|
*Ann Arbor, Michigan, US:* The Coca-Cola Company was put on the
defensive yesterday under the intense scrutiny of students, professors,
and administrators at the University of Michigan. An expansive
six-month-long student campaign came to a head as 11 corporate
representatives were forced to account for Coca-Cola's crimes in
Colombia and India. In Colombia, Coke has been involved in the murders,
threats, displacements, disappearances and attacks of union workers at
its bottling plants. In India, the company has depleted the water
supply, distributed toxic waste to farmers under the guise of
fertilizer, and sold soft drinks containing excessively high levels of
pesticides. Students are demanding that the University of Michigan cut
its $1.3 million contract with the Coca-Cola Company. The campaign at
the University is part of an international student movement in
solidarity with workers in Colombia and farmers in India. Thirteen other
universities have already cut their contracts with Coca-Cola.
( Read more... ) |
|
COMPANY FAILED TO FULLFILL CONDITIONS
The Hindu
STAFF REPORTER
PALAKAD:
The perumatti grama panchayath today refused to renew the licence of
Hindustan Coca cola beverages pvt.ltd at plachimada. The panchayath
decision follows an application moved by coca cola on april 13th last.
The panchayath had cancelled the licence of the company on april 7th
2003 on the plea that it had received complaints from local people that
the drawing of huge quantity of ground water by the company had resulted
in wells drying up, causing acute drinking water scarcity in the area.
But the factory managed to function till march 10, 2004 on the strength
of a government order and the stay from the single bench of the Kerala
High court over ruling the civic bodys decisions. On december 16th 2003
a single bench of the High court directed the coke to stop exploiting
the ground water resources of the panchayath and find alternative water
sources for its production needs. though a division bench set aside the
single bench ruling , the stzte cabinet on 17th 2004 directed the
company to stop the operation in view of the acute drought situation in
palakad district. consiquently the units stoped operation on march 10th
2004 but a divisioin bench of the kerala high court had on april 7th
2005 ordered the panchayath to grand licence to the company if it
submitted an applicaion with in two weeks, provided it had with it the
requesit licence issued under the factory acts and the clearance of the
state pollution control board. ( Read more... ) |
|
The Hindu
Palakkad, April. 22 (PTI): Political leaders and social activists
today pledged support to the struggle against the Coca Cola plant at
Plachimada village near here as the agitation demanding closure of the
soft drink unit completed three years today.
( Read more... ) |
|
Zee News
April 20, 2005
Jammu, Apr 20: Jammu and Kashmir government today ordered penalty of Rs
1 lakh (Rs. 100,000) to Hindustan Coca Cola, Jammu following recovery of
contaminated soft drink bottles from the local market by a team of
officials from the Department of Legal Metrology (consumer affairs). The
bottling plant of the company at Gangyal would be sealed in case it
failed to pay the penalty charged for supplying unhygienic drinks in the
market, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Taj
Mohi-u-Din said. On a tip off, a team of the legal metrology wing of the
department, seized the bottles containing foreign material, from the
local market, he said adding the company had also been fined twice
earlier for the same offence. The minister directed the officers to ask
the company management to conduct a survey and lift all the contaminated
stocks from the market within two days. Bureau Report |
|
TIRUNELVELI: Soft drink major Coca Cola continues to generate adverse
publicity. The MNC was in the eye of a storm at Plachimada in Palakkad
district of Kerala, where there was stiff opposition to its bottling unit.
The focus has now shifted to Gangaikondan, where a Coca Cola
production unit is fast coming up. The local CPM unit is already up in
arms against the unit, alleging it would deplete the water table in
the region.( Read more... ) |
|
Wilmington, Delaware, US: Strong concerns over Coca-Cola's gross
violations of human rights and depletion of water resources in Colombia
and India dominated the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday,
April 19 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Close to twenty shareholders spoke on behalf of campaigns from India and
Colombia, and Neville Isdell, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola,
resorted to ending the meeting rather than hear from fifteen more
shareholders who were still waiting to speak.( Read more... ) |
|
Plachimada Solidarity Committee
Plachimada, Kannimari, Palakkad, Kerla, India
Phone: 9847142513
The struggle by the indigenous people against the exploitation and
pollution of water of Coca Cola Company at Plachimada completes three
years on 22 April 2005. The Anti Coca Cola Struggle Committee and
Plachimada Solidarity Committee have already firmly declared that the
Cola Company, which has obtained permission to extract 500,000 litres
from the High Court, would not be permitted to operate in Plachimada.
On 22 April 2005 an Anti-Cola People's Confluence is being organised
at Plachimada to commence the next phase of intense agitation with
the support of all people.
( Read more... ) |
|
By HARRY R. WEBER
AP BUSINESS WRITER
ATLANTA -- The Coca-Cola Co. vowed Tuesday to change the perception of
people who still believe it permits abusive practices abroad, a tough
sell to some shareholders who bombarded the world's biggest beverage
company with questions about human rights and water depletion.
