ‘Police this gateway‘.

Court room 1 of the British Supreme Court was packed with journalists, solidarity activists, law students and other observers over the two day hearing, sitting in rows behind the legal benches. Each law firm was represented by two or three QCs as well as five or so advising lawyers sitting in the second row. In front of them five judges were seated behind a semi circle bench facing the rest of court. The ornate and grand stone building of the Supreme Court is located directly opposite the Houses of Parliament across Parliament Square. The court room itself is high ceilinged, with large stained glass windows, paintings of historic judges and extremely ornate carved stone and woodwork throughout the walls, ceilings and benches.

Outside the court entrance a vigil organised by Foil Vedanta continued throughout the two day hearing. Protesters held large green banner stating ‘Make Pollution Political: Justice for Zambia’ and a variety of placards with images of the pollution and some of the claimants in the affected villages.

Cherie Blair, wife of former British PM Tony Blair attended the first day of hearing, telling protesters outside she was there to support the case for UK jurisdiction.

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Supreme Court hears landmark jurisdiction case against Vedanta

January 16, 2019UncategorizedFoil Vedanta, justice, KCM, London, Vedanta, ZambiaMarilyn

Foil Vedanta vigil outside the Supreme Court

The latest hearing in the case of the Zambian communities consistently polluted by Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a subsidiary of British miner Vedanta, was heard at the British Supreme Court on 15^th and 16^th January 2019. A vigil organised by solidarity organisation Foil Vedanta took place outside the court throughout the event in solidarity with the victims of ongoing pollution who have been fighting legal battles for justice in Zambia, and now the UK, for twelve years.

See press coverage in The Lusaka Times, The Guardian, New York Times, The Hindu, Mining MX, Zambia reports, CNBC, Morning Star, Left Foot Forward, Environews Nigeria and Business Day.

A short video from the court can be found here.

The court heard Vedanta’s second appeal against the High Court’s jurisdiction ruling in the case of Dominic Liswaniso Lungowe vs Vedanta Resources and Konkola Copper Mines. Vedanta attempted to overturn the High Court and Court of Appeal rulings which held that the case of 1,826 polluted farmers against the company and its subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines could be heard in the UK instead of Zambia. The case could represent a precedent in UK law, as, if a duty of care is found to be owed by Vedanta towards the claimants, this would be the first reported case in which a parent company would have been held to owe a duty of care to a person affected by the operations of a subsidiary who is not an employee of the subsidiary.^¹² This ruling could have major implications for British multinational corporations’ liability, a move which would be welcomed by British Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, who expressed solidarity with the claimants, stating:

“When British corporations like Vedanta cause toxic pollution overseas, it’s absolutely right that they pay for the damage. I stand in solidarity with all those whose drinking water has been poisoned and livelihoods damaged by Vedanta’s irresponsible pursuit of profit, and all those campaigning for justice.”

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Victory for Zambian farmers suing Vedanta in UK

October 13, 2017Uncategorizedcopper, Foil Vedanta, KCM, London, Mining, Pollution, protest, solidarity, Vedanta, Zambialankoid

13th October 2017. Judges today threw out Vedanta’s appeal to the May 2016 High Court judgment allowing Zambian farmers to have their case against the company heard in the UK. The judgment adds further weight to precedents holding UK companies legally responsible for the actions of their subsidiaries.

Judges today released their verdict on Vedanta’s appeal in the case of the Chingola communities suing UK company Vedanta Resources, and their Zambian subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), for pollution causing illness and loss of livelihood.

Press coverage: New York Times – Zambian Villagers Win Right to Sue Vedanta in English Courts

Newsclick – Zambian villagers can now sue Vedanta in England over poisoning their water.

Legal analysis at Lexology.com – Jurisdiction and parent company liability – Court of Appeal keeps door ajar for extra-territorial human rights related claims

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Eight days of protest on Niyamgiri

June 7, 2016UncategorizedCorruption, Displacement, Dongria Kond, Human Rights, India, Lanjigarh, Mining, Niyamgiri, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, Orissa Mining Corporation, protest, Repression, Supreme Court of India, Vedanta Aluminiumlankoid

Dongria Kond leader Lado Sikaka speaking to press

7th June, 2016. A seven day padyatra (foot march) involving occupants of up to 112 of the remote villages of the Niyamgiri hills ended on Sunday in Jaganathpur (Lanjigarh). The padyatra, led by the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti and indigenous leaders from the villages, amplified demands to decommission Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery and celebrated the recent victory when the Supreme Court turned down Vedanta’s appeal to the decisive 2013 referendums which had put an end to mining plans on the mountain, as well as protesting the ongoing harassment from the company and the colluding state government and police forces. Various local and national Indian media covered the major event which ended in a large rally on World Environment Day, 5th June. The Orissa Post reported that:

Coming down heavily on the government, Loda Sikaka, a member of the Samiti, said the government has unleashed a reign of terror on the foothills of Niyamgiri by deploying platoons of paramilitary forces and special operation group japans.

