NBA and Itoiz
From: NBA - 6 Jun 2000
We, the people and activists from the Narmada valley, fighting against the destructive dams on the river Narmada in India, express solidarity with our brethern fighting against the the destructive Itioz dam in the Basque Country. We whole heartedly support for the struggle to save the land, forest and rights of the people in Basque Country. We strongly demand that the people to be affected by any project must have the right to consent or no consent for any project. They must be provided all the information and be given the right to meaningful and decisive participation in the development plan of their area. We also demand that the age old technology and politics of the large dams and displacement-submergence be abandoned in favour of the more contemporary concepts and practices of decentralised water and energy management based on the non-consumerist needs of all, particulalry of the most deprived section of the people.
SOLIDARITY MANIFESTO
Considering the fact that the Itoiz dam is:
- An enormous ecological and social assault;
- An obvious swindle in relation to the true reasons for its construction;
- A clear example of institutional corruption;
- An unjustified massive waste of public money in favour of building firms allied with the political power;
- Blatantly unlawful - the Supreme Court of Spain declared it illegal but at the same time the judges allowed the continuation of the works;
- A serious risk for the safety of the population downstream of the dam, because of the complete lack of stability of the sides of the reservoir;
Our group wants to show solidarity with the long struggle against this macro-project, and especially with the struggle of the Solidari@s con Itoiz, based on non violent public direct action.
We demand:
The immediate halt to the construction of the Itoiz dam, followed by the abandonment of the project; Freedom for the 8 members of the group who carried out the cutting of the cables at the construction site; Full accountablilty and responsibility of the
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
(Movement To Save Narmada River)58, Gandhi Road, Badwani, Madhya Pradesh- 451551 ( ph.07290-22464)
B-13, Shicam Flats, Ellora Park, Baroda, Gujarat-370009
( Ph. 0265-382232 email: narmada@bnpl.com, medhapatkar@vsnl.com, nobigdam@bom4.vsnl.net.in).INDIA.
JUNE 6, 2000
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