Tehelka exposé on Gujarat violence

Tehelka exposé on Gujarat violence

.

The Association for India’s Development (AID) views with great concern the various revelations in the Tehelka exposé of October 25th 2007 regarding the planning and execution of the Gujarat pogrom in 2002 and how a systematic effort is going on to deny justice to the victims and survivors of these violent events in which over 2000 people were killed according to human rights organizations.

.

The tapes reveal several prima-facie incriminating statements by the perpetrators themselves of how the pogrom in Gujarat was planned, how administrative cover was provided by the state, confessions of brutality, rape and murder; statements to the effect that they will murder again if opportunity arises; statements indicating subversion of law by law officers such as by a prosecutor and another person representing the State of Gujarat in front of judicial commission investigating the violence; and bragging by a Gujarat MLA about how bombs were made at a place in his control and arms procured and distributed.

The tapes provide fresh evidence implicating those involved in the Gujarat government at the highest levels of the political establishment, administration and law enforcement who colluded with the key perpetrators of the violence. The tapes also correlate with various statements regarding the scale and the nature of violence as well as attempts to subvert justice previously made by various human-rights organizations in India, and by eminent persons and activists who were in Gujarat in the immediate aftermath of the violence in 2002 to independently investigate and provide relief and assistance to the survivors.

The violations of law and order recorded by Tehelka are heinous in the extreme and cast a most egregious blot on the very core of civic society. Every effort must be made to immediately bring the perpetrators and their supporters to justice. Such crimes should not go unpunished for such lengths of time by the judicial system, if we are to ensure that they don't ever repeat in Gujarat or elsewhere, and that people's faith in the rule of law is restored. It is shocking to be reminded that some of the most egregious violent incidents such as the Naroda Patiya and Gulbarga Society are still pending hearing for the past 4 years, not the least because of the way the state government handled the prosecution.

Following the exposé, the administration in Gujarat has responded by ordering a media black-out of the Tehelka tapes in that state. This goes against the Constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression and the fundamental tenets of the RTI Act of 2005 that says in its preamble: "democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning."

We demand that new evidence brought to light by the Tehelka exposé be rapidly looked at and action taken to arrest and bring to justice those who perpetrated, aided and abetted the violence; and that the pending cases be heard and resolved by the Courts in an expedited manner. Further, all Constitutional means should be considered to ensure that the Gujarat administration does not continue to subvert the rule of law in delivering justice to the victims. All the survivors and families affected in Gujarat in 2002 should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated, and clear steps taken to end the isolation and ghettoization of the communities affected by the riots. We also demand that the media black-out of Tehelka Tapes on televisions in Gujarat be lifted immediately.

We appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain public order and peace as they look at the evidence and demand that the Indian law enforcement and judicial system bring to justice all those who are implicated.

---##---
.

Association for India's Development (AID)
.

Contacts:
Aniruddha Vaidya (Bay Area): 650-996-8249
Prof. Mohan Bhagat (College Park): 301-345-5308
Nirveek Bhattacharjee (Baltimore): 410-627-7679
Email info@aidindia.org
Web: http://www.aidindia.org/

For more information please read: Tehelka

*photo credit: http://www.tehelka.com/

*************************************************
.
Published in:
-
Assam Times, Assam, India: 31 October 2007

Tehelka exposé on Gujarat violence

Tehelka exposé on Gujarat violence

.

The Association for India’s Development (AID) views with great concern the various revelations in the Tehelka exposé of October 25th 2007 regarding the planning and execution of the Gujarat pogrom in 2002 and how a systematic effort is going on to deny justice to the victims and survivors of these violent events in which over 2000 people were killed according to human rights organizations.

.

The tapes reveal several prima-facie incriminating statements by the perpetrators themselves of how the pogrom in Gujarat was planned, how administrative cover was provided by the state, confessions of brutality, rape and murder; statements to the effect that they will murder again if opportunity arises; statements indicating subversion of law by law officers such as by a prosecutor and another person representing the State of Gujarat in front of judicial commission investigating the violence; and bragging by a Gujarat MLA about how bombs were made at a place in his control and arms procured and distributed.

The tapes provide fresh evidence implicating those involved in the Gujarat government at the highest levels of the political establishment, administration and law enforcement who colluded with the key perpetrators of the violence. The tapes also correlate with various statements regarding the scale and the nature of violence as well as attempts to subvert justice previously made by various human-rights organizations in India, and by eminent persons and activists who were in Gujarat in the immediate aftermath of the violence in 2002 to independently investigate and provide relief and assistance to the survivors.

The violations of law and order recorded by Tehelka are heinous in the extreme and cast a most egregious blot on the very core of civic society. Every effort must be made to immediately bring the perpetrators and their supporters to justice. Such crimes should not go unpunished for such lengths of time by the judicial system, if we are to ensure that they don't ever repeat in Gujarat or elsewhere, and that people's faith in the rule of law is restored. It is shocking to be reminded that some of the most egregious violent incidents such as the Naroda Patiya and Gulbarga Society are still pending hearing for the past 4 years, not the least because of the way the state government handled the prosecution.

Following the exposé, the administration in Gujarat has responded by ordering a media black-out of the Tehelka tapes in that state. This goes against the Constitutional right of freedom of speech and expression and the fundamental tenets of the RTI Act of 2005 that says in its preamble: "democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning."

We demand that new evidence brought to light by the Tehelka exposé be rapidly looked at and action taken to arrest and bring to justice those who perpetrated, aided and abetted the violence; and that the pending cases be heard and resolved by the Courts in an expedited manner. Further, all Constitutional means should be considered to ensure that the Gujarat administration does not continue to subvert the rule of law in delivering justice to the victims. All the survivors and families affected in Gujarat in 2002 should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated, and clear steps taken to end the isolation and ghettoization of the communities affected by the riots. We also demand that the media black-out of Tehelka Tapes on televisions in Gujarat be lifted immediately.

We appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain public order and peace as they look at the evidence and demand that the Indian law enforcement and judicial system bring to justice all those who are implicated.

---##---
.

Association for India's Development (AID)
.

Contacts:
Aniruddha Vaidya (Bay Area): 650-996-8249
Prof. Mohan Bhagat (College Park): 301-345-5308
Nirveek Bhattacharjee (Baltimore): 410-627-7679
Email info@aidindia.org
Web: http://www.aidindia.org/

For more information please read: Tehelka

*photo credit: http://www.tehelka.com/

*************************************************
.
Published in:
-
Assam Times, Assam, India: 31 October 2007

Feed people, not cars: We need a moratorium on agrofuels

Just a month before December 2007 UN Conference on Climate Change opens in Bali, Yifat Susskind has linked research on agrofuels to his suggestion, demonstrating the serious dangers associated with agrofuel production. Yet, Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, recently proposed that we impose a moratorium on the development of agrofuels, an idea that has generated controversy in some circles. Read more...