CRPF and SOG jawans, instead of checking Maoist activities and providing security to inhabitants, kill poor tribals under cover of encounters. They misbehave with tribal women, loot their houses, domestic animals and poultries, lodge false cases against innocent people by branding them Maoists. The most worrying factor us that the government is conspiring to snatch the livelihood of tribals by leasing out the hills to Vedanta for bauxite mining.

The procession aimed at gaining public support against alleged anti-tribal activities of the government. It also aimed at urging the government to ensure sustainable development of the region while keeping the ecology intact.

The fighting is not limited to this specific region. It is a struggle of the humanity to protect nature and civilisation, Dadhi Pusika, another member of the Samiti, said.

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Eight global demos against Vedanta in Afrika, India and London

August 3, 2015UncategorizedAGM, Anil Agarwal, bauxite, Cairn, copper, Corruption, Displacement, Dongria Kond, Foil Vedanta, Human Rights, India, KCM, London, Mining, Niyamgiri, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, Odisha, Pollution, protest, solidarity, Tom Albanese, Tuticorin, UK government, Vedanta, Zambialankoid

3rd August Seven global locations in India and Africa held angry protests today and over the weekend opposing the activities of British-Indian mining company Vedanta while Vedanta’s AGM at Ironmongers Hall, Barbican, London was mobbed by a loud rally organised by Foil Vedanta, accusing the company of pollution, human rights abuses and financial mismanagement. In London a comical staged boxing match between Vedanta’s 69.6% owner and Chairman Anil Agarwal and new CEO Tom Albanese, revealed the company’s debt problems and internal dynamics while protesters chanted ‘Corporate criminal, shame on you!’ and drummed loudly. Vedanta’s share price has slipped 61% this year to 377p, and continues to dive as Q1 results show increased debt, and Cairn India minority shareholders oppose their attempt to merge with the oil and gas subsidiary to gain access to its $2.6 billion cash reserves for debt servicing.

See the film of London protests and more pics at Demotix..and here and here.

See coverage in the Economic Times of India, the Hindu Business Line, the New International , Odisha Channel , Odisha Sun Times and the Lusaka Times.

See an account of the AGM shareholders meeting here.

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A Critical Legal History of Mining in Goa

July 15, 2015Articles, UncategorizedCorruption, Goa, iron ore, Mining, Pollution, Sesa Goa, Tom Albanese, Vedantalankoid

Sesa Goa mine waste flood at the peak of the mining boom in 2009

14th July 2015. Krishnendu Mukherjee, Barrister and Advocate at Doughty Street Chambers, has been very involved in exposing the gross scale illegal mining carried out by Vedanta subsidiary Sesa Goa, and other iron ore miners in Goa. This article is a detailed analysis of the manipulations of legal procedures and previous judgements by mining companies and their government and judicial stooges, currently taking place in a desperate attempt to re-start mining in Goa.

Sesa Goa’s Sanquelim mine, a demonstration site of proper mine closure, but Sesa Goa have not reclaimed any of their other closed mines.

Meanwhile in Goa, mining dumps which are the result of illegal mining are being auctioned off, and local residents in Caurem claim that companies are taking away twice the amount of reject ore-bearing material as they are buying. Once a mine lease is terminated mined land should be reclaimed by the leasing company (as according to mine closure plans) and then returned to the state. However in a recent interview published in The Hindu’s Business Line, Vedanta CEO Tom Albanese is quoted as saying: “We are waiting for clarification on some environmental issues. We have been dumping waste on the land we bought, but we have been permitted to dump waste outside lease areas. We want clarification on whether it will be a proper mining practice to do so.” This slip of the tongue by Albanese raises an important question: Do mining companies intend to enact Mine Closure Plans and give the leased land back to the state at all? If not will they attempt to develop the land or sell it on to another buyer? These are important questions to be asked in Goa, where 18% of the state is affected by mining.

A Critical Legal History of Mining in Goa

by Krishnendu Mukherjee

On the 12.8.11, the High Court of Bombay at Goa, delivered a landmark judgment in relation to environmental protection. In Shankar Raghunath Jog v Talaulicar and Sons Pvt Limited and Union of India PILWP 6/2011 , the High Court interpreted the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (EIA) 1994, Paragraph III (c) provides the following:

“The [environment] clearance granted shall be valid for a period of five years from the commencement of the construction or operation of the project.”

