ActionAid, in India and in the UK, have been working with the Kondh people for several years to try and stop Vedanta from mining at Niyamgiri. This year we pulled out all the stops for Vedanta’s annual general meeting (AGM) in London on July 27th.

Sitaram Kulisika, a representative of the Kondh, came to London to speak out on behalf of his people. Accompanied by Bratindi Jenna from ActionAid India, he came to challenge Vedanta’s chairman directly at the AGM. Sitaram also gave press interviews, met several shareholders individually and spoke to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights about why the UK government must do more to regulate business practice overseas.  

In addition to supporting the Kondh in confronting the company, the aim of all our activity was to try and stop the mine by putting pressure on the company and the Indian government, who have the ability to stop it. Our strategy was to highlight the strength of opposition to the mine to the company and shareholders, and use media coverage in the UK and particularly in India to embarrass the company publically. We did this by:

•    Attendance at the AGM: Sitaram, Bratindi, Bianca Jagger and two ActionAid UK staff attended and asked questions
•    Protest outside of the AGM: Around 80 people led by ActionAid but supported by other NGOs stood outside the AGM as investors arrived, chanting, waving banners, and admiring the yellow JCB digger we hired to grab attention and provide a great photo backdrop
•    High visibility spokespeople: Bianca Jagger, Nitin Sawhney (a well known musician) and Diane Abbott MP all came to the protest and gave interviews.
•    Mock up image: we did a spoof photo of Stonehenge being demolished to bring the issue alive and echo the St Paul’s image from last year.

The media response in the UK was amazing. The BBC and Guardian have covered the story extensively, online, in print and via TVC. Stories posted on wire services have been picked up around the world. In India, all of the major newspapers carried the story. This coverage was also supported by a candlelit vigil held by ActionAid India in Delhi. Finally, we provided extensive coverage for our supporters via the website and twitter.

See it here.
And follow the days events in the online media here.