Ana səhifə

Green Earth Movement


Yüklə 0.89 Mb.
səhifə7/10
tarix26.06.2016
ölçüsü0.89 Mb.
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10


Massive new mine will harm thousands, say NGOs

New report says indigenous rights are at stake


Bong Fabe, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, June 24, 2013



Asia’s biggest copper and gold open-pit mining project run by Glencore-Xstrata of Switzerland threatens the livelihoods and rights of thousands of indigenous people in restive Mindanao, according to a new report.
The study by Swiss and German aid agencies MISEREOR, the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund and Bread for All found that the contentious Tampakan mining project will lead to the destruction of large pristine forests, threaten the local water supply and lead to the resettlement of about 5,000 indigenous people.
"[The] human rights to self-determination of indigenous peoples, to food, water, health, life and physical integrity are at stake," the study said.

Sagittarious Mines Inc (SMI), the Glencore-Xstrata subsidiary which operates the mine, has contravened its obligation to due diligence and shown “insufficient respect for the rights of the affected populations,” it added.

There was no immediate response from Glencore-Xstrata or its Australian subsidiary Xstrata Copper which holds a 62.5-percent stake in SMI.

The $5.9-billion investment spanning 9,500 hectares and four provinces around General




Santos City is scheduled to begin operations in 2019 amid years of disagreements and a ban on open-pit mining in South Cotabato, one of the provinces of the concession.

The five tribal communities who live in the area have accused Xstrata of employing militias backed by state forces to commit atrocities including murder against opponents of the mine.

In September, Human Rights Watch issued a statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva as part of a periodic review of the Philippines over rights violations allegedly inflicted by paramilitary units on indigenous groups including concerns related to the Tampakan project.

A month later, soldiers allegedly opened fire on the house of Daniel Capion, a B’laan tribal leader and opponent of the mine, killing his pregnant wife and two sons. Soldiers have been charged over the killings.

Lenten Fund human rights expert Daniel Hostettler said in a statement that "a mix of government failure, a poor and marginalized population and armed conflicts are the worst possible preconditions for operating an open-cast mine of these dimensions."

Howls of protest over China's dog meat festival


Annual event draws increasing condemnation


Onlookers laugh as an animal rights activist kneels to apologize to cooked dogs in a Yulin market


The people of Yulin city in Guangxi province have been looking forward to today’s summer solstice, as they do every year, for this is the time when they enjoy a festival devoted to the pleasures of eating dog meat.

A traditional hotpot of the meat served with lychees and strong grain liquor is a treat that is especially relished. At any time of year, dog meat is commonly served and considered nutritious in Guanxi and Guangdong provinces, especially in rural areas.

But each year the festival draws increasingly loud protests from animal protection advocates, to such an extent that even some of the locals now admit to having mixed feelings about the practice.

More than 20 groups across China have been campaigning against the festival throughout June, claiming that it flies in the face of world trends on animal protection and that the meat consumed does not go through correct food inspection processes.


The festival’s notoriety rocketed last


year when blogs and media worldwide relayed images of dogs in cages waiting to be slaughtered and canine corpses piled on roadsides.

“It’s cruel and inhumane to kill tens of thousands of dogs for a festival,” one resident told ucanews.com. “Dog is man’s best friend, it shouldn’t be a dish on the table.”  

She added that “some people even kill the dogs they raised as guard dogs. I still remember how my uncle killed his dog with a hoe. That horrified me.”

But a young member of the local seminary offered a different view.

“We eat other livestock, so why not dogs?” he said. “It just depends on people’s mindset whether eating dog is uncivilized. For me, it’s no more unusual than eating pork.”

However, he did add that there are reports linking mental disorders and epilepsy with eating the meat and advised that it is wise not to eat it without knowing its provenance. “For safety and hygiene’s sake, we prefer dogs reared by the local villagers,” he said.