.
Feed People, Not Cars:

We Need a Moratorium on Agrofuels
,
With biofuels being touted as our best great hope to undo climate change, it would be easy to ask yourself, “What’s not to like?” Biofuels, proponents claim, will counter our global dependence on fossil fuels and help curb carbon emissions. But this “greening” of our energy sources is not all that green. A growing group of human rights and environmental activists point to the dangers that biofuels pose to environmental sustainability and the livelihoods of communities around the world, and call for a major shift: a moratorium on biofuels.

Most of the policies being put forward envision substituting biofuels for fossil fuels without reducing our overall consumption of energy. These proposals are backed by agribusiness, biotech companies, and oil interests that are now investing billions in ethanol and biodiesel plants, plantations of soy, corn, sugarcane, and palm oil, as well as genetically engineered trees and microbes for future supplies of cellulosic ethanol.

The prefix “bio” suggests that “biofuels” are natural, renewable, and safe—an appealing thought to those concerned with the toxic and unsustainable use of fossil fuels. But agrofuels (as they are known in Latin America) are not easily renewable because the Earth’s landmass is itself a finite resource. To produce even seven percent of the energy that the US currently gets from petroleum would require converting the country’s entire corn crop to ethanol.

If we don’t reduce the demand for energy by consuming less, we risk a scenario in which most of the Earth’s arable land will be dedicated to growing “fuel crops” instead of food crops. People concerned about this danger use the term agrofuels to highlight the impact that biofuels have on the world’s food supply. Growing agrofuels on a mass scale is already jacking up food prices, depleting soil and water supplies, destroying forests, and violating the rights of Indigenous and local people in areas newly designated as “biofuel plantations.” Agrofuels are a false solution to climate change because they:

Violate Land Rights: Agrofuel plantations in Brazil and Southeast Asia are being created on the territories of Indigenous Peoples who have traditionally lived in and protected these ecosystems. Indigenous Peoples and local subsistence farmers—most of whom are women—are being displaced. People are being forced to give up their land, way of life, and food self-sufficiency to grow fuel crops for export. Often, plantation workers face abuse, harsh working conditions, and exposure to toxic pesticides. In Brazil, some soy farms rely on debt peonage workers—essentially modern-day slaves.

Worsen Hunger: Agrofuel expansion threatens to divert the world’s grain supply from food to fuel. We know that when economic demand increases, costs rise. That means staple foods like corn will become more expensive. Already in June 2007, the United Nations reported that, “soaring demand for biofuels is contributing to a rise in global food import costs.” The principle of supply and demand also means that less people will grow food because “fuel crops” will be worth more. Already, small-scale farmers in Colombia, Rwanda, and Guatemala feel compelled by global trade rules to grow luxury crops such as flowers and coffee for export while their families go hungry. Given the amount of land that would be required to “grow” enough fuel to maintain the global economy, the threat of worsening hunger and land rights abuses is grave. According to the Rainforest Action Network, the crops required to make enough biofuel to fill a 25-gallon SUV tank could feed one person for a year.

Worsen Global Warming: Agrofuels don’t necessarily reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming—especially if they are produced in unsustainable ways. For example, currently, the most common method of turning palm oil into fuel produces more carbon dioxide emissions than refining petroleum. Agrofuel production has made Indonesia (where 40 percent of the population does not have electricity) the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.

Worsen Deforestation and Threaten Biodiversity: Corporate plans for expanding biofuel production involve destroying forests and other ecosystems to create massive plantations that rely on chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides to maximize production. Monoculture (single crop) plantations of soy and palm oil are being established in the rain forests and grasslands of Asia and South America, threatening some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. Clear-cutting forests to plant agrofuels also adds to warming by eliminating carbon-absorbing forests.

Why is Energy a Women’s Issue? In most of the Global South, women are responsible for collecting household fuel for cooking, lighting, and other family needs. Most of this energy is derived from natural resources such as wood, charcoal, or dung. When fuel is made scarce—for example, by deforestation or drought—women’s and girls’ workloads increase sharply. In some communities, women spend many hours a day collecting fuel.

So What’s the Alternative? Jean Ziegler, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food has called for a five-year ban on agrofuel expansion. A moratorium on the conversion of land for agrofuel production should be accompanied by the development of new energy technologies that do not compromise global food security.

We need sustainable solutions to climate change, not corporate solutions that seek to simply shift our energy addiction from one resource to another. We need to consume less, not just differently, and steer clear of solutions that would expand the reach—and all the pitfalls—of industrialized agriculture. Creative and practical solutions for meeting our energy requirements—including some local, sustainable biofuel programs—are being developed around the world. We can support proposals for developing sustainable renewable energy sources, while recognizing the need to reduce overall consumption and protect human rights—including everyone’s basic right to food.

.

Yifat Susskind

.

The author is MADRE's Communications Director. MADRE is an international women’s human rights organization. More information about MADRE’s Food for Life Campaign can be found here

.

Published in

.

The Japan Times, Tokyo, Japan: 5 November 2007

Assam Times, Assam, India: 31 October 2007

The Daily Star, Bangladesh: 1 November 2007

Jerusalem Post: 1 November 2007

Nagaland Page, Nagaland, India: 1 November 2007

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India: 1 November 2007

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 6 November 2007

Feed people, not cars: We need a moratorium on agrofuels

Just a month before December 2007 UN Conference on Climate Change opens in Bali, Yifat Susskind has linked research on agrofuels to his suggestion, demonstrating the serious dangers associated with agrofuel production. Yet, Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, recently proposed that we impose a moratorium on the development of agrofuels, an idea that has generated controversy in some circles. Read more...

.
Feed People, Not Cars:

We Need a Moratorium on Agrofuels
,
With biofuels being touted as our best great hope to undo climate change, it would be easy to ask yourself, “What’s not to like?” Biofuels, proponents claim, will counter our global dependence on fossil fuels and help curb carbon emissions. But this “greening” of our energy sources is not all that green. A growing group of human rights and environmental activists point to the dangers that biofuels pose to environmental sustainability and the livelihoods of communities around the world, and call for a major shift: a moratorium on biofuels.

Most of the policies being put forward envision substituting biofuels for fossil fuels without reducing our overall consumption of energy. These proposals are backed by agribusiness, biotech companies, and oil interests that are now investing billions in ethanol and biodiesel plants, plantations of soy, corn, sugarcane, and palm oil, as well as genetically engineered trees and microbes for future supplies of cellulosic ethanol.

The prefix “bio” suggests that “biofuels” are natural, renewable, and safe—an appealing thought to those concerned with the toxic and unsustainable use of fossil fuels. But agrofuels (as they are known in Latin America) are not easily renewable because the Earth’s landmass is itself a finite resource. To produce even seven percent of the energy that the US currently gets from petroleum would require converting the country’s entire corn crop to ethanol.

If we don’t reduce the demand for energy by consuming less, we risk a scenario in which most of the Earth’s arable land will be dedicated to growing “fuel crops” instead of food crops. People concerned about this danger use the term agrofuels to highlight the impact that biofuels have on the world’s food supply. Growing agrofuels on a mass scale is already jacking up food prices, depleting soil and water supplies, destroying forests, and violating the rights of Indigenous and local people in areas newly designated as “biofuel plantations.” Agrofuels are a false solution to climate change because they:

Violate Land Rights: Agrofuel plantations in Brazil and Southeast Asia are being created on the territories of Indigenous Peoples who have traditionally lived in and protected these ecosystems. Indigenous Peoples and local subsistence farmers—most of whom are women—are being displaced. People are being forced to give up their land, way of life, and food self-sufficiency to grow fuel crops for export. Often, plantation workers face abuse, harsh working conditions, and exposure to toxic pesticides. In Brazil, some soy farms rely on debt peonage workers—essentially modern-day slaves.