( Read more... ) |
|
*Wilmington, Delaware, US:* Students in the United States and the United
Kingdom have made significant gains in the international campaign to
hold Coca-Cola accountable. Student coalitions on college and university
campuses have been focusing efforts to ban the sale of Coca-Cola
products on campuses because of Coca-Cola's adverse human rights, labor
and environmental practices in Colombia and India.
( Read more... ) |
|
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 18:20:29 -0000
From: crbijoy <rights@postmark.net>
Below are translations of some news reports from 'Mathrubhumi'daily
immediately after the high court judgements. This is indicative of the
growing intensity of the protests.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Agitation Against Coca Cola Intensifies
Palakkad: The protest against coca cola is intensifying in the context
of the permission granted by the High Court to Coca Cola to function.
The protesters are firm that the company would not be allowed to
operate even if the authorities make all the arrangements for its
operation. While appeal against the High Court judgement would be
filed in the Supreme Court, the agitation against coca cola would be
intensified. Activists of AIYF would march to Plachimada Coca Cola
plant on Monday.
( Read more... ) |
| » Kerala High court Judgement 7-4-2005 |
|---|
Kerala High court Judgement on 7-4-2005 that allowed coca cola to loot 50000 litre water/day from communities
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (P) Ltd. v. Perumatty Grama Panchayat
(M. Ramachandran & K.P. Balachandran, (JJ)
W.A. No. 2125 of 2003
W.A. No.215 of 2004
W.A. No.1962 of 2003 &
W.P. (C) No. 12600 of 2004
Judgment
Ramachandran J:
( Read more... )
Apr. 17th, 2005 @ 03:38 pm
|
| » Message in a Bottle |
|---|
Alexander Cockburn
The Free Press
April 13, 2005
PLACHIMADA -- Whizzing along the road in the little Tata Indica, driven prestissimo by the imperturbable Sudhi, we crossed the state line from Tamil Nadu into Kerala, branched off the main road and ended up in the settlement of Plachimada, mostly inhabited by extremely poor people. There on one side of the street was the Coca-Cola plant, among the company's largest in Asia, and on the other, a shack filled with locals eager to impart the news that they were now, as of April 2, in Day 1,076 of their struggle against the plant.
( Read more... )
Apr. 13th, 2005 @ 02:11 pm
|
| » UK Students Move Towards Coca-Cola Boycott |
|---|
Federation of Progressive Student Unions
April 11, 2005
Students, on Wednesday, at the National Union of Students (NUS) Annual Conference in Blackpool, overwhelmingly voted to take what could be the first steps to boycott Coca-Cola products from Students' Unions bars and shops. This move, echoing the steps of UNISON, follows strong calls from SOAS, Middlesex, Leeds and Bristol Students' Unions who already have policy to boycott the company from their campuses.
( Read more... )
Apr. 11th, 2005 @ 02:09 pm
|
| » People's movements to launch satyagraha |
|---|
By Our Staff Reporter
http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/11/stories/2005041108460300.htm
THRISSUR, APRIL 10. The environmentalist Medha Patkar has said that
national-level people's movements will launch a Satyagraha to protect the
rights of the people over water, in Thiruvananthapuram from May 1.
( Read more... )
Apr. 10th, 2005 @ 02:06 pm
|
| » Coca-Cola to Hold Talks with Village Council, Community in Plachimada |
|---|
The Hindu
April 9, 2005
PALAKKAD: Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited will hold discussions with the panchayat and local community before taking a decision on reopening the company in the wake of the Kerala High Court order allowing it to draw five lakh litres of ground water daily.
The company spokesman, Vikas Kochar, told The Hindu that the company would take the next step only after holding discussions with the people of the area and studying the High Court judgment in detail.
( Read more... )
Apr. 9th, 2005 @ 02:00 pm
|
| » Court Ruling in India Does Not Allow Re-Opening of Coca-Cola Plant |
|---|
From: Amit Srivastava <a...@indiaresource.org>
Subject: Some points on Plachimada news
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 10:06:57 -0700
Friends:
 I just wanted to clarify something as relates to the current news being reported by media and some NGO's that the High Court of Kerala has allowed Coca-Cola to begin operations at Plachimada.
This is NOT TRUE, and we must ensure that the facts are promoted. We cannot afford to have another round of misinformation going around.
1. The High Court has ruled that Coca-Cola can extract up to 500,000 (5 lakhs) liters of water per day. This does not mean that Coca-Cola has been allowed to resume operations.
2. The High Court has ruled that the Perumatty panchayat (which denied Coke the license) HAS 15 DAYS to reconsider the application. This means that Coca-Cola has to APPLY AGAIN to the Perumatty panchayat for a license to operate.
3. The Perumatty panchayat has made a statement that they will be APPEALING the latest High Court ruling to the Supreme Court. This means that it is very possible that the Supreme Court will now have to hear the
argument before Coca-Cola is allowed to do anything
4. The Coca-Cola Virudh Sangarsh Samiti and the Plachimada Solidarity Committee have issued a statement that they will intensify the community struggle against Coca-Cola, and they are asking the state government
to file an appeal.
