**Severe police violence against the peoples of Kashipur who oppose a
major mining project proposed by Alcan Inc. MUST STOP IMMEDIATLY.**

Contents of this message:
1) Urgent Information on Kashipur, India.
2) Taking immediate action, what you can do about it.
3) Sample letter to Alcan officers and Orissa Chief Minister
4) Background info

1) Urgent Information:
**A variety of recent reports claim that despite the peoples' clear
resistance, MORE ARMED POLICE HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE KASHIPUR REGION,
and that the Collector and Police Superintendents are residing with the
police platoons in the nearby town of Tikiri**. Police have been reported to
be arresting and harassing people indiscriminantly, including farmers
returning from their fields. At the same time, thousands of people
throughout the state are rallying against the police repression and the
corporate encroachment on their lands. This rallying will culminate on
Tuesday December 7th, where peoples from across the state will be
demonstrating against this severe police violence serving foreign
corporate interests. Likewise, as has been the case every year since
2000, the peoples will be marking "Kashipur Martys' Day" on December
16th with huge anti-mining, and anti-police violence rallies.

**IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THESE DEMONSTRATIONS WILL RESULT IN MUCH
MORE SEVERE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PEOPLES WHO HAVE BEEN BRAVE ENOUGH TO
IDENTIFY THE STATE AND COMPANIES AS UNJUST ENCROACHERS ON THEIR LAND.**

Our immediate efforts here in Montreal, and in North America in
general, can very much help to mitigate this possible violence on the 7th and
16th of December.

2) TAKE ACTION.

a) Write to Alcan Inc by email UPON IMMEDIATE RECEPTION OF THIS MESSAGE
with your concerns about this recent wave of police violence unleashed
on the adivasis (indigenous peoples) and dalits (low cast peoples) of
Kashipur, Orissa, India. Sample letter below.

Please write to:
Michael Hanley, Alcan CEO of Bauxite and Alumina at
<michael.hanley@alcan.com>
and CC the message to:
Alcan CEO Travis Engen at <travis.engen@alcan.com>
Chief Minister of Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik at cmo@ori.nic.in

b) CALL MICHAEL HANLEY at 08h00-10h00 EST on Monday morning at the
number: +1 514 848 8487 (given the time difference, it will already be late
night on the eve of the December 7th rallies in Orissa), and ask him to do
everything in his power as an officer of Alcan, holding a 45% share in
this project, to stop all violence against the peoples of Kashipur.

LET US KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE TAKEN ACTION
Please bcc alcantinindia@yahoo.com, or send us an e-mail after you have
contacted Michael Hanley.

3) Sample letter

**SAMPLE LETTER TO ALCAN**

To,
Michael Hanley
President and CEO, Bauxite and Alumina, Alcan Inc.
Montreal, Canada
Email: michael.hanley@alcan.com

CC
Travis Engen
President and CEO, Alcan Inc.
Montreal, Canada
Email: travis.engen@alcan.com

Shri Naveen Patnaik
Chief Minister - Orissa
Bhubaneswar, India

Subject: Halt immediately brutal police action on peoples of Kashipur,
Orissa.

December, 2004

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to you to bring to your attention our grave concerns
regarding brutal police action against tribals in Kashipur Orissa in
the last few days. You must be aware of the problems in Kashipur and
surrounding areas of Orissa where adivasi and dalit communities have
been agitating against your proposed bauxite mine and alumina refinery. The
communities have been greatly concerned about the destruction of their
livelihoods, communities and environment by this proposed project.
Despite repeated requests from the tribal communities to stop
The projects, the state government has recently stepped up its efforts
to initiate the Utkal Alumina International Ltd. (UAIL) project in which
you hold a 45% share. The state government is now using police force to
start the bauxite mine and alumina refinery by violent means. In the past
such use of police force has, as I am sure you are aware, resulted in the
killing of three unarmed adivasis and serious injury of several others.

On Dec 1st, 2004 the district administration led by the Collector Dr. P
K Meherda and the Superintendent of Police, accompanied by over 500 armed
police,had gone to Karal village to inaugurate the approach road to
your proposed bauxite mine on Baphlimali (from Totaguda to Paikokupakhal). A
police outpost and a barrack for armed police in Karal were also to be
inaugurated. Clearly the state as well as the companies involved are
aware of the massive local opposition to your proposed project, given
that it can not be initiated before establishing an intimidating police
presence.

This inauguration was opposed by around 400 tribals, mostly women. In
response, the police intimidated them with blank firings, and
then resorted to a massive and indiscriminate lathi charge. The lathi
charge took place at 3:00 PM. As per the reports, the tribals were
beaten up badly. Around 16 people have been critically injured and three
tribal women were still unconscious three and a half hours later. It has also
come to our notice that people critically injured in the police lathi
charge have not been taken for treatment to hospital but have instead
been arrested and taken to Rayagada Jail. The critically injured persons,
including dalit leader Saroj Naik, have been denied hospital care and
so are now languishing in Rayagada jail.

