HIGH COURT RULES TO ALLOW COCA-COLA TO RE-OPEN FACILITY [04/08/2005] - Corporate Accountability International - Challenging Abuse, Protecting People - Think Outside the Bottle


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HIGH COURT RULES in favor of Coca-Cola
Activists Urge Coke to Close Plant Permanently Despite Court Ruling

For Immediate Release:
April 8, 2005

Contacts:
Patti Lynn, Corporate Accountability International/617-695-2525
David Lerner, Riptide Communications/212-260-5000

This is a hand-pumped well in Utter Pradesh, where communities are challenging similar abuses by Coke. Near Coke's bottling plant in Plachimada, wells have run dry leaving community members without enough water.
BOSTON--In the state of Kerala in Southern India, the High Court has ruled that Coca-Cola can continue operations of one of its most controversial bottling plants. The Plachimada plant was shut down over a year ago by local authorities for draining hundreds of the village's public wells. In solidarity with communities that are resisting Coke's abuses, Corporate Accountability International is calling on the corporation to respond to community concerns and shut down the Plachimada plant, despite the court ruling.

"The High Court ruling is a great disappointment to everyone concerned with Coke's abusive practices around the world. Coke may have won a legal battle here, but the soft drink giant does not have the moral authority to continue its operations in Plachimada. In the face of the court ruling, resistance to Coke's practices in Plachimada and throughout India will continue to grow. We join with community leaders and allies around the world in calling on Coke to close the Plachimada facility permanently, and to pay back the community for the damage it has caused," says Corporate Accountability International Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey.

Corporate Accountability International stands with the courageous people of Plachimada who have been challenging Coke's irresponsible and dangerous practices. Across the US, activists are expressing solidarity with Indian communities, and directly calling on Coke to stop stealing water.

In 2003, the High Court found that Coke's bottling operations in Plachimada threatened the constitutionally protected right to life. Today's court ruling is a step backward from that ruling. Coke's abuses in India are part of an increasing pattern of corporations seeking to exploit water resources around the world amidst a growing water crisis. The United Nations estimates that if current trends continue, two-thirds of the world's population will not have enough water by 2025.

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Corporate Accountability International, formerly Infact, is a membership organization that protects people by waging and winning campaigns challenging irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For over 25 years, we've forced corporations--like Nestlé, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria--to stop abusive actions. Corporate Accountability International is an NGO in Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). For more information visit www.stopcorporateabuse.org.