Press release
For release at 10h30, Tuesday April 22 2004


India: Alcan's troubled investments


MONTREAL, APRIL 20th 2004 - Alcan, a Montreal-based multinational corporation is involved in the controversial bauxite mine and alumina refining megaproject «UAIL» in the State of Orissa, India. ALCAN’T IN INDIA is a Montreal solidarity campaign working directly on this issue.

Over the last 12 years, a strong anti-mine movement has developed in the Kashipur region after impacts such as destruction of spiritual sites, agriculture and the environment have been assessed. The December 2000 killing of three tribal activists by police has enraged the local population against the project and its corporate sponsors.

Having visited the people periodically over the last two years, filmmaker Angad Bhalla says: “In December 2000, village leaders of 22 out of the 24 «officially affected» villages passed a motion unequivocally opposing the mine. Alcan on the other hand has been unable to show me any documentation of peoples' alleged support for the project.”

Apart from a non-existant consultation mechanism and a dubious compensation scheme, the project is being criticized for its potential environmental damage. “After having scrutinized Alcan's environmental track record and seen the magnitude of the planned project in the field, it is difficult to believe Alcan representatives claiming that magical new technology will guarantee zero impact” says Montreal independent journalist Frédéric Dubois, who has traveled to Kashipur in February.

Even though Alcan claims the project will not start before a set of criteria has been met, the Economic Times of India reported last week that “Officials in the Orissa government confirmed that [...] (UAIL) has started rehabilitation and resettlement workat the plant and mining sites.”

ALCAN’T IN INDIA’s demands to Alcan before the upcoming AGM are: 1. Proof of pro-mine resolutions passed democratically by the people of affected villages; 2. Public release of Environmental Impact Assessment executed by Indian Engineers Inc; 3. Active participation in a joint commission to publicize the entire contemporary situation on the ground.

“All people are guaranteed the right to decide their own future for which they need access to the right information. Alcan has to stop its arrogance and provide the necessary documents” concludes Abhimanyu Sud, coordinator of ALCAN’T IN INDIA.
For the benefit of shareholders and the general public, the group is planning to ask questions and organize acreative demonstration at Alcan's AGM, thursday April 22nd, 2004.

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For more information:
Abhimanyu Sud
ALCAN’T IN INDIA
alcantinindia@yahoo.com
(514) 398-7432