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Trial of mining execs at Responsible Extractives Summit

June 29, 2015Uncategorizedlankoid

29th June 2015. Representatives from Foil Vedanta, Women of Colour in Global Women’s Strike, Black dissidents, All Africa Women’s Group, Sorry you Feel Uncomortable, Survivial Guides and Parai Voice of Freedom today opposed the 6^th Annual Responsible Extractives Summit at the Tower Bridge Hilton Hotel in London today. They held a theatrical trial of some of the conference attendees and key public figures from the mining industry and NGOs behind the concept of ‘responsible mining and oil and gas’. Protesters wearing masks of Former Shell Executive and UN Global Compact founder Mark Moody Stuart, post-war mining profiteer Tony Blair, Vedanta CEO and former Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese, mining-fixer in Iraq and Afghanistan Ian Hannam, and NGO financier and former business magnate George Soros were found guilty of a list of crimes against humanity and the environment by a woman dressed as a judge in full robes and wig.

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Global days of action against Vedanta’s 2015 AGM

June 26, 2015Actions, UncategorizedAGM, aluminium, Anil Agarwal, bauxite, copper, Displacement, Foil Vedanta, India, KCM, London, Mining, Pollution, protest, UK government, Vedanta, Zambialankoid

Join us for the 11th annual Global Days of Action against Vedanta Resources and its subsidiaries.

On Monday the 3rd of August we will hold a loud and colourful demonstration outside Vedanta’s Annual General Meeting in London in solidarity with the many communities suffering pollution, illness, oppression, displacement and poverty as a result of Vedanta’s operations.

In the days leading up to this event communities suffering from Vedanta’s operations across India and Afrika will hold rallies and meetings as part of the Global Days of Action against Vedanta. News of these protests will be spread via press and social media and shared between affected communities who are joined in this global movement opposing this careless corporate, and all profit-driven corporates colonising and polluting our planet.

Join us in London with drums and placards on Monday 3rd of August, 2pm at Ironmongers Hall, Barbican, EC2Y 8AA.

Download the AGM 2015 flyer here.

Extractive Industries on Trial! Protest at the Responsible Extractives Summit 2015.

June 25, 2015Actions, UncategorizedFoil Vedanta, Human Rights, KCM, London, Mining, Oil and Gas, Pollution, protest, Repression, solidarity, Sterlite, Tom Albanese, UK government, Vedanta, Vedanta Aluminium, worker's deaths, Zambialankoid

Please join us to oppose the 6th Annual Responsible Extractives Summit at Tower Bridge Hilton on Monday 29th June.

Expose crooked executives from Shell, Vedanta, Rio Tinto, JP Morgan, Bechtel and more, co-opting UN’s human rights mechanisms and using sustainability and CSR spin to cover up their extensive and ongoing crimes against humanity and the environment.

Monday 29th June, 12 midday. Hilton Hotel, Tower Bridge, London, SE1 2BY.

Bring drums and placards!!

download the flyer here: Responsible Extractives demo flyer

More info on the true neocolonial faces of the key speakers at the event:

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Zambia Supreme Court holds Vedanta guilty of water poisoning

April 1, 2015Actions, News, UncategorizedKCM, London, Pollution, protest, Vedanta, Zambialankoid

2nd April 2015. The Supreme Court of Zambia today upheld a 2011 High Court verdict which found Vedanta (KCM) guilty of water pollution which poisoned thousands of Chingola residents in 2006(1).Meanwhile in London protesters held a vigil outside outside the Zambia High Commission, drumming and holding banners in solidarity with the victims of Vedanta’s water pollution. The judgement will be officially read out in court in seven days time.

The High Court had awarded 10 billion kwacha in total to 2000 claimants who had suffered illness and liver and kidney damage as a result of drinking the water.(2) However Vedanta challenged the decision which was not re-heard until June 2014. Today’s judgement delivered some justice to the poisoned victims after eight long years wait, but will not award compensation until an assessment is carried out by the High Court Deputy Registrar. This is likely to reduce the total award since the claimants were only able to show twelve medical reports which they had been able to obtain at the time of the pollution incident. The High Court had previously ruled that these twelve reports were indicative of the damage caused to all residents who had drunk the water, and had heard testimonies from victims who were unable to obtain medical reports from the doctors (many of whom worked in Vedanta sponsored medical centres).

James Nyasulu, a poultry farmer from Chingola and the lead claimant in the case reacted to the judgement today:

“The court should have stood firm and fully supported the High Court judgement. Compensation should even be increased due to the damage done to our health and interest on the original award. The poison we drank violated our right to life, but the court is treating life as cheap. Citizens of this country cannot be treated as guinea pigs for investors.”

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