Worsen Hunger: Agrofuel expansion threatens to divert the world’s grain supply from food to fuel. We know that when economic demand increases, costs rise. That means staple foods like corn will become more expensive. Already in June 2007, the United Nations reported that, “soaring demand for biofuels is contributing to a rise in global food import costs.” The principle of supply and demand also means that less people will grow food because “fuel crops” will be worth more. Already, small-scale farmers in Colombia, Rwanda, and Guatemala feel compelled by global trade rules to grow luxury crops such as flowers and coffee for export while their families go hungry. Given the amount of land that would be required to “grow” enough fuel to maintain the global economy, the threat of worsening hunger and land rights abuses is grave. According to the Rainforest Action Network, the crops required to make enough biofuel to fill a 25-gallon SUV tank could feed one person for a year.

Worsen Global Warming: Agrofuels don’t necessarily reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming—especially if they are produced in unsustainable ways. For example, currently, the most common method of turning palm oil into fuel produces more carbon dioxide emissions than refining petroleum. Agrofuel production has made Indonesia (where 40 percent of the population does not have electricity) the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.

Worsen Deforestation and Threaten Biodiversity: Corporate plans for expanding biofuel production involve destroying forests and other ecosystems to create massive plantations that rely on chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides to maximize production. Monoculture (single crop) plantations of soy and palm oil are being established in the rain forests and grasslands of Asia and South America, threatening some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. Clear-cutting forests to plant agrofuels also adds to warming by eliminating carbon-absorbing forests.

Why is Energy a Women’s Issue? In most of the Global South, women are responsible for collecting household fuel for cooking, lighting, and other family needs. Most of this energy is derived from natural resources such as wood, charcoal, or dung. When fuel is made scarce—for example, by deforestation or drought—women’s and girls’ workloads increase sharply. In some communities, women spend many hours a day collecting fuel.

So What’s the Alternative? Jean Ziegler, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food has called for a five-year ban on agrofuel expansion. A moratorium on the conversion of land for agrofuel production should be accompanied by the development of new energy technologies that do not compromise global food security.

We need sustainable solutions to climate change, not corporate solutions that seek to simply shift our energy addiction from one resource to another. We need to consume less, not just differently, and steer clear of solutions that would expand the reach—and all the pitfalls—of industrialized agriculture. Creative and practical solutions for meeting our energy requirements—including some local, sustainable biofuel programs—are being developed around the world. We can support proposals for developing sustainable renewable energy sources, while recognizing the need to reduce overall consumption and protect human rights—including everyone’s basic right to food.

.

Yifat Susskind

.

The author is MADRE's Communications Director. MADRE is an international women’s human rights organization. More information about MADRE’s Food for Life Campaign can be found here

.

Published in

.

The Japan Times, Tokyo, Japan: 5 November 2007

Assam Times, Assam, India: 31 October 2007

The Daily Star, Bangladesh: 1 November 2007

Jerusalem Post: 1 November 2007

Nagaland Page, Nagaland, India: 1 November 2007

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India: 1 November 2007

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 6 November 2007

Keep tobacco out of movies in Thailand: Says Prof Rama Kant

Keep tobacco out of movies in Thailand
: says Prof Rama Kant
.
.

One of the easiest ways to significantly bring down number of children and youth who get initiated to tobacco use in Thailand, without any budgetary allocation for this public health exercise, is to remove depiction of tobacco use in films and TV, said International Awardee (2005) of World Health Organization (WHO) – Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, who is visiting Thailand to deliver keynote guest lecture at McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai.

He pointed out freely available video CDs of movies around the world in white and grey market in Thailand. Many of these movies, including Hollywood and Indian cinema, portray tobacco use with brand placement in films.

Prof Rama Kant is a noted tobacco control advocate and has been spearheading a voluntary public health initiative since more than past 30 years.

One of the major influences on the uptake of teen tobacco use is the glamourisation of tobacco use in movies and on television. This has been well documented by comprehensive research studies in India and US.
Dartmouth Medical School, National Cancer Institute USA and American Legacy Foundation report, titled "First Look Report, Trends in Top Box Office Movie Tobacco use - 1996-2004". This report has an exhaustive content analysis of top 100 box office movie hits each year for nine years duration (1996-2004). This report confirms that smoking continues to be depicted in nearly three-quarters of movies. Two studies conducted earlier by the Dartmouth Medical School found that one-third to one-half of youth smoking initiation is explained by exposure to smoking in movies.

Similar study done by World Health Organization and Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2003 revealed that 76% of Indian movies had tobacco use shown in them. In 1991, where 22% of top box office movie hits had lead characters using tobacco on-screen, in 2002, this escalated to 53% tobacco use depiction by lead characters in Indian movies. This study also demonstrated that 52.2% of children in India who had their first smoke were influenced by tobacco use depicted in movies.

A repeat follow-up study conducted by WHO and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India on top box office movie hits during 2004-2005 demonstrated that tobacco use depiction in movies has become more aggressive as compared to previous years. During 2004-2005, 89% of all movies analyzed contained tobacco use on screen and 75.5% movies depicted leading stars using tobacco on screen. Moreover 41% of movies screened had clear and distinct tobacco brand placement. Not surprising, that 33.7% of youth respondents could recall brand use in films too.

Prof Rama Kant said categorically that stopping depiction of tobacco use in films is an evidence based public health measure.

Indian Health Minister Dr Ambumani Ramadoss had earlier said on record that "film and tobacco industry are hands-in-glove involved" and suggested big pay-offs too. Dr Ramadoss' proposal to ban tobacco use in movies and TV was vehemently opposed by film industry.

Exposure to tobacco use in movies is clearly linked to youth tobacco use. Simply put, more must be done to ensure that tobacco use in movies is removed from films seen by our nation's youth. We have within our power one simple and effective way to jump start the decline in youth tobacco use - delete tobacco use in films from the list of influences that rob our youth of longer and healthier lives by removing tobacco use from movies, unless they clearly depict the negative health effects. Together we can ensure that movies continue to entertain and inspire our children and youth, and at the same time, save countless lives from tobacco addiction and premature death.

.

Published in:

.

Assam Times, Assam, India: 22 October 2007

Scoop Independent News, New Zealand: 23 October 2007

Nagaland Page, Nagaland, India: 24 October 2007

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India: 26 October 2007

Keep tobacco out of movies in Thailand: Says Prof Rama Kant

Keep tobacco out of movies in Thailand
: says Prof Rama Kant
.
.

One of the easiest ways to significantly bring down number of children and youth who get initiated to tobacco use in Thailand, without any budgetary allocation for this public health exercise, is to remove depiction of tobacco use in films and TV, said International Awardee (2005) of World Health Organization (WHO) – Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, who is visiting Thailand to deliver keynote guest lecture at McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai.

