The Cordillera Peoples Alliance hereby salutes the indigenous peoples of Orissa, India in their resistance against the UK-based mining giant Vedanta and determination to fight for their collective rights to their ancestral lands and self determination. We also congratulate them in their tactical victory over Vedanta mining company, which violated their right to ancestral lands resulting from Vedanta’s mining plunder. We welcome and acknowledge the recent decision of the Indian government to reject Vedanta’s bauxite mine project in Nyamgiri Hills, which is a result of the Adivasi people’s sustained struggle for human rights and environment. We also welcome the recent move of Vedanta’s investors to investigate the human rights violations, forest and environmental law violations of Vedanta mining company.

However, the Indian government must not stop here. It should ensure the full recognition and respect of the inherent rights of our indigenous brothers and sisters in Orissa, India to their ancestral lands and self determination, and must guarantee that Vedanta will not enter again the ancestral territories of indigenous peoples in India. Vedanta and its subsidiaries must be held accountable for its human rights violations and mining plunder in Orissa and the rest of India! Justice must be served for the victims! Proper compensation should also be accorded to the indigenous peoples who have been displaced, dislocated and whose civil, political and collective rights were violated due to Vedanta’s mining plunder and human rights violations. State agents, such as the military and police, must be sanctioned accordingly. The Indian government must fulfill its obligations in respecting and implementing international human rights agreements and standards to rectify the historic injustice to indigenous peoples in India, including United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), of which it is a signatory. We call on the broader Indian public to help and unite with the indigenous peoples in their struggle. We also urge the UK public to raise concern on the rights violations committed by Vedanta against the Adivasi.

To our Adivasi brothers and sisters, we are in solidarity with you in further intensifying your struggles and concerted actions until your collective rights over your ancestral territories, resources, self determination and democracy are finally achieved. We are with you in this historic struggle and just cause!

Like the Adivasi, the indigenous peoples in the Philippines suffer from human rights violations from imperialist mining and transnational mining companies from the UK, coupled with State terrorism and militarization. In the Cordillera, mining giants from the UK such as Anglo American is present through its local subsidiary Cordillera Exploration Inc. (CEXI) pursuing big mining applications in the provinces of Apayao and Mountain Province including another British mining company Bezant Resources. At present, 66% of the Cordillera total land area is covered by big mining interests of transnational mining companies from the UK, Australia, Canada, and US with local big mines. Their presence and operations have destroyed our ancestral lands, forests, agriculture, livelihood, environment, aggravated climate change, and resulted in massive human rights violations, militarization and political repression, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance, created disunity among communities, and further historic marginalization of our communities. Yet, our struggle continued gaining strength in the face of unbridled militarization and State terrorism.

We share the same issues and aspirations. We have the same enemies — imperialist globalization and terror and the few ruling elite running our reactionary governments. What a timely call to unite and strengthen our solidarity and resistance and gain tactical victories until our common aspiration is achieved. We must intensify our struggle against imperialist mining and terror in defense of our ancestral lands, territories, and human rights as we advance our struggle for self determination and democracy, and advance our cause against national oppression and imperialism.

Long live international solidarity of indigenous peoples and oppressed peoples of the world! Long live our solidarity with the Adivasi peoples! #

CORDILLERA PEOPLES ALLIANCE

Reference:

Abigail B. Anongos
Secretary General
—
Cordillera Peoples Alliance
55 Ferguson Road Baguio City
2600 Philippines
pic [at] cpaphils [dot] org
www.cpaphils.org
Tel. No. 63-74-304-4239
Fax No. 63-74-443-7159