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STATEMENT FOR COCA-COLA ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING BY SANDEEP PANDEY A NATIONAL CONVENOR OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS (as read by activist Jim Fassett-Carman) Wilmington, DE - April 19, 2005 Good morning. My name is Jim Fassett-Carman and I am a Corporate Accountability International activist. Late last year I spent time in Uttar Pradesh, India and saw first hand the growing resistance to Coke's abuses. I walked for 10 days--through rural villages from the Coke bottling facility in Ballia to your bottling plant in Mehdiganj--alongside Sandeep Pandey, a National Convenor of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM). NAPM is the largest coalition of people's struggles and movements across India. I am here this morning to deliver a statement and ask a question from Sandeep. Mr. Isdell, As you and your shareholders meet today to discuss the profits and your corporation, Coca-Cola's practices are devastating the lives of people in communities across India. I am urging you to stop. As you know, last November I helped lead a 150-mile march from one Coke bottling facility to another. Dozens of people took part in this entire 10-day march in northeastern India, which culminated in a peaceful protest at your bottling plant in Mehdiganj. Fifteen hundred people participated in the peaceful demonstration on November 24, 2004, with one clear message: Close down the Mehdiganj facility. Police attacked the nonviolent protest without provocation or warning. Hundreds of people, including myself, were arrested. Many of us suffered bodily injury. Coke has responded to concerns about this incident raised by activists across the US with blatantly false statements. Along the route of the march, Coke tried to disrupt peaceful action with leaflets, ads in newspapers, and people who threatened my safety. Your bottling facility in Mehdiganj is draining much-needed water from surrounding communities. And this is just one example of how Coke is negatively affecting people in India. Across the subcontinent, resistance to your abuses is growing. Increasingly we are working in partnership with concerned people across the US to demand change. Mr. Isdell, Coke's practices in India are devastating people's lives. Your lies and abusive actions have fueled outrage and distrust. When will you take a first step in the right direction, and permanently shut down your bottling plants in communities that have rejected your abusive practices, like Mehdiganj and Plachimada? Sandeep Pandey
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Related Links: Activists Challenge Coca-Cola Over Water Abuses at Annual Shareholders' Meeting |
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