Protest against the Destruction of Livelihoods and the Environment by the World Bank and the WTO
More than 300 Adivasis [i.e. indigenous peoples] from the Indian state ofMadhya Pradesh, representing all mass-based Adivasi movements, jumped overthe fence of the World Bank building on the 24th of November at 12:00. Theyblocked the building, covering it with posters, grafitti, cow shit and mud,sang slogans and traditional songs at the gate, and went back only after Mr.Lim, country director of the World Bank in India, went out to receive anopen letter signed by all their movements.
The letter, reproduced below, denounces the destructive impact of World Bankinvestments in forestry and of the liberalisation in timber productsenshrined in the WTO system, which range from the commodification anddestruction of the forests to increasing violence, rape and assassinations.The letter also clearly states their stand in relation to theseinstitutions: "We fought against the British and we will fight against thenew form of colonialism that you represent with all our might."
The attempts of the country director of the World Bank to deliver a speechwere refused by the Adivasis, who said that after talking with World Bankofficials for the last 5 years they had concluded that such 'dialogues' hadthe only objective of betraying, misleading and deceiving the Adivasis whilepushing through commercial and industrial interests.
Adivasi organisations in Madhya Pradesh have repeatedly denounced the highlydestructive, so-called 'eco-development' programmes that the World Bank hasbeen funding for the last five years in their forests. Those programmesinvolve the violent forced eviction of Adivasis from their lands (where allmeans of force were used, including several killings), which as so manyother aspects of the 'eco-development' programmes of the WB goes against theOperational Directives of the Bank, as well as a remarkably awkwardcombination of bans on the activities on which Adivasis have based theirlivelihoods since millennia (shifting cultivation, fishing, extraction offorest produce, etc.) on 'environmental grounds', combined with theliberalisation of commercial activities to 'make conservation a goodbusiness'. A great business not for the Adivasis, but for the corruptadministrative system exploiting the forest and the commercial andindustrial interests behind this sort of 'eco-development'. Hence, theAdivasi communities see themselves forced to buy in the market the productsthat they are not anymore allowed to extract from their forests.
The other target of the action was the WTO regime, an increasingly importanttool for the interests that are destroying the lives of indigenous peoplesall over the world. The attempts to include in the WTO system a newagreement aimed at boosting timber extraction and trade were highlighted,and the Adivasis expressed their determination to fight against it.
The open letter to the President of the World Bank concludes:
"For the World Bank and the WTO, our forests are a marketable commodity. Butfor us, the forests are a home, our source of livelihood, the dwelling ofour gods, the burial grounds of our ancestors, the inspiration of ourculture. We do not need you to save our forests. We will not let you sellour forests. So go back from our forests and our country."
Pictures of the action will soon be available at the PGA website,(http://www.agp.org). In the next months more background information on thisissue will be slowly added to that webpage.
PLEASE WRITE TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK DEMANDING AN IMMEDIATE ENDTO ALL THE SO-CALLED 'ECO-DEVELOPMENT' PROGRAMMES IN THE FORESTRY AREA ININDIA. REMIND HIM THAT THE OPERATIONAL DIRECTIVES OF THE WORLD BANK HAVEBEEN GROSSLY VIOLATED AND COUNTLESS ATROCITIES HAVE BEEN LINKED TO THEIMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PROJECTS, WHICH ONLY LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THEFORESTS THAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT AND OF THE INDIGENOUS CULTURESTHAT HAVE SINCE MILENNIA LIVED IN COMPLETE BALANCE WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT.The name of the World Bank President is James D. Wolfensohn and his addressis The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433 U.S.A. Pleasesend copies of the letters to
OPEN LETTER
To the President of the World Bank:
We, the tribal people of India, demand that the World Bank immediately stopits attempts to take over our forests. The Madhya Pradesh Forestry Projectand other such projects only intensify the colonial takeover of our foreststhat began with British rule in our country. We fought the British and wewill fight the new form of colonialism that you represent with all ourstrength.
For us the MPFP and other such projects have meant an increasing threat toour rights over our land, our rights to extraction of forest produce, theloss of our grazing lands our fishing rights. It has meant increasingviolence against our people. It has deliberately attempted to fosterconflicts among our people in the old colonial tradition of 'divide andrule'. It has endorsed rape in Hoshangabad, killings in Khandwa, the burningdown of homes and fields in Mandla and Dindori, beatings, extortion, andcriminal cases against our people when they have attempted to protect theirrights and livelihood.
You know nothing about our forest or about how we have lived in them forcenturies. You did not even consult us before you devised the MPFP and otherforestry projects. You have never bothered to ask us how we have beenaffected by your projects. But with unforgivable arrogance you areattempting to take away our rights over our forests on the grounds that itis we who are destroying the forests that are our home, our source oflivelihood. Even though it is so well known that it is the commercial andindustrial interests that you represent that have destroyed our forests.
Our forests can only be saved by us, the people of the forests. You knowthat. That is why you talk of 'Joint Forest Management'. But your 'JointForest Management' is a sham - a ruse that you use to pretend that you haveour consent when you wrest our forests from us.
Your Operational Directives assure us that you will seek our consent andfully informed participation in your projects. They assure us that yourprojects will not affect us adversely. You have betrayed that promise andviolated your own Operational Directives. You have repeatedly ignored ourprotests. We agreed to participate in a Joint Mission with you in thisregard, but you abandoned the Mission when it became clear that your projecthas so seriously violated our rights.
