The Orissa government arrested Abhay Sahoo, president of a local group opposting POSCO's attempts to take over land in Orissa. He was arrested while undergoing treatment in ahospital in Paradeep.

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Abhaya Sahoo, a people's leader who has been fighting against one of the worst exploitative 'development package' that the Manmohan Singh government and the Orissa state government have offered the people of Orissa through the MOU with POSCO from Korea was arrested on the 12th October. Abhaya Sahoo is the President of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti. He was arrested on the evening of 12th October while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Bhutmundei, Paradeep.

Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan strongly condemns this arrest and attack on a people's leader by the Orissa government which has all through acted as an agent of POSCO, a South Korea based company. Every word of the agreement signed with the POSCO by the Orissa government reek of complete sell out of the valuable resources and livelihoods of the people of the region. People under leadership of Abhaya Sahoo had out rightly rejected this government plan of loot and plunder, the preliminary step of which was giving 4000 acre of land to POSCO for making steel plant. Many protests, rallies were organised by the villagers against the project. They resisted every effort and devious designs of the Biju Janata Dal government towards acquiring the land. They fought against the hired goons of POSCO, the henchmen of Biju Janta Dal and conniving Police who are forcing them to give up their land and livelihood for the company.

In all these uncompromising resistance of the people of Erressema to save their land and livelihood, Abhaya Sahoo was in the fore front. For the last 3 years he resided in the Project site leading the masses against POSCO Project. The spineless Orissa government, subservient to the interests of the Multinational Corporation arrested him to make the fighting people of the region leader less. Abhaya Sahoo has been charged under 26 false cases so that he can not get bail at any cost. This is a deliberate strategy of the state government to ensure that he remain behind bars for life and the people can be forced into accepting the acquisition of the land easily for the project as per the wish of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

We unequivocally condemn this atrocious and outrageous act of Orissa government. The arrest of Abhaya Sahoo is a conspiracy on the struggling people of the region. We stand with the people of Eressema who are fighting to save their land and livelihood and demand the IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE of ABHAYA SAHOO and scrap the MOU with POSCO and other companies which are a bane to the people.

G N Saibaba,Central Council, VISTHAPAN VIRODHI JAN VIKAS ANDOLAN