Fassett-Carman has been a volunteer representative for Corporate Accountability International since it began in Minneapolis in the 1980s under the name Infact. CAI has been involved in several large-scale campaigns to increase corporate responsibility around the world. The organization recently joined a growing campaign against Coca-Cola, and this nonviolent march across India was a major event in the effort. CAI held a press conference in Minneapolis City Hall last Tuesday to publicly discuss Coke’s effects in India. As onlookers gathered, speakers explained that Indian villages where Coca-Cola bottling plants are located are experiencing substantial water crises, pollution and adverse health effects, while being provided minimal compensation from Coke.
Speakers at the event included: Preeti Rajpal, student leader of University of Minnesota’s Physicians for Human Rights; Wendy Fassett, Chair of CAI Board of Directors; Joanne Tromiczak-Neid of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet; Sanat Mohanty of the Minnesota Association for Indian Development; and Steve Sarno, Minneapolis CAI Organizer.
The 10-day march began at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ballia. It was slated to end with a protest at a bottling plant across the country, in Mehdiganj. But the protest was stopped short outside of Mehdiganj—near the holy city of Varanasi, known for its connections to Gandhi and peace studies.
There, the group
of over 1,000 men, women and children were faced with armed police. “We
never made it to the Coke plant because the Varanasi police blocked the march
right before we got there,” said Fassett-Carman. “At that point,
everybody just sat down. The standoff went on for several hours, with people
speaking about nonviolent civil disobedience. Eventually some of the protesters
got tired of sitting and started to walk into the police line, and the police
had a rope to hold back the protesters. People slowly pushed the line, but
the police just began hitting people with lathi [batons]. The whole thing became
very violent.” When Fassett-Carman left to return to Minnesota on Thursday, 350 protesters had been arrested and taken into Varanasi, where they claim to have been assaulted while held in overnight detention. He said the protesters voiced their rights to be seen by a medical examiner, but police refused, and 200 protesters were released without an official record of their arrests or of police abuse.
Although Coca-Cola representatives have not responded to inquiries or made any formal statements about the protest, activists in the United States and India say the violence appears to be a result of their ongoing presence in India. As Fassett-Carman explained, “Three regional managers of Coke are to be charged with bribing the police to protect them, as there was no other reason for the police to be outside of the Coke plant; no one in our group was trying to trespass onto Coke’s property.”
Ironically, activists claim, Coca-Cola used this multi-organizational campaign to advertise its product, and to denounce claims made by activists like Fassett-Carman. According to Bobby Ramakant, spokesperson for India’s National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), the campaign sparked a publicity effort by Coke. At last week’s march, says Ramakant, a Coca-Cola vehicle drove ahead of the protesters and distributed promotional flyers. “The number of advertisements released in the local newspapers has also risen radically. What has made Coca-Cola spend so many lakhs of rupees to negate the impact of a padyatra [nonviolent protest]?” Ramakant asks.
Questionable corporate practices like these are what brought CAI and other organizations into India earlier this year. The situation is nothing new to Indian villagers, though. Ever since Coca-Cola brought its first bottling plant to the country, Indians have experienced water shortages and pollution from solid waste. With over 70 percent of Indians relying on agriculture for their livelihood, this is devastating to communities and local farmers. Rajpal also points out significant health problems resulting from water loss and pollution. As their local wells become dry, Rajpal explains, “people who normally rely on those supplies are forced to use alternative sources like rivers. Many of those rivers are unfit for human use, and outbreaks of diseases like cholera are not uncommon.”
Sanat Mohanty is a CAI activist and chemical engineer based in the Twin Cities. According to Mohanty, Coca-Cola is responsible for a significant loss of community water. “In the south-Indian state of Kerala, Coke was drying out a lot of water from the community— about a million liters per day. The water level was falling, so the community went to court.” The high court of Kerala eventually concluded last year that Coke must decrease its water usage. Despite appealing the decision, Coca-Cola was forced to shut down their facility after the local council refused to renew Coke’s license. This signaled one of the first successes for Indian activists and farmers alike.
And, says Mohanty, Coke’s actions aren’t just threatening Indian health – they’re breaking the law. “Coke has fudged around its numbers and did not pay the government 17.5 million rupees as tax. Also, the land Coke is using [for its Mehdiganj plant] belongs to the village of Mehdiganj, and the village head went on record November 24 saying that Coke needs to get off of that land.” Mohanty is encouraged by this outspoken protest against Coke, and by the Kerala decision. Although the battle between Indian villagers and Coca-Cola is clearly a David-versus-Goliath situation, Mohanty sees these two events as victories.
Coca-Cola spokesperson Lori George Williamson responded to Pulse inquiries by saying that her company did not confer with local police and was not responsible for the police’s violent actions.
“The local government administration was fully supportive of our cause and was able to provide full security to our assets and the plant demonstrating their angst against the agitators,” Williamson said in an e-mail. “While respecting their right to protest, we reject any form of violence and urge our detractors to come to us with their concerns and discuss them in a formal, transparent and non-hostile way.”
“Their response in the U.S. has been rather silent,” said Minneapolis Corporate Accountability International organizer Steve Sarno. “They have not responded to anyone in Minneapolis. I suppose eventually they’ll have to say something as attention to the issue increases around the country.”
Corporate Accountability International considers this campaign to be one in a series of efforts to increase awareness of corporate water control. The organization is actively involved with protesting Coca-Cola in India, but its focus is on the broader issue of water.
“Privatizing water districts is very troubling. It leads to poor water quality, increased water prices ... Private companies want to maximize profit and not necessarily put consumer health first.” Sarno sees the situation in India as an analogy for what could happen in the U.S. if water sources become privatized.
Although the campaign in India is far removed from Minnesota, Sarno points out that “the knowledge used in India could be brought back to the U.S. Although we have regulations on groundwater extraction, there are very few laws here.”
Along with Fassett-Carman, Mohanty and international activists like Bobby Ramakant, Sarno’s organization is determined to fight for public control of water and increased corporate responsibility. India is a major battleground for these activists, but they are driven by a desire for social justice in communities around the globe.
“That’s the direction I think Corporate Accountability International is headed,” Sarno states, “as we try to protect people everywhere from private companies taking over public areas.”
To be directly connected with the Minneapolis campaign, visit StopCorporateAbuse.org.