He pointed out freely available video CDs of movies around the world in white and grey market in Thailand. Many of these movies, including Hollywood and Indian cinema, portray tobacco use with brand placement in films.

Prof Rama Kant is a noted tobacco control advocate and has been spearheading a voluntary public health initiative since more than past 30 years.

One of the major influences on the uptake of teen tobacco use is the glamourisation of tobacco use in movies and on television. This has been well documented by comprehensive research studies in India and US.
Dartmouth Medical School, National Cancer Institute USA and American Legacy Foundation report, titled "First Look Report, Trends in Top Box Office Movie Tobacco use - 1996-2004". This report has an exhaustive content analysis of top 100 box office movie hits each year for nine years duration (1996-2004). This report confirms that smoking continues to be depicted in nearly three-quarters of movies. Two studies conducted earlier by the Dartmouth Medical School found that one-third to one-half of youth smoking initiation is explained by exposure to smoking in movies.

Similar study done by World Health Organization and Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2003 revealed that 76% of Indian movies had tobacco use shown in them. In 1991, where 22% of top box office movie hits had lead characters using tobacco on-screen, in 2002, this escalated to 53% tobacco use depiction by lead characters in Indian movies. This study also demonstrated that 52.2% of children in India who had their first smoke were influenced by tobacco use depicted in movies.

A repeat follow-up study conducted by WHO and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India on top box office movie hits during 2004-2005 demonstrated that tobacco use depiction in movies has become more aggressive as compared to previous years. During 2004-2005, 89% of all movies analyzed contained tobacco use on screen and 75.5% movies depicted leading stars using tobacco on screen. Moreover 41% of movies screened had clear and distinct tobacco brand placement. Not surprising, that 33.7% of youth respondents could recall brand use in films too.

Prof Rama Kant said categorically that stopping depiction of tobacco use in films is an evidence based public health measure.

Indian Health Minister Dr Ambumani Ramadoss had earlier said on record that "film and tobacco industry are hands-in-glove involved" and suggested big pay-offs too. Dr Ramadoss' proposal to ban tobacco use in movies and TV was vehemently opposed by film industry.

Exposure to tobacco use in movies is clearly linked to youth tobacco use. Simply put, more must be done to ensure that tobacco use in movies is removed from films seen by our nation's youth. We have within our power one simple and effective way to jump start the decline in youth tobacco use - delete tobacco use in films from the list of influences that rob our youth of longer and healthier lives by removing tobacco use from movies, unless they clearly depict the negative health effects. Together we can ensure that movies continue to entertain and inspire our children and youth, and at the same time, save countless lives from tobacco addiction and premature death.

.

Published in:

.

Assam Times, Assam, India: 22 October 2007

Scoop Independent News, New Zealand: 23 October 2007

Nagaland Page, Nagaland, India: 24 October 2007

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India: 26 October 2007

DEMONSTRATION against Coca Cola bottling plant in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

DEMONSTRATION

.

against

.

Coca Cola

.

bottling plant in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

.

.

Coca Cola Bhagao Krishi Bachao Jan Sangharsh Samiti (‘Remove Coca Cola, Save Agriculture People’s Struggle Committee’), Sinhachawar, Ballia is organizing a march from Ballia district headquarters on 23rd October, 2007, after a public meeting there at 11 am, to the bottling plant located in Sinhachawar village, 15 kms outside.

.

Upon reaching Sinhachawar the next day there will be a public meeting at the plant site on 24th October, 2007 at 12 noon. The main demands of these demonstrations are:

.
(1) Cancel the license of Vrindavan Coca Cola bottlers plant, Sinhachawar. (This plant run on a franchise basis till now is in the process of being bought over by Coca Cola company).
.

(2) Stop ground water exploitation and pollution of land and water.

.

(3) Stop privatization of water.
.

(4) Remove encroachment of Coca Cola plant from public land and road belonging to Gram Sabha.

..

(5) Ban production and sale of Coca Cola and Pepsi containing things harmful to human health.

.

Main speakers at the two events include the local MLA, Ambika Chaudhary, aspirant to Ballia Lok Sabha seat, Neeraj Shekhar, son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and Baba Hardeo Singh, President of PCS Officers’ Association. The association of Gram Pradhans has decided to support this movement.
..

For more information contact:

Baliram, 9450779325,

Vijay Bhai, 9335341150,

Nandlal, 9415300520, napm_up@yahoo.com and

Dr Sandeep Pandey, 0522 2347365, 9415022772, ashaashram@yahoo.com

.

(Photo credit: Jessica Kakoby)

.

DEMONSTRATION against Coca Cola bottling plant in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

DEMONSTRATION

.

against

.

Coca Cola

.

bottling plant in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

.

.

Coca Cola Bhagao Krishi Bachao Jan Sangharsh Samiti (‘Remove Coca Cola, Save Agriculture People’s Struggle Committee’), Sinhachawar, Ballia is organizing a march from Ballia district headquarters on 23rd October, 2007, after a public meeting there at 11 am, to the bottling plant located in Sinhachawar village, 15 kms outside.

.

Upon reaching Sinhachawar the next day there will be a public meeting at the plant site on 24th October, 2007 at 12 noon. The main demands of these demonstrations are:

.
(1) Cancel the license of Vrindavan Coca Cola bottlers plant, Sinhachawar. (This plant run on a franchise basis till now is in the process of being bought over by Coca Cola company).
.

(2) Stop ground water exploitation and pollution of land and water.

.

(3) Stop privatization of water.
.

(4) Remove encroachment of Coca Cola plant from public land and road belonging to Gram Sabha.

..

(5) Ban production and sale of Coca Cola and Pepsi containing things harmful to human health.

.

Main speakers at the two events include the local MLA, Ambika Chaudhary, aspirant to Ballia Lok Sabha seat, Neeraj Shekhar, son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and Baba Hardeo Singh, President of PCS Officers’ Association. The association of Gram Pradhans has decided to support this movement.
..

For more information contact:

Baliram, 9450779325,

Vijay Bhai, 9335341150,

Nandlal, 9415300520, napm_up@yahoo.com and

Dr Sandeep Pandey, 0522 2347365, 9415022772, ashaashram@yahoo.com

.

(Photo credit: Jessica Kakoby)

.

PUBLIC HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

PUBLIC HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

.
Organized by People's Union for Human Rights

.

A public hearing is being organized by PUHR in Lucknow in front of the Vidhan Sabha on 27th October, 2007, on cases of human rights violations. In spite of a dalit sympathetic government atrocities against dalits continue to take place. Gruesome murder of Chakrasen, an Engineering degree aspirant, in Pratapgarh district is the most glaring example in which the upper caste murderers were being patronized by the local BSP MLA. Benefits of government schemes like the PDS and NREGS continue to be siphoned off and the most affected is the poorest segment of society. Most landless, even if they have legal title to a piece of land continue to be denied land ownership.
.

Draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Chattisgarh Public Security Act are used by the state to victimize activists and common citizens. Dr. Binayak Sen is in jail on the unproved charge of being a naxalite and Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the Mumbai Bomb Blast case, is honoured by the PM for promoting Gandhian values! Irom Sharmila continues in her 7th year of fast in solitary confinement in hospital in Imphal with a demand to repeal AFSPA. Meanwhile, fake encounter deaths continue to take place all over the country.

.

The public hearing will address a whole range of human rights violations being committed in the country. The jury will consist of eminent advocate of Supreme Court Prashant Bhushan, advocate Sudha Bhardwaj from Chattisgarh, S.A.R. Geelani, lecturer at Zakir Hussain College, Delhi, and acquitted by SC in the attack on Parliament case and S.R. Darapuri, former I.G., U.P.
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Date of Public Hearing: 27th October, 2007, Saturday

Time: 10:30 am to 5 pm

Venue: Dharna Sthal, Opposite Vidhan Sabha, Lucknow

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For more information or to present a case at the public hearing contact any of the following office bearers of PUHR:
.

Sandeep Pandey, President, Ph: 0522 2347365, 9415022772, ashaashram@yahoo.com

Brij Bihari, General Secretary, M: 9335385843, 9335369767

Manoj Singh, Organization Secretary, M: 9415282206

PUBLIC HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

PUBLIC HEARING ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

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Organized by People's Union for Human Rights

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A public hearing is being organized by PUHR in Lucknow in front of the Vidhan Sabha on 27th October, 2007, on cases of human rights violations. In spite of a dalit sympathetic government atrocities against dalits continue to take place. Gruesome murder of Chakrasen, an Engineering degree aspirant, in Pratapgarh district is the most glaring example in which the upper caste murderers were being patronized by the local BSP MLA. Benefits of government schemes like the PDS and NREGS continue to be siphoned off and the most affected is the poorest segment of society. Most landless, even if they have legal title to a piece of land continue to be denied land ownership.
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Draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Chattisgarh Public Security Act are used by the state to victimize activists and common citizens. Dr. Binayak Sen is in jail on the unproved charge of being a naxalite and Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the Mumbai Bomb Blast case, is honoured by the PM for promoting Gandhian values! Irom Sharmila continues in her 7th year of fast in solitary confinement in hospital in Imphal with a demand to repeal AFSPA. Meanwhile, fake encounter deaths continue to take place all over the country.

.

The public hearing will address a whole range of human rights violations being committed in the country. The jury will consist of eminent advocate of Supreme Court Prashant Bhushan, advocate Sudha Bhardwaj from Chattisgarh, S.A.R. Geelani, lecturer at Zakir Hussain College, Delhi, and acquitted by SC in the attack on Parliament case and S.R. Darapuri, former I.G., U.P.
.

Date of Public Hearing: 27th October, 2007, Saturday

Time: 10:30 am to 5 pm

Venue: Dharna Sthal, Opposite Vidhan Sabha, Lucknow

.

For more information or to present a case at the public hearing contact any of the following office bearers of PUHR:
.

Sandeep Pandey, President, Ph: 0522 2347365, 9415022772, ashaashram@yahoo.com

Brij Bihari, General Secretary, M: 9335385843, 9335369767

Manoj Singh, Organization Secretary, M: 9415282206

Diabetes wake-up call after years of neglect in Asia - Professor (Dr) Rama Kant

Diabetes wake-up call after years of neglect in Asia

- Professor (Dr) Rama Kant

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Diabetes mellitus is emerging as a major health problem in Asian countries with world’s highest number of people with diabetes living in the region. This warning came from International Awardee (2005) of World Health Organization (WHO) Prof (Dr) Rama Kant, who was delivering a guest lecture on ‘newer horizons in management of diabetic foot’ at McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Countries like India have an estimated 34 to 35 million of people suffering from diabetes, which is the highest in the world. The prevalence of Diabetes in urban population is 17% and in rural it is 2.5%. This indicates impact of life style and nutritional habits. Among the chronic complications of diabetes, diabetic foot is the most devastating complication and is the leading cause of leg amputation among diabetics. It is estimated that in India alone about 50,000 legs are amputated every year, of which almost 75 percent are potentially preventable, said Professor (Dr) Rama Kant.

This problem is further compounded by the lack of awareness, practice of barefoot walking, home surgery, faulty footwear (slippers) and delay in reporting. The cost, both in terms of human health as well as economic burden of the foot ulcer treatment and complication is very high. In countries like Thailand or India, foot care is very critical as a significant majority of the population stays in rural areas. Therefore prevention of ulcer and its subsequent complications is of utmost importance, stressed Professor Kant.

Prof Rama Kant, who heads the Department of Surgery at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) and has been the former Chief Medical Superintendent of Gandhi Memorial & Associated Hospitals, was recently elected as President of Lucknow College of Surgeons and medical university teachers’ association. The noted Surgeon from India is here in Thailand interacting with Thai medical fraternity on improving healthcare responses to better control diseases like diabetes.

McCormick Hospital began in 1889 when Dr. McKean, the first long-term physician, arrived in the north of Thailand and started a dispensary and medicine building with 8 to 10 beds. Dr. McKean made his own smallpox vaccine and quinine pills for malaria and opened the Thailand’s first facility for leprosy patients. Later with support from Dr. Cyruss McCormick of Chicago the Mc Cormick Hospital grew by 1925 providing healthcare with different speciality units. It is a modern general hospital with about 19,000 patient-admission per year, and approximately 40,000 outpatients benefitting annually. It is also affiliated with the Royal Family of Thailand as the present King's father, a physician, practiced in this hospital.

Back in 1864, a noted surgeon Marchal de Calvi said "Having amputated one leg, often the opposite leg is affected, gangrene sets in and soon the patients succumb to the horrible suffering. Having relieved him of his local affliction (by amputation), I have done nothing but mutilate him." The need for efforts to reduce lower limb complications amongst people with diabetes is important, more so in Asian countries, where ignorance and barefoot walking plus other socio-economic practices lead to needless amputations. A diabetic foot patient suffers damage to nerves which make the feet numb and insensitive.' Lack of awareness, socio-cultural practices like bare-foot walking, delayed consultation of specialists due to ignorance and improper management are among the factors leading to amputations. If one leg was removed the chances were high for the other to get amputated within three years.

The findings of several studies reporting statistically significant protective effects from therapeutic footwear may have been influenced by several design issues. When considering the appropriateness of therapeutic footwear recommendations for moderate-risk patients, clinicians and patients should jointly explore individual strategies to decrease events that lead to foot ulcers.

All-cause mortality is high after an amputation in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Mortality rates, hospital stay, and postoperative complications are not different between diabetic and non-diabetic amputees. No modifiable factors, with the exception of nephropathy, were found to improve survival in amputees. Peripheral vascular disease and neuropathy are the main cause of amputations; prevention, therefore, of these complications is warranted to prevent amputations and the subsequent high mortality.

Recent trends are focusing on prevention by life style modifications, adequate control, multi-speciality treatments and aggressive debridements, open traditional and endovascular surgery, use of stents for improving circulation followed by free use of latest dressing techniques, use of different growth factors, off-loading of pressure points, use of modified shoes and also occasional use of boot therapy or modified boot therapy with a special equipments, said Professor Kant.

