Investors urged to pull out

A letter signed by over 80 civil society organisations worldwide was sent to South Africa-based Polo Resources and other investors yesterday, calling upon them to withdraw their investments from the proposed Phulbari Coal Project in Bangladesh.
In the letter, the leading human rights and environmental organisations based in 25 countries identified a wide range of serious human rights violations and environmental risks associated with the project.
The Phulbari Coal Project is controlled by Global Coal Management Resources plc (GCM), a London-based company, owned by Asia Energy.
The controversial project faces massive opposition in northwest Bangladesh, where it threatens to bulldoze the lands of tens of thousands of mostly farming and indigenous households for whom land is a source of food and a means of survival.
Polo Resources, which currently holds nearly one-third (29.81 percent) of all GCM shares, is one of the biggest investors in the mining project.