5. It is important to note the BOTH the lawyers for the KERALA STATE GOVT and the Perumatty panchayat were arguing before the court that the report (which recommended 5 lakh liters per day) was INADEQUATE, and that
Coca-Cola should not be allowed to draw even that much water. This is significant because the state government's position was the same as the panchayat's.
Please emphasize the above points when speaking with the media and allies.
The initial High Court ruling, on December 16, 2003, was very well written and it proclaimed that even if it was assumed that Coca-Cola could extract water safely, it should not be allowed to do so because "the underground water belongs to the general public and the 2nd respondent [Coca-Cola] has no right to claim a huge share of it and the Government have no power to allow a private party to extract such a huge quantity of ground water, which is a property, held by it in trust."
Thanks
Amit
Apr. 9th, 2005 @ 01:55 pm
|
| » Local body to move Supreme Court in Coke case |
|---|
Palakkad: Firm on its struggle for closure of the Coca Cola plant here, a
panchayat here today said it would move the Supreme Court against Kerala
High Court decision permitting the softdrink plant to draw ground water
from the locality.
President of Janata Dal (S)-controlled Perumatty panchayat A Krishnan said
in a statement that the local body would go in appeal to the apex court
against the high court order allowing the unit to draw ground water not
exceeding five lakh litres a day.( Read more... )
Apr. 8th, 2005 @ 01:53 pm
|
| » Coca-Cola Affected Community in India Promises Escalation of Campaign, Despite Court Ruling |
|---|
Plachimada and New York (April 8, 2005): In a surprising move, a division bench of the High Court of Kerala has permitted Coca-Cola to extract up to 500,000 liters of water from the common groundwater resource per day at its Plachimada facility, in southern India. The bottling plant remains shut down for over a year now due to intense community pressure.
The Perumatty village council (panchayat), which had refused to renew Coca-Cola's license to operate citing it for over-extraction of water, has been given 15 days to reconsider its decision, and Coca-Cola is expected to file for a renewal of the license to the Perumatty panchayat in the next few days.
The High Court ruling is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, and it seems unlikely that Coca-Cola can reopen its plant at Plachimada in the near future.
( Full text of PRESS RELEASE )
Apr. 8th, 2005 @ 01:51 pm
|
| » Comments on Kerala high Court verdict |
|---|
[The High Court has pronounced. Excerpts from an article published in
June-July 2004 is given below as comments to the verdict of the Court
in April 2005]
Two years have already elapsed since the people of the surrounding
villages have set up the picket just across the road opposite the Coca
Cola plant of Plachimada. The local Panchayat, the state government
and the judiciary have been preoccupied in debating how much water
Coca Cola plant should or should not extract, when and from where; are
the allegations sufficiently validated by the authorized agencies; is
the Panchayat exceeding its authority in its decisions regarding the
functioning of Coca Cola. For the people of Plachimada, water is still
not potable, water table has gone down, agriculture has almost
collapsed leading to large scale unemployment, indebtedness has
increased and so too health problems.
............
Conclusion
The question is not wheher the MNCs take their corporate social
responsibility seriously. It is also not whether the MNCs are ready
for and capable of taking over water. It is not also whether
governance, in this case of water, is to be handed over to the
corporates.
Is water for drinking, domestic use and livelihood purposes of the
vast masses primary? Or is water for the privileged resource rich
leisured class is to be accorded priority over the basic needs of the
people? It obviously seems so the way the debates are going on amongst
those who decide and influence decision-making.
The fundamental question is also who has the rights and power for
primary decision-making - the gram sabha, the Panchayat or the State -
the people who continue the agitation, the Panchayat coming in support
of the struggle only after one year after the struggle was launched
and the state still insisting that the Panchayat is overstepping its
authority in the cancellation of license. Water for the people and
therefore their survival is yet to become the issue for the system as
the political-administrative-judicial system is still debating over
jurisdiction of power, the scientific validity of the allegations and
other such dilatory matters being preoccupied with the issue of 'water
for Coca Cola' rather than 'water for the people'!
[Excerpted from: Coca-Cola: The Sparkle of Death by C.R Bijoy
Combat Law, Vol. 3 Issue 2, June-July 2004, pg.48-51.]
Apr. 7th, 2005 @ 01:41 pm
|
| » Coca-Cola gets nod for drawing groundwater |
|---|
Coca-Cola firm gets nod for drawing groundwater
http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/08/stories/2005040802450700.htm
By Our Staff Reporter
KOCHI, APRIL 7. A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court today held
that the Coca-Cola company will be entitled to draw 5 lakh litres of
groundwater a day from its plant at Plachimada in Palakkad without any
right for accumulation in case of non-use.
The Bench comprising Justice M. Ramachandran and Justice K.P.
Balachandran made it clear that the restrictions imposed for the
company's consumption would not be applicable when water is drawn for
additional requirements such as supply of water to people in the area.
The court directed that the company should involve in community
development projects such as healthcare and supply of water for people
in the area.
( Read more... )
Apr. 7th, 2005 @ 01:39 pm
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
stolngeneration![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}