Bhubaneswar, March 1, 2009: Environmental organisation Greenpeace has served a legal notice for defamation against Oriya daily Samaj, web portal orissadiary.com and the newspaper Nayabati. The notice is in response to a front page article in the Samaj’s Friday February 27, 2009 edition, and a version of the same which appeared on web portal orissadiary.com and in Nayabati on February 28, 2009. The Samaj article had alleged that Greenpeace (and other well known organizations working for turtle protection) have been infiltrated by terrorist elements, who might be considering and planning an attack under the guise of environmental protection. In its notice to the Samaj, Greenpeace has demanded an unconditional public apology and retraction and damages to the extent of Rs. 10 Crores within a period of 7 days, failing which it will approach the judiciary system and courts to seek a resolution on the same.
“It is disquieting that such a libelous and blatantly false article can appear without anyone questioning it. To label organizations working for the protection of Orissa’s environment and wildlife as terrorists or having terror links is not just libel, it is also clearly the work of people who do not have the best interests of the state or the country at heart. We are calling on the management of Samaj to conduct an enquiry into how this article was published, issue a public apology and name the parties responsible”, said Samit Aich, Executive Director, Greenpeace India.
Greenpeace has been active in Orissa for several years, working to bring about solutions to the conflict between fisheries and turtle protection, protect the rights of the small fisher communities to their dwindling resources, and bring about a vision of sustainable development that does not jeopardize the environmental sustainability of the state, or the livelihoods of those that depend directly on the environment. This work has seen the organization consistently confront powerful adversaries, as it has pressured the state government to take action on various issues, and also opposed some industrial projects, most notably the Dhamra port (promoted by TATA Steel and L&T), for their environmental and livelihood impacts.
Greenpeace is a 38 year old organization, and holds the Gandhian ideal of non-violent protest as a founding principle, even though the organisation and its members have suffered violence at the hands of governments and corporations around the world. Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and
conserve the environment and to promote peace. Greenpeace is present globally through 28 independent national/regional offices in over 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. To maintain its independence, the organisation does not accept funding from corporations, governments or political parties, but relies on the support of thousands of individuals, who care for a cleaner and greener planet. In this way, Greenpeace has over 3 million supporters globally, and over 100,000 supporters in India.
“This is clearly an underhanded attempt to malign Greenpeace’s reputation, by vested interests who care only for profits and nothing for the truth or for the preservation of the fragile biodiversity of Orissa. Greenpeace will not be cowed down by such dirty tactics, we will continue to stand up for what is right and for a just and sustainable Orissa for this and future generations,” added Mr. Aich.
For more information, contact
Saumya Tripathi, Communications Officer, Greenpeace India Saumya.tripathi@greenpeace.org +91 93438 62212
Sanjiv Gopal, Oceans Campaign, Greenpeace India, sgopal@greenpeace.org, +91-98455 35416.
This post is tagged greenpeace, legal, orissa