As you are well aware, the State Government has consistently tried to
suppress the people's movement against your proposed mining project by
resorting to strong police action, which culminated in the killing of
three tribals. The killing was due to irresponsible police action,
opening fire against unarmed villagers at Maikanch on December 16, 2000. The
Justice P.K. Mishra Commission, set-up to enquire about the Maikanch
police firing, clearly identified the officers culpable for the
incidence, though no action has been taken against these identified officers. At
this time, Alcan was already a shareholder in
UAIL. The most recent incidents of December 1, 2004 are very similar in
nature, intending to suppress the movement of the people demanding
their rights.

These past and recent demonstrations of police brutality against
opponents of your mining project have drawn the attention of various news media
in India and Canada, and is being monitored by various Indian, Canadian
and International NGOs.

Now, your company has a 45% share in UAIL. This severe police violence
is being perpetrated in order to initiate as soon as possible your bauxite
extraction and alumina refining project. I demand that as a
responsible and respectful corporation, you immediately denounce these outrageous
actions of the Orissa state government. I demand that
you do everything in your power to stop the forceful and violent
implementation of UAIL activities in the region of Kashipur. The
people are intending to demonstrate against these police actions on Tuesday
December 7th. As such, we expect that you will contact your Indian
partners and the appropriate government officials IMMEDIATELY to make
it clear that you will not accept violence against the people of Kashipur
on this day, or any other day, for the establishment of UAIL.

Sincerely,

4) Background info

Alcan't in India solidarity campaign, with urgent news from the
Kashipur region of Orissa, India. In this region, several companies, including
Alcan Inc. of Montreal, are hoping to establish huge bauxite mines and
alumina refineries, at the cost of the livelihoods of thousands of
indigenous and low-caste peoples who live in the areas. These local
peoples have consistently demonstrated their opposition to this project
through legal channels as well as through mass public mobilizations.
However, the government of Orissa is bent on initiating these
mega-industry projects even though the projects offer little in the way
of employment, development or even tax revenue for the state.

During the last week of November 2004, politicians and bureaucrats held
an all party meeting requesting that the Alcan mining project be launched
at any cost and the opposition be suppressed.

On December 1st, under the direct command and in the presence of the
District Collector (high-level bureaucrat) and Police Superintendent,
hundreds of armed police tear-gassed, brutally attacked, and critically
injured 16 indigenous peoples, most of them women, near the village of
D-Karal.

Through violent and direct police repression, the Orissa government was
attempting to forcibly inaugurate an approach road and police outpost
for the proposed bauxite mine and alumina refinery of which Montreal's
Alcan Inc. has a 45 percent share. Around 400 local indigenous people had
gathered to prevent the activities of these violent state encroachers,
as part of their continuing efforts to protect their lands and
livelihoods.

After the December 1st attacks, many people are missing and are
believed to be in secret police custody. Several reports further claim that
many of the victims, although sustaining severe injuries, are not receiving
any medical attention while in detention.

Both past and recent events demonstrate that this police violence is a
conscious program of the Orissa government in support of the
Alcan-backed aluminum project. As reported by the state-wide daily "Dharitri" on
November 25, the Chief Minister (head of state) of Orissa, Shri Naveen
Patnaik, gave clear instructions to state bureaucrats and police
superintendents that all anti-mining movements must be firmly
suppressed.

Furthermore, these recent attacks come on the eve of the fourth
commemoration of the killings of three indigenous villagers who dared
to speak out against the destructive mining project.

On December 16, 2000 Anhilas, Damodar, and Raghunath Jhodia were shot
Dead by heavily armed state police who attacked their village after local
people held a massive anti-mining meeting. Finally, as far back as
1998, village leader Mangta Majhi was effectively killed by police when they
arrested him, severely beat him, and then allowed him to return home to
die.

Alcan has previously denied culpability regarding police violence in
Kashipur. The explicit nature of this December 1 incident, involving
attempts to build an approach road and police outpost whose only
purpose would be for the development Alcan's proposed aluminum project,
directly call into question this Canadian company's claims of non-culpability
and
likewise its claims that this project is still only in its "conceptual"
and "development" stages. Recent reports from India claim that the
state government is attempting to establish the mine and refinery by January
2005, which is a full year earlier than Alcan was claiming the project
would need to APPROVED by its own board of directors.

Please help us to stop this indiscriminant and severe police violence
against the peoples of Kashipur, who are fighting just to protect their
livelihoods. Write TODAY to Alcan and call them early Monday morning.

In solidarity,
Alcan't in India
alcantinindia@yahoo.com
www.saanet.org/alcant