With use of the latest techniques incidence of major amputations has gone down drastically and only minor amputations are done at our centre.

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Published in:

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Asian Tribune, Thailand/ Sri Lanka: 20 October 2007

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India: 20 October 2007

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 20 October 2007

Scoop Independent News, New Zealand: 21 October 2007

Kashmir Newz, Jammu & Kashmir, India: 24 October 2007

Diabetes wake-up call after years of neglect in Asia - Professor (Dr) Rama Kant

Diabetes wake-up call after years of neglect in Asia

- Professor (Dr) Rama Kant

.

.

Diabetes mellitus is emerging as a major health problem in Asian countries with world’s highest number of people with diabetes living in the region. This warning came from International Awardee (2005) of World Health Organization (WHO) Prof (Dr) Rama Kant, who was delivering a guest lecture on ‘newer horizons in management of diabetic foot’ at McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Countries like India have an estimated 34 to 35 million of people suffering from diabetes, which is the highest in the world. The prevalence of Diabetes in urban population is 17% and in rural it is 2.5%. This indicates impact of life style and nutritional habits. Among the chronic complications of diabetes, diabetic foot is the most devastating complication and is the leading cause of leg amputation among diabetics. It is estimated that in India alone about 50,000 legs are amputated every year, of which almost 75 percent are potentially preventable, said Professor (Dr) Rama Kant.

This problem is further compounded by the lack of awareness, practice of barefoot walking, home surgery, faulty footwear (slippers) and delay in reporting. The cost, both in terms of human health as well as economic burden of the foot ulcer treatment and complication is very high. In countries like Thailand or India, foot care is very critical as a significant majority of the population stays in rural areas. Therefore prevention of ulcer and its subsequent complications is of utmost importance, stressed Professor Kant.

Prof Rama Kant, who heads the Department of Surgery at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) and has been the former Chief Medical Superintendent of Gandhi Memorial & Associated Hospitals, was recently elected as President of Lucknow College of Surgeons and medical university teachers’ association. The noted Surgeon from India is here in Thailand interacting with Thai medical fraternity on improving healthcare responses to better control diseases like diabetes.

McCormick Hospital began in 1889 when Dr. McKean, the first long-term physician, arrived in the north of Thailand and started a dispensary and medicine building with 8 to 10 beds. Dr. McKean made his own smallpox vaccine and quinine pills for malaria and opened the Thailand’s first facility for leprosy patients. Later with support from Dr. Cyruss McCormick of Chicago the Mc Cormick Hospital grew by 1925 providing healthcare with different speciality units. It is a modern general hospital with about 19,000 patient-admission per year, and approximately 40,000 outpatients benefitting annually. It is also affiliated with the Royal Family of Thailand as the present King's father, a physician, practiced in this hospital.

Back in 1864, a noted surgeon Marchal de Calvi said "Having amputated one leg, often the opposite leg is affected, gangrene sets in and soon the patients succumb to the horrible suffering. Having relieved him of his local affliction (by amputation), I have done nothing but mutilate him." The need for efforts to reduce lower limb complications amongst people with diabetes is important, more so in Asian countries, where ignorance and barefoot walking plus other socio-economic practices lead to needless amputations. A diabetic foot patient suffers damage to nerves which make the feet numb and insensitive.' Lack of awareness, socio-cultural practices like bare-foot walking, delayed consultation of specialists due to ignorance and improper management are among the factors leading to amputations. If one leg was removed the chances were high for the other to get amputated within three years.

The findings of several studies reporting statistically significant protective effects from therapeutic footwear may have been influenced by several design issues. When considering the appropriateness of therapeutic footwear recommendations for moderate-risk patients, clinicians and patients should jointly explore individual strategies to decrease events that lead to foot ulcers.

All-cause mortality is high after an amputation in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Mortality rates, hospital stay, and postoperative complications are not different between diabetic and non-diabetic amputees. No modifiable factors, with the exception of nephropathy, were found to improve survival in amputees. Peripheral vascular disease and neuropathy are the main cause of amputations; prevention, therefore, of these complications is warranted to prevent amputations and the subsequent high mortality.

Recent trends are focusing on prevention by life style modifications, adequate control, multi-speciality treatments and aggressive debridements, open traditional and endovascular surgery, use of stents for improving circulation followed by free use of latest dressing techniques, use of different growth factors, off-loading of pressure points, use of modified shoes and also occasional use of boot therapy or modified boot therapy with a special equipments, said Professor Kant.

With use of the latest techniques incidence of major amputations has gone down drastically and only minor amputations are done at our centre.

.

Published in:

.

Asian Tribune, Thailand/ Sri Lanka: 20 October 2007

Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India: 20 October 2007

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 20 October 2007

Scoop Independent News, New Zealand: 21 October 2007

Kashmir Newz, Jammu & Kashmir, India: 24 October 2007

Stop Dow recruitment in IIT Chennai

Stop Dow recruitment in IIT Chennai

.

Sign the petition here

.
Hundreds of alumni from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) have signed the petition among others demanding that Dow Chemical, the owner of Union Carbide, and all of its subsidiaries should be barred from campus recruitment at all IITs. Representatives of survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas disaster had earlier informed that Dow Chemical is trying to recruit engineering students during campus interviews at IITs. The petition is addressed to Professor MS Ananth, Director of Chennai’s IIT.

Union Carbide is a key accused in a criminal case related to the Bhopal gas disaster where the company is charged with "culpable homicide not amounting to murder." Because it failed to honour summons issued by the Bhopal court, it was declared an absconder in 1992.

Dow Chemical has also failed to obey the law and is currently being challenged in the criminal court for sheltering a fugitive. Till date, it has failed to make Union Carbide - its 100 percent subsidiary - appear in court to face trial.

Aside from the disaster, Union Carbide's routine operations in the Bhopal factory have resulted in a massive environmental contamination problem that has not been addressed till date. Several thousand tons of toxic wastes, obsolete pesticides and contaminated material and machinery lie strewn in and around the factory site. Over the years, these wastes have leached their poisons into the groundwater. At least 10 governmental and non-governmental studies document and confirm the spread of toxic contamination. More than 20,000 people are forced to consume this contaminated water in the absence of any alternative. Tests carried out at IIT, Kanpur, by a New Delhi based fact finding mission on Bhopal showed the presence of toxic chemicals such as chloroform, chlorobenzenes, dichloromethane and heavy metals such as lead and mercury in the breast milk of mothers in these communities.

Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have refused to contribute towards clean-up of the contamination and groundwater.

As a result, Dow Chemical is the target of a concerted campaign by Bhopal survivors and their supporters. The aim of the campaign is to hold the corporation and the Governments of India and Madhya Pradesh accountable.

Dow Chemical's track record in India and abroad is poor on various counts says it all.

Earlier this year, the company was fined $325,000 by the US Securities Exchange Commission for having paid $200,000 in bribes to Agriculture Ministry officials for expediting the registration of three of its pesticides. One of the registered pesticides, Dursban (chlorpyriphos), is freely sold in India whereas it has been withdrawn from use in domestic settings in the US owing to its demonstrated deleterious effects on the mental development of children. An enquiry by the Ministry and another by the Vigilance Commission is currently ongoing.

