Demo raged in London at British coal company GCM

  • Noise-Demo, Drumming, Coal Play and Interrogation at GCM’s AGM
  • AGM Disrupted by Protesters’ Interrogation
  • Protesters Demand Arrest of Gary Lye and De-listing of GCM from London AIM

by Raaj Manik, 10 December  2014

Protesters pledge GCM will be de-listed from London AIM soon. Photo: P V Dudman
Protesters pledge GCM will be de-listed from London AIM soon. Photo: P V Dudman

Yesterday, Bangladeshi activists in conjunction with a diverse group of environmental and left political activists in London, heckled the investors of Global Coal Management Resources by their noise demo and coal play. Activists blocked the entrance to the Aeronautical Society by dumping coal in the doorway. They surrounded GCMs’ CEO Gary Lye and his fellows who are aggressively moving ahead to implement a massive open-pit mine in Phulbari, the northwest region of Bangladesh. At the same time a delegation of protesters disrupted the AGM of GCM by questioning the investors inside the AGM about their fraudulent business in London’s Alternative Share Market (AIM).

Community activists (from left) of Swadhinota Trust, the UK branch of National Committee and Bangladesh Workers Party (UK branch) chanted slogans defying the company's CEO Gary Lye's pervasive propaganda about the protesters in Phulbari. Photo: P V. Dudman
Community activists (from left) of Swadhinota Trust, the UK branch of National Committee and Bangladesh Workers Party (UK branch) chanted slogans defying the company’s CEO Gary Lye’s pervasive propaganda about the protesters in Phulbari. Photo: P V. Dudman

The demo was organised by the UK branch of the National Committee to Protect Oil- Gas-Mineral Resources and Port-Power in Bangladesh, in conjunction with Phulbari Solidarity Group. The event was endorsed by Socialist Party of England and Wales, London Mining Network, World Development Movement, Occupy London, Foil Vedanta, European Action Group of Climate Change in Bangladesh, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, UK, and several community organisations including Nari Diganta, Swadhinota Trust, Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, Jubo Union, Friends of Chatro Union, Bangladesh Workers Party (UK branch), Bangladesh Communist Party (UK branch), and Bangladesh Socialist Party (UK branch).

The Sculpture in Tangail and Silk Sari, held three sacks of coals, symbolising the livelihood, culture, struggle, and resistance of Phulbari people. Photo credit: Stephen Vince

The event kicks in with the launch of artist Stephen Vince’s beautiful sculpture, symbolising the protest against the miners and the livelihood, culture, struggle, and resistance of Phulbari people. The sculpture, wearing a Tangail and Silk Sari, held three sacks of coals to symbolise the significance of the number three and a tribute to the three people who were killed in the dirty coal game of GCM in Phulbari.

Bangladeshi activists, carrying the sculpture and holding a banner saying – GCM hands off Phulbari, No open pit mine in Bangladesh- started to chant slogans and sing ‘tomar bari amar bari, Phulbari Phulbari’.  Some protesters played drum and samba when Rumana Hashem and Shahriar Ali gave vocals, deriving slogans from Phulbari in Bangla basat vita dhongsho kore koila khoni hobena [destroying homes and land, no mine no mine]. Others attempted to enter the block calling the investors to come out of AGM and to apologise for their misdeeds and abuse in Bangladesh. Loud protesters were repeatedly warned about potential arrest by the authorities of Aeronautical Society (AS) who did not call police but appeared as racist.

coal dumped on the front door and stairs of Aeronautical Society. Photo: Ansar Ahmed Ullah

Angry protesters dumped coal on the front door and stairs of AS, as they were prevented from taking out Gary Lye. Protesters said that they would not leave the venue before the interrogation of Gary Lye and his fellows was over. Meanwhile, a group of protesters went to check the investors’ vehicles and took over the car park as part of the blockade against Gary Lye, the company’s manipulative CEO, who was expelled from Phulnari for a 3rd time this year, on 26 November, but still continues to abuse Bangladesh government and Phulbari people.

When protesters outside the AGM were checking investor’s vehicles, a delegation of the climate justice activists attending the AGM interrogated Gary Lye and the board inside the AGM about GCM’s unethical business in London and abusive activities in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi activists rattled the investors to an extent that the Chair was fade up and it was Gary Lye who ended up facing the interrogation about the paperless contract and propaganda of GCM. Phulbari activists challenged that GCM does not have valid contract with Bangladesh.

Diverse group of climate activists and protesters holding placards and listening to speeches by community leaders. Photo: P V Dudman

Climate activists of World Development Movement and London Mining Network supported Phulbari activists, and asked numerous questions about the highly contentious Phulbari project, its huge human rights impacts and the OECD Guidelines as GCM has breached 2011 Guidelines, which do apply to the planned conduct of an enterprise in terms of prospective impacts on human rights. Activists said that ‘the company was illegitimate, the project illegitimate and the annual general meeting of GCM was illegitimate’. The meeting broke up unceremoniously and the shareholders broken up into two groups.

