The Fulbari movement is not just a movement for coal

The Fulbari branch of the National Committee for the Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power Ports said that the Fulbari movement is not just a movement to protect coal; it is a historical episode in the large mass movement for the environment, agriculture, water resources and human rights of Bangladesh. Convener Syed Saiful Islam Jewel read out a written statement at a press conference organized at the local Nimtala intersection.

He made the above remarks in a written statement at a press conference organized by the Fulbari branch of the National Committee for the Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power Ports at 12 noon on Wednesday at the local Nimtala intersection in Fulbari, Dinajpur, demanding the withdrawal of the annual general meeting of Asia Energy (GCM) in London on December 17 and the recent statement of the government's chief advisor's press secretary Shafiqul Alam on the Fulbari coal mine. At that time, he announced the program of a protest meeting on December 17 with the same demand.

The national committee leader said that the press secretary's statement was an insult to the people's movement and a controversial justification for 'open-pit' coal mining. He called it an "attempt to hide the looting of national resources". He also said that according to the terms of the 2006 Phulbari agreement, Asia Energy's proposal was harmful to the country - where the royalty was only 6 percent and most of the extracted coal was destined for export. "This cannot be called development, it is a embezzlement of state resources," he informed. National Committee Phulbari branch leader Joy Prakash Gupta, SM Nuruzzaman, Hamidul Haque, Sanjit Prasad Jitu and others were present at the press conference.

At this time, he mentioned the declared demands of the national committee and said that Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam's controversial statement on Phulbari should be withdrawn, the Phulbari 6-point agreement of August 30, 2006 should be fully implemented. Share trading should be stopped by showing Bangladesh's coal mines in London and Asia Energy should be permanently banned in the country. All false cases against the protesters must be withdrawn. The plan to open-pit mine in the northern part of Barapukuria must be canceled.

A sustainable energy system must be developed according to the National Committee's Alternative Energy Master Plan.