| June
20, 2006
Victory and Counterattack in
Kerala
Coca Cola Takes a
Hit
By CounterPunch
Newswire
The
left’s big victory a few weeks ago in the south western Indian
state of Kerala has yielded swift fruit this week in the form of
yet another vigorous rebuff to Coca-Cola. For several years the
vast company’s Indian subsidiary has been trying to reopen
its bottling plant in Plachimada, in Kerala. Locals in Plachimada
initially shut it down in 2002, after seeing their wells run dry,
as described here by Alexander
Cockburn, after he visited Plachimada last year.
The
Plachimada fight has become a rousing symbol of resistance across
India to Coca Cola, a company welcomed in by India’s neoliberals,
who see “modernity” and “progress” in the
sordid business of privatizing a publicly owned asset (water), adding
syrup to it and then selling it back to original users of the water
at an extortionate price. Coca-Cola had been confident that its
clout would soon bring the Plachimada protesters to heel, but resistance
has been spirited and determined, in a decade when public consciousness
of a world water crisis has been growing swiftly.
What
follows is a report relayed to us by Amit Srivastava, of the India
Resource Center.
Trivandrum:
In a major breakthrough for the campaign to hold Coca-Cola accountable,
the newly elected state government of Kerala has assured community
leaders that the government will take proactive measures against
the Coca-Cola bottling plant in south India.
Key
community leaders met with Kerala’s new Chief Minister, Mr.
V. S. Achutanandan, and cabinet members on June 15 and submitted
a memorandum outlining their demands, including the permanent shut
down of the Plachimada bottling plant, compensation to affected
community members and the prosecution of the Coca-Cola company for
criminal offences. The meeting resulted in significant commitments
from the state government towards resolving the crisis.
The
election of the new government in Kerala had been received with
cautious optimism. Mr. Achutanandan has been an outspoken critic
of the Coca-Cola company during his role as the leader of the opposition.
Coca-Cola's
bottling operations in Plachimada have created severe water shortages
for the community and the groundwater and soil have been polluted,
resulting in further hardships to the community.
The
Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada has remained shut down since
March 2004 because of the widespread community opposition to the
plant and the company has suffered a series of setbacks in its attempts
to re-open the factory. The Kerala Pollution Control Board issued
a stop order notice in August 2005 because of high levels of cadmium
and lead in and around the plant.
The
state government of Kerala has also challenged Coca-Cola's right
to extract water to the Supreme Court of India, arguing that water
is being taken from poor communities to produce drinking water for
the rich.
During
the meeting with Chief Minister Mr. V. S. Achutanandan and cabinet
members, the delegation from Plachimada received a number of assurances
from the government including:
•
Mr. V. S. Achutanandan, the Chief Minister, will work closely
with the groups in Plachimada to take necessary steps to resolve
the problems associated with the Coca-Cola bottling plant.
•
Mr. Mullakara Ratnakaram, the Minister for Agriculture, will constitute
an expert committee to assess the impacts of water shortages and
pollution on farmers and the community.
•
Ms. P.K Sreemathy, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare,
who is also in charge of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board
(KSPCB), issued directions to the Director of Health Services
to conduct a comprehensive health camp as an interim measure.
Ms. Sreemathy said she would hold discussions with the Law Department
and KSPCB to explore the possibility of framing criminal charges
against the company under appropriate provisions.
•
Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the Home Minister, issued directions
to withdraw all criminal cases against hundreds of community members
involved in the campaign.
•
Mr. A.K. Balan, Minister for Welfare of Backward & Scheduled
Communities, committed to exploring criminal litigation against
the Coca-Cola company because of the pollution caused by the company
which has disproportionately affected Backward & Scheduled
Communities.
•
Mr. M. Vijayakumar, the Law Minister, will appoint a Special Prosecutor
in the Supreme Court of India to specifically support the state
government's appeal challenging the Coca-Cola company's right
to extract water.
•
Mr. N.K Premachandran, the Water Resource Minister, will follow
up with further action on the notification of Chittur Taluk, where
Plachimada is located. In November 2005, the Kerala government
declared the area of Plachimada as "over-exploited"
in water resources, and as a result, all industries have to obtain
additional clearances from the government to draw groundwater.
"We
are hopeful that we will see the logical conclusion to the Coca-Cola
company's crimes with actions from the new government in Kerala,"
said R. Ajayan of the Plachimada Solidarity Committee.
"The
Kerala state government's pronouncements are welcome. We are committed
to working with the community in Plachimada to ensure that the state
officials live up to their words," said Amit Srivastava of
the India Resource Center, an international campaigning organization.
The
delegation from Plachimada struggle consisted of Veloor Swaminathan,
Mylamma, Vilayodi Venugopal and Mariappan of the Anti Coca-Cola
Struggle Committee and R. Ajayan of the Plachimada Solidarity Committee.
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