We know that in the Seattle Round of the WTO, there is a plan to hand overour forests to commercial and industrial interests. We will resist this too,with all our might. For the World Bank and the WTO, our forests are amarketable commodity. But for us, the forests are a home, our source oflivelihood, the dwelling of our gods, the burial grounds of our ancestors,the inspiration of our culture. We do not need you to save our forests. Wewill not let you sell our forests. So go back from our forests and our country.
On behalf of our people:* Ekta Parishad, Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) and Orissa* Adivasi Mukti Sangathan, M.P.* Shramik Adivasi Sangathan, M.P.* Kisan Adivasi Sangathan, M.P.* Jan Van Andolan, M.P.* Pench National Park Sangharsha Samiti, M.P.* Bandhavagash Rashtriya Udyan Sangharsha Sangathan, M.P.* Sanjay Rashtriya Udyan Sangharsha Samiti, M.P.* Sitanadi Abhayaranya Sangharsha Samiti, M.P.* Nagarhole Restoration Movement, Karnataka* Vikalpa, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.)* Mazdoor Morcha, U.P.* Ghat Kshetra Samiti, U.P.* Kalpavriksha, Delhi* Samajwadi Jan Parishad* Narmada Bachao Andolan* National Alliance of People's Movements* Centre for Law and the Environment, New Delhi* Coorg Organisation for Rural Development, Karnataka* Budakattu Krishikara Sangha, Karnataka *******************
Press Release
The forestry projects funded by the World Bank and other internationalagencies are a part of a major conspiracy to take over our forests and denythe basic rights of tribals. In the last five years, forestry projects havebeen initiated in nearly all the states of India. The secretly planned $32billion National Forestry Action Plan would also be funded by internationalagencies. On the one hand, these forestry programmes are undertaken in thename of conserving forests, wildlife and the biodiversity and on the on theother hand in the Seattle round the same agencies plan to introduce a newagenda to open up native forests to logging and to weaken environmentalprotection in the interests of multinational companies. All this is a partof the destructive process of globalization which is driving tribals out ofthe forests and reducing their rights to them. These were the conclusionsreached in the two day meeting on "Debt in the Forestry Sector: its Impacton the Forests, the Tribals and the Economy" organised by the mass andtribal organizations of Madhya Pradesh on 22nd and 23rd November, 1999. On24th November, a demonstration was organised against the World Bank at itsDelhi office in which hundreds of tribals from Madhya Pradesh as well asother human rights activists registered their protest against the WorldBank's interference in our forests. "World Bank go back" and "our forestsbelong to us" were some of the slogans through which the tribals expressedtheir anger against the World Bank. Ekta Parishad, Adivasi Mukti Sangathan,Shramik Adivasi Sangathan, Kisan Adivasi Sangathan, Narmada Bachao Andolanand other organizations participated in the demonstration. Besides theseorganizations from Madhya Pradesh, representatives from the NationalAlliance of People's Movements and organizations from Orissa. Bihar, UttarPradesh, Maharashtra and activists from Delhi also participated in thedemonstration. The World Bank funded Madhya Pradesh Forestry Project wasspecially focussed upon. This massive project worth Rs. 800 crores is basedon the unproven premise that in order to protect and conserve the foreststhe dependence of forests dwellers on them be reduced to the minimum. Inreality such programmes are an attempt to separate tribals from the forests,a process beneficial to neither. The ongoing MPFP has violated the basiclivelihood rights of tribals as well as the World Bank's own OperationalDirective 4.20 in this regard. It has also increased atrocities on tribals.This is evident from the report of the joint mission of the representativesof the World Bank, the M.P. Forest department and the mass and tribalorganizations of M.P. The sudden and unexplained withdrawal of the WorldBank and the M.P. forest department from the mission in its final stages andthe continuation of the MPFP without resolving the problems investigated bythe mission has revealed the World bank's hypocrisy. The World Bank'soft-expressed concern for people's participation, joint forest management,transparency and tribal welfare have all proved to be a major farce. In thename of joint forest management the MPFP has led to serious village levelconflict in line to the British policy of divide and rule. For the last fiveyears the mass and tribal organizations of M.P. have raised their voices atall levels within the state against the Project, the present forest policyand atrocities against the tribal, but all in vain. We are now compelled tointensify our struggle in Delhi.
Besides denying their basic rights to livelihood the project has led to anincrease in atrocities among tribals. In Dainala village of the Gurungpurforest division of Khandwa district and at Katukia village of Bagli forestdivision of Devaas district, tribals have been shot dead by the forestdepartment. In Mandla and Dindhori districts the hutments and crops of"primitive" Baiga tribals were burnt down and they were beaten and jailed.In Hoshnagabad district, a Ranger who repeatedly raped a tribal girl has notonly not been punished but has been rewarded with a foreign trip under theMPFP. Harassment and criminal cases against tribals who attempt to protecttheir rights are common allover the state.
At the WTO Seattle conference there is a plan to clear the way forexploitation of the forests by multinationals. There is a plan to grab theforests from the people of the third world countries and to entrap them inthe form of the "globalization" which is detrimental to their basicinterests but tribals and other forests dwellers as well as theirrepresentative organisation has pledged to fight the interference of theWorld Bank and other international agencies and their forests and unlike anelected government refuse to become pawns in their hands.
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Sergio Oceransky sergio@artamis.org
"someone said that fighting neoliberalism was like fighting the law of gravity. Well then, down with the law of gravity !"Subcomandante Marcos.
This page last updated November 28, 1999
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