Taking the opposition to the Posco-India project to a global level, a United States (US) based human rights organisation on Wednesday wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, asking for “suspension of the project and ceasing of all forcible acquisition of land in Jagatsinghpur district in Odisha”.
In its letter, the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) from the New York School of Law alleged that the “Indian authorities have actively targeted those who speak out against the Posco-India project (and resorted to) violence and arbitrary arrests and detentions.”
The organisation has urged the Odisha government and the Indian authorities to suspend the Posco-India project until and unless international human rights standards are fully complied with and to take decisive steps to ensure that police officials act in accordance with the international standards on the use of the force and do not engage in arbitrary arrests and detentions.
The IHRC has also submitted an investigative report to the government and the media alleging a series of human rights violations and forced evictions in connection with the project.
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