Jumbo photo op


Mumbai Mirror | Jun 27, 2013


Photographer sets out to capture the charge of the elephants on the outskirts of Bangalore, and stumbles upon a...


It all happened in a span of three to five minutes, with 30 frames and at an alarming distance of 30 feet from the huge elephant. Risking his life, K S Sridhar, senior photographer of Vijaya Karnataka captured frameby-frame Muniraju's tryst with neardeath.

While photographers were busy capturing the herds of elephants that had strayed in to the concrete jungle on the outskirts of Bangalore, Sridhar decided that he would get something fabulous and that exclusive shot. Along with the locals, he crossed the dangerous boundary and entered the core area where the herd was spotted. He was chased, ran for life, but looked back to find a helpless Muniraju at the mercy of a furious, female elephant. Sridhar recalls those moments...

"Equipped with Nikon D300 camera fitted with 80x 200 lens, I headed to Huskur lake around 10.30 am to click the pachyderms. When I reached there, curious bystanders were being chased away by cops. I learnt that the herd was behind some trees. I befriended a local villager who took me deep inside the forest on his bike. To my surprise, a crowd had gathered further inside the forest. We stopped there. I told everyone around to switch off their mobile phones and not to make noise as elephants are very sensitive to sound. I saw over a dozen elephants about 30 feet away.

But the silence was broken when a mobile phone began ringing. Even as I was clicking, I could see the elephant moving quickly in our direction. I was in two minds: whether to take a risk and take more



photographs or RUN. I began withdrawing, but turned around periodically to take a few shots.

It was all going well till one of the fleeing villagers fell. Muniraju got up and tried to run as fast as his legs could take him, but he could not outrun the elephant. As he stumbled again, before he could get up, the elephant hadpicked him up with its trunk.

For a moment, I thought it was the end for Muniraju.

However, Muniraju seems to have been in the good books of Lady Luck. The elephant stepped into a ditch and seemed distracted. The animal loosened its grip on Muniraju who fell down.

I could not believe my eyes, but now my dilemma was whether to click pictures or save Muniraju's life. I decided quickly. Along with some other villagers, I started screaming while others pelted stones to scare the elephants. The move worked as the elephant moved away giving us an opportunity to rescue Muniraju.

Everyone rushed towards Muniraju. The first thing they checked was whether he was alive. He was unconscious, but alive. The entire sequence of events took place in a span of five minutes and Sridhar had captured what he could in 30 frames Other villagers sprinkled water and revived Muniraju while Sridhar came back with a lifetime of photographs.

And, a story that he will never tire of narrating.




Chavan to face people on Facebook



Mumbai, Jun 29 (IANS): Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is smiling on a new territory, social networking site Facebook &ndash, an official said here Saturday.

Through Facebook, an attempt will be made to bring the technocrat-turned-politician's achievements and governance directly to the people and seek their comments and suggestions, the official said. Though he went online last week during the relief operations in Uttarakhand, the government waited for the public response before announcing the initiative.

"We were truly overwhelmed by the response in the past one week and decided to officially announce it today," the official told IANS. A team of officials from the state's IT department and the chief minister's office will regularly monitor Chavan's Facebook account - https://www.facebook.com/PrithvirajChavan.Official - and keep him updated on the reactions and comments posted by the people.

"Whenever possible, we shall reply on his behalf and draw his attention to important issues. However, it is not intended to serve as a complaint box but more as a tool to interact with the general public," the official explained.

A modest beginning has been made with a smiling picture of Chavan, his recent rescue efforts in Uttarakhand, some important public engagements and policy announcements. Prominent chief ministers on Facebook include Kerala's Oomen Chandy and Gujarat's Narendra Modi.


Mumbai: Thousands bid tearful adieu to braveheart Darryl Castelino

Rons Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai



1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10


Verilənlər bazası müəlliflik hüququ ilə müdafiə olunur ©atelim.com 2016
rəhbərliyinə müraciət