A Greenpeace campaigner on her way to London to meet British MPs has been stopped by government officials at Delhi airport and told she cannot travel.
Priya Pillai was scheduled to address the MPs at the House of Commons in London this week, but yesterday immigration officials told her the Indian government is refusing to let her make the trip.
Indian media today reported that Pillai is on a ‘lookout circular’ – a list of names generally issued against criminals barred from leaving the country because they might abscond. Pillai has no criminal convictions and was traveling to London to make a speech to British MPs.
She had been invited by the MPs to make a speech about her work campaigning with local communities in India, where a proposed coal mining project threatens a forest and the community which lives there. The development is being pushed by Essar Energy – a London-based company determined to push the Indian community off its land.
Pillai was informed that she is now banned from leaving India, even though she has no criminal convictions. Her passport was stamped with the word: OFFLOAD. The immigration officials told her they are not opposed to her travelling, but they are following orders from the Indian government.
Today she wrote to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, asking it to confirm media reports that she is on the ‘lookout circular’, and if so why.
Last year the Indian government froze the transfer of money to Greenpeace India from Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International. This development is the latest in a series of attacks on the organisation by a government that doesn’t like being criticized for its environmental record.
“At a time when India along with other countries is reaffirming its commitment to free speech, the incident at Delhi airport is a great cause of concern for us,” said Priya Pillai.
“It doesn’t matter if you love Greenpeace or hate us, Indians know this is not how the world’s biggest democracy should order its affairs,” said Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich. “Those British MPs who hoped to hear Priya speak will wonder what on earth has happened here. This affair will embarrass India on the global stage.”