In 2005, Indian Oil canceled a technology tie-up with Dow Global Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, because the company had attempted to sell a Union Carbide technology by passing it off as its own.

Dow is exerting tremendous pressure on the Indian Government to get the Government to absolve it of all liabilities related to Bhopal. Letters unearthed by the Bhopal survivor groups indicates that Dow has written to the Indian ambassador in an attempt to dictate the Government's course of action in a case against it for environmental clean-up in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Dow's poor track record, particularly with respect to Bhopal, has made it very unpopular. In May 2005, more than 1300 IIT alumni intervened and forced the organizers of the Global IIT 2005 Conference to cancel the key note address by William Stavropoulos, then CEO of Dow Chemical.

In March 2007, the University of California, Berkeley, returned a donation by Dow Chemical towards organizing the UC Berkeley Energy Symposium after students voted overwhelmingly against accepting funds from the tainted company.

Dow Chemical's motive behind the relationship it is attempting to forge with IIT Madras is not the furtherance of science and technology. Rather, it is an attempt to acquire legitimacy and credibility by associating itself with IIT.

“The impeccable reputation of IIT Madras will certainly be tarnished by any association with Dow Chemical. By refusing campus recruitment to the company, IIT Madras will be sending a strong signal that it stands by principles of justice and ethics” said activists of Association for India’s Development (AID).
.
To sign the petition, click here

.

Published in:

.

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 20 October 2007

Stop Dow recruitment in IIT Chennai

Stop Dow recruitment in IIT Chennai

.

Sign the petition here

.
Hundreds of alumni from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) have signed the petition among others demanding that Dow Chemical, the owner of Union Carbide, and all of its subsidiaries should be barred from campus recruitment at all IITs. Representatives of survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas disaster had earlier informed that Dow Chemical is trying to recruit engineering students during campus interviews at IITs. The petition is addressed to Professor MS Ananth, Director of Chennai’s IIT.

Union Carbide is a key accused in a criminal case related to the Bhopal gas disaster where the company is charged with "culpable homicide not amounting to murder." Because it failed to honour summons issued by the Bhopal court, it was declared an absconder in 1992.

Dow Chemical has also failed to obey the law and is currently being challenged in the criminal court for sheltering a fugitive. Till date, it has failed to make Union Carbide - its 100 percent subsidiary - appear in court to face trial.

Aside from the disaster, Union Carbide's routine operations in the Bhopal factory have resulted in a massive environmental contamination problem that has not been addressed till date. Several thousand tons of toxic wastes, obsolete pesticides and contaminated material and machinery lie strewn in and around the factory site. Over the years, these wastes have leached their poisons into the groundwater. At least 10 governmental and non-governmental studies document and confirm the spread of toxic contamination. More than 20,000 people are forced to consume this contaminated water in the absence of any alternative. Tests carried out at IIT, Kanpur, by a New Delhi based fact finding mission on Bhopal showed the presence of toxic chemicals such as chloroform, chlorobenzenes, dichloromethane and heavy metals such as lead and mercury in the breast milk of mothers in these communities.

Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have refused to contribute towards clean-up of the contamination and groundwater.

As a result, Dow Chemical is the target of a concerted campaign by Bhopal survivors and their supporters. The aim of the campaign is to hold the corporation and the Governments of India and Madhya Pradesh accountable.

Dow Chemical's track record in India and abroad is poor on various counts says it all.

Earlier this year, the company was fined $325,000 by the US Securities Exchange Commission for having paid $200,000 in bribes to Agriculture Ministry officials for expediting the registration of three of its pesticides. One of the registered pesticides, Dursban (chlorpyriphos), is freely sold in India whereas it has been withdrawn from use in domestic settings in the US owing to its demonstrated deleterious effects on the mental development of children. An enquiry by the Ministry and another by the Vigilance Commission is currently ongoing.

In 2005, Indian Oil canceled a technology tie-up with Dow Global Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, because the company had attempted to sell a Union Carbide technology by passing it off as its own.

Dow is exerting tremendous pressure on the Indian Government to get the Government to absolve it of all liabilities related to Bhopal. Letters unearthed by the Bhopal survivor groups indicates that Dow has written to the Indian ambassador in an attempt to dictate the Government's course of action in a case against it for environmental clean-up in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Dow's poor track record, particularly with respect to Bhopal, has made it very unpopular. In May 2005, more than 1300 IIT alumni intervened and forced the organizers of the Global IIT 2005 Conference to cancel the key note address by William Stavropoulos, then CEO of Dow Chemical.

In March 2007, the University of California, Berkeley, returned a donation by Dow Chemical towards organizing the UC Berkeley Energy Symposium after students voted overwhelmingly against accepting funds from the tainted company.

Dow Chemical's motive behind the relationship it is attempting to forge with IIT Madras is not the furtherance of science and technology. Rather, it is an attempt to acquire legitimacy and credibility by associating itself with IIT.

“The impeccable reputation of IIT Madras will certainly be tarnished by any association with Dow Chemical. By refusing campus recruitment to the company, IIT Madras will be sending a strong signal that it stands by principles of justice and ethics” said activists of Association for India’s Development (AID).
.
To sign the petition, click here

.

Published in:

.

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 20 October 2007

BOOK RELEASE: On the side of the Angels

BOOK RELEASE

On the Side of the Angels

A new book challenging Christians to put human rights advocacy at the heart of Christian mission was released on 9 October 2007.

The book, ‘On the Side of the Angels: Justice, Human Rights and Kingdom Mission’, co-authored by Benedict Rogers and Joseph D’souza, argues that for too long Christians have failed to fulfill their biblical mandate to speak up for justice and to see human rights campaigning as a part of mission.

Benedict Rogers is a journalist and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Advocacy Officer for South Asia. He is author of ‘A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma’s Karen People’ (Monarch, 2004). Dr D’souza is founder and president of the All India Christian Council (AICC) – one of the largest interdenominational coalitions of Christians dealing with human rights in India.

‘On the Side of the Angels’ examines the biblical basis for activism and includes real-life stories of crimes against humanity, religious persecution, torture, discrimination, and injustice. The book draws on the authors’ first-hand experience of places of persecution and oppression, including Burma, East Timor, and India, along with their work of advocacy in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, United Nations, and other forums. It also offers practical ideas for ways in which Christians can be involved in advocacy.

“Our Christian mission must have justice at the core. In the book of Proverbs, the bible teaches us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and to defend the rights of the poor and needy. We have written this book in the hope that concrete examples of how to stand up for justice and inspiring examples of great Christian human rights activists, past and present, will motivate and challenge readers to be advocates of God’s love and justice” said Benedict Rogers.

Dr Joseph D’souza added: “God is calling His Church worldwide to raise the banner for justice. And He is also pouring His Spirit to move His children to involvement in justice issues as part of their mission on earth be it for the sake of the Burmese people, the people of Sudan, the children of the world or the Dalits.”