Richard Solly of London Mining Network is briefing the demonstrators about the interrogation inside the AGM and the failure of GCM board to answer the questions of Bangladeshi activists. Photo: P V Dudman
Richard Solly of London Mining Network is briefing the demonstrators about the interrogation inside the AGM and the failure of GCM board to answer the questions of Bangladeshi activists. Photo: P V Dudman

The delegation of climate activists came out of the AGM and joined the protesters where Golam Mostofa, Richard Solly, Zahanara Rahman and Sam Sender updated the demonstrators that Gary Lye and his fellows have failed to answer the questions of Bangladeshi activists. ‘They are even lying about national media and the government in Bangladesh’, said Mrs Zahanara. Protesters chanted slogans ‘Gary Lye is a Lier, Shame on Gary Lye’, GCM and Asia Energy, hushiar sabdhan [be aware of peoples’ power]’. One angry protester walked into the building with a sack of coal to dump on Gary Lye’s chair, but was prevented from entering the meeting room by the AS’s equally racist authority who received the coal on behalf of the investors.

Speakers in the demo asserted that there is no hope for Asia Energy and GCM in relation to coal business in Bangladesh when the government including the Prime Minister, Energy Minister and Energy Secretary of the country have reaffirmed that Bangladesh will not go for open pit mine in Phulbari. Speakers include  Dr Akhter Sobhan Khan, Abed Ali, Ahmed Zaman, Ansar Ahmed Ullah,  Effie Jordan, Ishak Kajol, Mostofa Farook, Nurul Islam,  Peter Mason, Syed Enam, Shah Enam, Julie Begum, and many more. The Masters of the event were Shahriar Ali and Akhter Sobhan Khan Masroor. The event was volunteered by a number of left activists and professional photographers including artist Stephen Vince, Golam Rabbani of Diamond Studios, Nicole Meedrum, Patrick, Chris and many more. The chairperson of National Committee’s UK branch, Dr Mokhlesur Rahman, thanked everybody for coming along and for taking on important theatrical roles.

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Diverse group of climate activists kept coming and joining the demo which they found extraordinary in London. Photo: P V Dudman

The demo ended with a manifesto calling for an end of GCM’s Phulbari project, and by criticising the UK NCP’s controversial recommendations to the company. The founder and coordinator of Phulbari Solidarity Group, Dr Rumana Hashem, read out the manifesto of the demo and called the London’s AIM to de-list GCM. The manifesto concludes by expressing full solidarity with the Phulbari people’s struggle and by condemning the UK government for failing to hold the UK-based company to account.

Dr Hashem reads the statement of the demo. Photo: P V Dudman
Dr Rumana Hashem reads the statement of the demo. Photo: P V Dudman

Miners GCM Resources is the subject of a complaint to the Organisation for Co-operation and Development over the controversial coal mine. They have only one active project, the Phulbari coal project, which awaits permission from the Government of Bangladesh to go ahead. But the people in Phulbari want to put the company out of Bangladesh, ban the Phulbari project and to take the company and its investors to public court for their abusive and fraudulent activities.

Phulbari, the town in upheaval in northwest Bangladesh where three people were shot dead during the protest against immense open pit mine in 2006, has become volatile again since, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AIM-listed British company, Gary N Lye, attempted to conduct consultation with locals in the town centre. There were two days long blockade in Dinajpur-Dhaka highway, and over a thousand people braved cold to raise their protest at Gary Lye’s visit last month.

Phulbari demo and protest in London ends with a pledge that there will be no mine in Phulbari. Photo: P V Dudman

On 26 November, locals in Phulbari surrounded Lye and GCM’s Bangladesh subsidiary Asia Energy‘s local office, and the CEO had to leave Phulbari and Dinajpur in police protection. Violent protests erupted where 2 were injured. Protesters have demanded Gary Lye’s immediate arrest and expulsion from Bangladesh. A month-long programme including nation-wide protests have followed. Protesters will not go back home until their demands are full-filled.

Read also report of LMN about the AGM of GCM here

Watch demo video by Socialist Party of England and Wales  http://youtu.be/pI2_jfGA5wA

Watch News by Channel24 http://youtu.be/srx80GbFQPs

Check out the Photo gallery here

Read also Foil Vedanta report here

Read Campaigners keep up fight to stop Bangladesh coal

More news can be found here on GB News24.com

Read Bangla news about Phulbari demo in London: Prothom Alo news

More news: http://www.m.banglanews24.com/detailnews.php?nid=348121&cid=1018

More Bangla news can be accessed from Protect Resources of Bangladesh

Read News about GCM’s/Gary Lye’s paperless business in Bangladesh here

Read also how Asia energy’s day are ending in Bangladesh

News about Bangladesh government’s latest position about Asia Energy/GCM

News about volatile Phulbari can be accessed here

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