On the morning of 23rd November, 2004, at the city hall, Minneapolis, Corporate Accountability International (CAI) held a press conference highlighting the unethical behavior of the Atlanta based Coca Cola. It cited numerous instances where Coke has been draining out the water table in communities that are having trouble accessing clean drinking water.

CAI, formerly known as INFACT, has run campaigns against the unethical behavior of tobacco companies, Nestle and General Electric, demanding that they stop corporate abuse.

While CAI member Jim Carman continues with the marchers in India, protesting practices by Coke, a CAI board member pointed out that Coke has been draining out millions of liters of water every day from communities in Mehdiganj and Ballia in UP and other communities in AP, Kerala, and other parts of India. These practices by Coke have resulted in the drying of the water table in regions within the Gangetic Basin � clearly a sign of the extreme effects of these practices. They also warned that Coke planned to transfer similar technologies to the Great Lakes Region of the USA.

A representative from the Minnesota Chapter of Association for India�s Development said that he had been at the site of the first protests in Mehdiganj where security personnel from Coke had attacked women who were part of a non-violent rally, resulting in serious injuries and broken heads. The Coke plant in Mehdiganj, he added, was built illegally since Coke had fudged records and had not paid taxes up to Rs. 17.5 million. A court order resulted in a fine of another Rs 17.5 million; however Coke has yet to pay it. In addition, the Coke plant in Mehdiganj is built on land owned by the village and the village wants it back. He further added that the access to water is the right of people and if Coke cannot respect these rights and continues to drain water and pillage the local water-system, it must get out.

The University of Minnesota representative from Physicians for Human Rights pointed out that Coke has been accused of distributing its solid wastes to local farmers, calling it fertilizers. These wastes include such toxic metals as Cadmium and Arsenic and have now contaminated the groundwater in that region. She added that potable water � or the absence of it � is directly responsible for numerous diseases; corporations with access to as much money and power as Coke must exhibit more responsible behavior in communities. She demanded that either Coke behave itself or get out of these communities. The Sisters of St. Joesph, a group committed to peace and social justice echoed these demands.

In North India, the campaign against Coke has seen fresh developments. The village head of Mehndiganj, Varanasi who was so far standing by Coca Cola and Coca Cola had used his position to make claims that they have done 'public welfare' activities, came out openly against Coca Cola on last Saturday and stood by the claim of those directly affected in Mehndiganj. More surprisingly he disputed the public welfare claims of Coca Cola and made an appeal to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister and the District Magistrate of Varanasi to cancel the license of Coca Cola for harming people and violating our own law and order.

Coca Cola has been aggressively using public relations tactics to counter the questions being raised by the campaign through millions of Rs spent on advertising. A Coca Cola truck has been distributing fliers with misleading information regarding the issues raised by the marchers, and releasing advertisements in newspapers worth lakhs of rupees to counter the negative influence march may have on its market. In addition, evidence suggests that it has begun to use unseemly methods to silence the campaign.

On Monday November 22, 2004, a public meeting was held at Kashi Vidyapeeth as part of this march. About 20 youth started raising slogans against this march, specifically threatening Sandeep Pandey (who is one of the leaders of this march) with bodily harm and much more. The campaign, believing in the right to dissent, presented the Joint Parliamentary Committee report on Coke and Pepsi and other documentary evidence to substantiate their statements to oppose Coca Cola Pepsi Cola bottling plants, to no avail. Subsequently, when Sandeep Pandey presented himself to the group and asked them to do as they pleased, if they truly believed that Coke was benefiting the community, the group backed off. Later, when some members of this group trying to disrupt a public meeting were accosted near their vehicles, members of the campaign found posters of Coca Cola and other material that Coca Cola is distributing to negate the claims of the march. The campaign has now also demanded that Coke stop threatening citizens using democratic spaces to dissent.

It seems that Coke continues to run its business believing that it can use a variety of unethical processes � from pillaging the local water resources of communities, to undermining democratic processes through hooliganism � to continue to profit at the expense of people. The Corporate Accountability International has decided to present this face of Coke to the international community.

Other Articles and Links:
March and Rally to Shut Down Coca-Cola Plants in Uttar Pradesh
Answers for Coke
CAI Campaign Against Coke