The book release was hosted by Lord Alton, with guest speaker Bishop David Pytches. Author and former UK Cabinet Minister, Jonathan Aitken, said the book “deserves to become a classic of human rights literature”, and the Founder of Oasis Global, Steve Chalke, called it “deeply challenging and compelling”.

For more information, please contact:
Jo Didier
Email: jodidier@csw.org.uk

BOOK RELEASE: On the side of the Angels

BOOK RELEASE

On the Side of the Angels

A new book challenging Christians to put human rights advocacy at the heart of Christian mission was released on 9 October 2007.

The book, ‘On the Side of the Angels: Justice, Human Rights and Kingdom Mission’, co-authored by Benedict Rogers and Joseph D’souza, argues that for too long Christians have failed to fulfill their biblical mandate to speak up for justice and to see human rights campaigning as a part of mission.

Benedict Rogers is a journalist and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Advocacy Officer for South Asia. He is author of ‘A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma’s Karen People’ (Monarch, 2004). Dr D’souza is founder and president of the All India Christian Council (AICC) – one of the largest interdenominational coalitions of Christians dealing with human rights in India.

‘On the Side of the Angels’ examines the biblical basis for activism and includes real-life stories of crimes against humanity, religious persecution, torture, discrimination, and injustice. The book draws on the authors’ first-hand experience of places of persecution and oppression, including Burma, East Timor, and India, along with their work of advocacy in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, United Nations, and other forums. It also offers practical ideas for ways in which Christians can be involved in advocacy.

“Our Christian mission must have justice at the core. In the book of Proverbs, the bible teaches us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and to defend the rights of the poor and needy. We have written this book in the hope that concrete examples of how to stand up for justice and inspiring examples of great Christian human rights activists, past and present, will motivate and challenge readers to be advocates of God’s love and justice” said Benedict Rogers.

Dr Joseph D’souza added: “God is calling His Church worldwide to raise the banner for justice. And He is also pouring His Spirit to move His children to involvement in justice issues as part of their mission on earth be it for the sake of the Burmese people, the people of Sudan, the children of the world or the Dalits.”

The book release was hosted by Lord Alton, with guest speaker Bishop David Pytches. Author and former UK Cabinet Minister, Jonathan Aitken, said the book “deserves to become a classic of human rights literature”, and the Founder of Oasis Global, Steve Chalke, called it “deeply challenging and compelling”.

For more information, please contact:
Jo Didier
Email: jodidier@csw.org.uk

The Globalization of Hunger

The Globalization of Hunger

Yifat Susskind

At first, the numbers don’t seem to add up. The world produces more food than ever—enough to feed twice the global population. Yet, more people than ever suffer from hunger; and their numbers are rising. Today, 854 million people, most of them women and girls, are chronically hungry, up from 800 million in 1996. Another paradox: the majority of the world’s hungry people live in rural areas, where nearly all food is grown.

World Food Day on October 16 is a good time to try and understand the conundrum of world hunger. The root of the problem is the inequitable distribution of the resources needed to either grow or buy food (also known as poverty). World Food Day is an equally good time to call out one of the main culprits of the crisis: industrial agriculture, the very type enshrined in the Farm Bill that’s currently before the US Senate.

The Farm Bill has far-reaching implications for farmers and food systems the world over. It is set to perpetuate a process whereby heavily subsidized US factory farms overproduce grains that are dumped in poor countries, bankrupting local farmers, who can’t compete with subsidized prices. We’ve begun to hear a bit about the plight of these farmers, but few people know that most of them are women. In fact, women produce most of the world’s food. They do so on small plots of land, working hard to feed their families and generate enough income for things like school fees and children’s shoes.

US Agribusiness: Swallowing Up Lands and Livelihoods

Visit the websites of corporations like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland, who together control 65 percent of the global grain trade, and you will read that their mission is to “feed a growing world.” The reality is starkly different. Big Farming is part of a larger corporate economic model that prioritizes profit-making over all else, even the basic right to food. Around the world, agribusiness bankrupts and displaces small farmers, and directs farmers to grow export crops instead of staple foods.

Not long ago, most farm inputs came from farmers themselves. Seeds were saved from the last harvest and fertilizer was recycled from animal and plant wastes. Farmers found innovative ways to control pests by harnessing local biodiversity, such as cultivating insect-repelling plants alongside food crops. While these techniques can produce enough food to feed the world and sustain its ecosystems, they don’t turn a profit for agribusiness. That’s why corporations developed genetically modified seeds, chemical fertilizers, and synthetic pesticides.

These inputs are both expensive for farmers and highly damaging to the natural systems on which sustainable farming and, ultimately, all life depends. As the cost of farming has gone up, farmers’ incomes have gone down due to trade rules that favor large-scale agribusiness over small farmers. For example, the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Agriculture forbids governments in the Global South from providing farmers with low-cost seeds and other farm inputs, turning farmers into a “market” for international agribusiness.

Over the past 50 years, as much of the world’s farmland has been consolidated in fewer and fewer hands, millions of people have been forced to abandon their rural homes. In fact, this year, for the first time ever, the number of people living in cities around the world exceeded the number living in rural areas. Most of this urban population boom is due to rural migration.

Cash Crops and Climate Change

The same practices that have devastated women farmers and their communities worldwide have contributed to environmental destruction that impacts us all.

Export agriculture is a major contributor to global warming because it requires huge inputs of petroleum: it takes 100 gallons of oil to grow just one acre of US corn. It also requires a massive global transportation infrastructure, including ports, railways, fuel pipelines, and superhighways, often built at the expense of local people and ecosystems. In many places, 40 percent of truck traffic is from hauling food over long distances. Today, food that could be grown locally is shipped, trucked, or flown half way around the planet.

Trade rules have so distorted agricultural markets that almost anywhere you go, food from the other side of the world costs less than food grown locally. So people in Kenya buy Dutch butter, while those in the Big Apple buy apples from Chile. In the US, the average bite of food travels 1,300 miles from farm to fork. The system is so wasteful that many countries import the very same foods that they export. For example, last year the US exported—and imported—900,000 tons of beef.

Asserting the Right to Food

The good news is that our global food systems may be on the verge of a great transition. Although agribusiness has unprecedented control over the world’s farmers and food supply, the realities of climate change, resource depletion, and the human suffering caused by industrialized farming have led more people to start thinking about the links between food, the environment, and social justice. Around the world, demands for food sovereignty—peoples’ right to control their own food systems—is at an all-time high. Even in the US, where much of the population thinks of farming as a quaint and remote activity, more and more people are realizing that if you eat, you’re involved in agriculture.

The theme of this year’s World Food Day is the right to food. Securing this basic human right for all people, including future generations, will require fundamental changes in the way we use the Earth’s natural resources to grow and distribute food. As we face rising temperatures and declining supplies of cheap energy, change will come of necessity. It’s up to us—working in partnership with small-scale farmers around the world—to demand a change for the better.


Yifat Susskind

(The author is the Communications Director, MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization. For more information please visit: http://www.madre.org/ )

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Published in:

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Scoop Independent News, New Zealand: 18 October 2007

.

The Seoul Times, South Korea: 20 October 2007

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Nagaland Page, Nagaland, India: 1 November 2007