Fracking, Congo & Caste: On Saturday nineteenth October 2013 I started work at a protest calling on the previous boss of BP to resign from the Home of Lords due to his vested curiosity in fracking, then photographed a protest towards the atrocities being dedicated within the battles for mineral wealth within the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda earlier than masking a march bringing a petition to Downing Road towards the persevering with delays in making caste discrimination unlawful within the UK.
World Frackdown: Lord Browne resign! Mayfair
Campaigners went to the places of work of personal fairness agency Riverstone Holdings to name on its managing director Lord Brown of Madingley, a former boss of BP, to resign his seat within the Home of Lords due to his vested pursuits in fracking.
John Browne joined BP in 1966 and labored his manner up the corporate to turn into CEO in 1995. Knighted in 1998, he joined the Home of Lords as Baron Browne of Madingley. in 2001 whereas nonetheless being BP CEO. In 2007 he resigned from BP when accused of perjury in atempting to cease newspapers publishing particulars of a former gay relationship and of alleged misuse of firm funds.
In his time at BP he was liable for a ruthless programme of cost-cutting that many really feel compromised security and contributed to the 2005 Texas Metropolis Refinery explosion and in 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
In 2013, Browne was Managing Director and Managing Associate (Europe) of Riverstone Holdings LLC, and extra considerably for in the present day’s protest the chairman of Britain’s solely shale fuel driller Cuadrilla Sources.
The protest outdoors Riverstone was part of a day of a ‘World Frackdown’ with protests towards fracking in 26 international locations and in different cities within the UK.
Buddies of the Earth activists met on Oxford Road and walked to the workplace in Burlington Gardens, the place after a short speech about Lord Browne’s involvement in fracking individuals have been invited to jot down messages and put them in a small brown garbage bin which might be left on the places of work for him.
Folks wrote messages and posed with them calling for an finish to fracking at Balombe and elsewhere within the UK in addition to displaying help for the Elsipogtog First Nation who had just a few days earlier been attacked by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with stay ammunition and tear fuel whereas protesting towards fracking in New Brunswick, Canada.
Fortuitously police in London merely got here to ask the protesters what they meant to do earlier than saying ‘Effective, no downside’ although they did later ask them to make sure there was a free path alongside the pavement and remind them and photographers of the hazard from the gradual shifting visitors.
The activists level out that fracking contaminates large volumes of water with sand and poisonous chemical compounds and in addition that any fossil gasoline manufacturing ought to be averted as utilizing fossil fuels will increase the local weather disaster.
World Frackdown: Lord Browne resign!
Don’t Be Blind to DR Congo Murders – Piccadilly Circus
Persevering with battles over the mineral wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda have led to the homicide of greater than 8 million individuals and over 500,000 males, ladies and youngsters have been raped by the assorted armies funded by numerous European and African multinational corporations.
Gold, diamonds, coltan, tungsten, tin and different ores ought to make these international locations wealthy, however have led to very large devastation. Coltan, containing each niobium and tantalum is significant for the cell phones, computer systems, missiles and different trendy expertise on which we rely. The combat for it has been the primary incentive behind the genocidal wars which have waged within the space.
Regardless of numerous protests through the years by Congolese in London there was little publicity to the atrocities and no motion by our authorities. The ‘Don’t be Blind This Time’ campaigners got here to Piccadilly Circus to lift public consciousness, some posing in blindfolds and others handing out a thousand free flowers, with the message that that we have to demand justice and an finish to the impunity and canopy up round this battle.
The wars proceed in 2024 and have not too long ago intensified. China now additionally being rising concerned as US corporations have since 2013 bought their mines to Chinese language corporations who now personal many of the mines within the DRC.
I don’t keep in mind seeing any point out of this protest within the media, and we see few studies of the horrible state of affairs persevering with within the space. British editors seldom appear to treat this or conflicts in different areas of Africa akin to Sudan as information.
Don’t Be Blind to DR Congo Murders
Make Caste Discrimination Unlawful Now – Hyde Park to Whitehall
Adverse discrimination on the idea of caste, lengthy a standard a part of Indian society, was banned by legislation there in 1948 and is part of the 1950 structure, although it nonetheless continues. Within the UK The Equality Act 2010 handed below New Labour in 2010 gave our authorities the ability to make caste discrimination unlawful however they misplaced the election earlier than doing so.
The incoming coalition authorities was reluctant to motion, however strain continued and in 2013 the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 mandated this to be accomplished; as a substitute the federal government arrange a two yr session, apparently because of lobbying by the Alliance of Hindu Organisations, (AHO) a physique set as much as oppose what they name “the risk posed by this proposed modification to the Equality Act 2010.”
The session seems additionally to be solely with established teams dominated by higher caste pursuits, and its size totally pointless. It isn’t clear why a easy elimination of a clearly discriminatory follow ought to be thought to be a risk.
A report on the session was lastly printed in 2018. In it the federal government rejected the thought of a legislation towards caste discrimination and as a substitute concluded:
Having given cautious and detailed consideration to the findings of the session, Authorities believes that one of the best ways to offer the mandatory safety towards illegal discrimination due to caste is by counting on rising case-law as developed by courts and tribunals. Particularly, we really feel that is the extra proportionate method given the extraordinarily low numbers of circumstances concerned and the clearly controversial nature of introducing “caste”, as a self-standing factor, into British home legislation.
Additionally they state that any legislation would “as divisive as legislating for “class” to turn into a protected attribute can be throughout British society extra broadly.” I don’t assume this comparability has any advantage. To not act appears to me to be accepting a overseas follow, unlawful in its nation of origin, into British society, and the low variety of circumstances they touch upon absolutely implies that case-law will solely emerge at a snail’s tempo. Our new Labour authorities ought to observe the instance begun by New Labour in 2010 and make caste discrimination unlawful within the UK.
Make Caste Discrimination Unlawful Now
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Tags: Alliance of Hindu Organisations, Burundi, caste discrimination, casteism, Coltan, Cuadrilla, Cuadrilla Sources, diamonds, Do not be Blind, DR Congo Murders, DRC, Elsipogtog First Nation, equality act, former boss of BP, Buddies of the Earth, World Frackdown, gold, Hindus, London, Lord Browne, Lord Browne resign, march, trendy slavery, homicide, niobium, peter Marshall, protest, racism, Ravidass, Riverstone Holdings, Rwanda, Sikhs, slavery, tantalum, tin, tungsten, Uganda
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