Stop POSCO! Free India!

By POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti

Dear friends,

In another two months, India will complete 65 years of independence. We will be forced to remember many people who sacrificed their self interests for the benefit our freedom. Sadly, during the one and a half decades of the post-globalisation era in India, our leaders are sacrificing the very purpose of the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom. India's land, rivers, hills, seas and forests are being sold to global corporates, displacing millions of farmers, dalits, adivasis and fisher folk today, devastating this country's environment.

The project planned by the multinational giant POSCO represents the largest Foreign Direct Investment of this country (FDI) during the post-globalised India. The project will destroy the lives of thousands of farmers, dalits, women, children, fisher people and indigenous people.

The people's movement against POSCO started soon after the signing of the MOU between POSCO and Odisha Government. Since then over hundred bombs have been thrown at the resisting villagers by the pro-POSCO goons and around 100 villagers have been shot by the Odisha police. While our leaders like Abhay Sahoo and Narayan Reddy along with more than 1500 villagers and activists are facing over 200 fabricated false charges. Many villagers can not come out of their villages even for their hospitalization, due to the threat of arrests. While 5 activists are still in jail, the struggle against POSCO led by POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti is still resisting this invasion by a global capitalist giant in partnership with the Central and State Governments.

We believe that if the anti-POSCO movement is suppressed due to the interests of the corporations, it will affect many similar struggles in Odisha as well as rest of India. Since this SEZ project is the largest FDI investment in this country, it has to be treated as a symbol of struggle against globalization and India's freedom. Therefore, we appeal to all freedom lovers in India and all over the world to mark your resistance by responding on the day of the completion of the 7 th year of signing of the MOU between POSCO and the Government , on June 22, 2012 . We appeal to all activists, organizations, people's movements and concerned indivuals against globalization to express their strong protest against this corporate invasion of our lands. We appeal to groups and people's movements working on fisher people, dalits, women, children and indigenous people to organize solidarity actions on June 22 nd , since it is the lives of these very forces which are at stake. On this historical event, PPSS calls for the following actions all over India and abroad to initiate the following actions:

1. Protests in your region demanding the ouster of POSCO and removal of all fabricated false cases against activists and villagers
2. Public meetings in your region condemning the threat of displacement and environmental destruction by POSCO
3. Expressions through, songs, posters, paintings, theatre, print media and internet actions against POSCO
4. Mobilise concerned sections to be part of the event in Odisha
5. Write letters to the Prime Minister of India and the Chief Minister of Odisha
6. Document the events in Odisha and elsewhere through written media as well as video for future campaigns, or
7. Any other symbolic or imaginative actions you may chose.

We welcome all those who wish to participate in the event in Odisha and express their support to this historic struggle.

In Solidarity,
Prashant Paikary
Spokesperson, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti
Mobile no-09437571547
E-Mail - prashantpaikary@gmail.com