[Imc-uk-features] [Feature Proposal] Indian court orders “arrest without bail” of Dutch activists

Tue Dec 4 12:18:22 PST 2007

Title:
Indian court orders “arrest without bail” of Dutch activists

Image: from top indymedia.nl link below

Abstract:

A court in Bangalore has issued an order for the “arrest without the
possibility of bail” of seven campaigners over their websites postings
about labour conditions of an Indian supplier of fashion label G-Star.
The activists are from the Clean Clothes Campaign
http://www.cleanclothes.org/ and the India Committee of the Netherlands
 http://www.indianet.nl/english.html; the director of their Netherlands
based ISP, Antenna http://www.antenna.nl/indexeng.html, is included.

The case could have [link to article below] implications for activists
posting anything on the web, with the court using the Convention on
Cyber Crime to call for extradition. It all happens with the backdrop of
the continuing campaign about labour conditions and  particularly the
huge number of child workers in India coming up [link to below] against
the religion of 'free trade'.

The case has been running for some time now, [background – link below].
Now as the legal threats get worse the campaign are asking for solidarity.
As G-Star is the only remaining buyer from the jeans manufacturer at
which the CCC and ICN have highlighted the labour rights violations they
are asking people to make demands of them
http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/07-12-04.htm listing things you can
do. In the UK No Sweat! have called a picket of G-star
http://www.nosweat.org.uk/node/671 focusing on their Covent Garden store.

Body:
Background
In 2006 the CCC and ICN launched a campaign to draw attention to severe
labour rights violations at Indian jeans manufacturer Fibres and Fabrics
International and its subsidiary Jeans Knit Pvt Ltd (FFI/JKPL),
producing jeans for companies including G-Star, Armani, RaRe, Guess, Gap
and Mexx. This included the gagging of local labour rights organizations
that were informed about labour rights violations at the factory by
workers in 2005. To date FFI/JKPL has refused to engage with the local
labour groups to resolve the outstanding labour issues.
For doing so while there was a gagging order the activists were accused
of “cyber crime”, “acts of racist and xenophobic nature” and “criminal
defamation” by the Indian jeans manufacturer Fibres and Fabrics
International and its subsidiary Jeans Knit Pvt Ltd (FFI/JKPL).
http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/07-09-07.htm
As they did not travel to India in person for the first hearing of the
case (no doubt to be kept in the country while the trial proceeded,
something that could take years) the court ruled on Saturday that
international warrants will be issued for their arrest.
http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/07-12-03.htm
Free Speech a Cyber Crime?
The potential restriction on free speech could have immense implications
for all activists. Extradition is requested using the Convention on
Cyber Crime, and its Additional Protocol. This according to the Indian
court makes 'criminal defamation' extraditable.

In 2001 when the Council of Europe drew up the Convention they
explicitly left out integration with the European Convention on Human
Rights. At the time activists were highlighting it could be used to
restrict freedom of speech, now it seems they may have been right. The
Additional Protocol actually aims to target racism and xenophobia on the
internet and in 2003 those drafting seemed to ignore differences of
freedom of expression that exist around the world.

There is a handbook on the Convention on Cyber Crime for activists:
http://www.cyber-rights.org/cybercrime/coe_handbook_crcl.pdf

Campaigners pawns in global free trade power game
The escalation of this case times itself with the growing push by Indian
Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, to increase foreign trade and stop
international campaigns particularly about child labour in India. Nath
has been removing restrictions on trade, and claims that governments
supporting NGOs that are campaigning about working conditions in his
country are “disguised protectionism”
http://www.depers.nl/buitenland/119410/India-dreigt-met-handelsboycot.html
[nl]

Who knows maybe the tactics are working? On Friday 30th November, the EU
and India released their Joint Statement of the 8th India-EU Summit. It
spends much time praising growth in 'multilateral trade',  and while
mentioning efforts on climate change they are also 'recognising the
importance of strengthening transportation links ... the growing
importance of India-EU civil aviation'. There is no explicit mention of
working conditions and child labour, just that they have a
“strengthening of the EU-India dialogue and cooperation on employment
and social policy on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding” with
its visits and seminars.
http://www.ue2007.pt/UE/vEN/Noticias_Documentos/20071130INDIAStatement.htm

India's government, its manufacturers, and the companies they supply are
however under immense pressure from non-governmental and grassroots
groups about the use of child labour. The country has some of the
highest number of children under 15 working, sometimes in terrible
conditions. The most recent case to highlight this was the Observer's
exposure of a factory producing for GAP kids,  "child workers as young
as 10 found working in conditions close to slavery... the children
described long hours of unwaged work, as well as threats and beatings."
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2200590,00.html GAP long
the target of campaigns like No Sweat!
http://www.nosweat.org.uk/node/616 moved quickly at this exposure.

This is not the first time Kamal Nath has played the free trade card to
try and remove some external pressure on standards within the country.
In 1994 as Minister for the Environment he pushed for the de-linking of
environmental standards from trade
http://65.108.190.76/publicaciones/LavanyaGETS.rtf Also while he was
Environment minister a commercial venture of his damaged the environment
so much he was later fined Rs 1.000.000 by the High Court
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamal_Nath

Links
Clean Clothes Campaign in the UK newswire

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/10/353788.html
talking in Nottingham
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/06/315175.html campaign about Fila
as Wimbledon starts
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/02/54602.html Puma campaign

Recent coverage on Indymedia NL (dutch)
On the court case and Indian sweatshops
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/12/48760.shtml
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/10/47913.shtml
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/06/45425.shtml
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/10/47887.shtml
Campaigning HEMA campaign http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/03/43361.shtml
http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/07/45969.shtml