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'The home ministry has made a serious allegation to the media without providing a scrap of evidence to back it up. We think this shows how worried the ministry has become.'
Greenpeace India head Samit Aich speaks of his organisation's battle against the government which has frozen all its bank accounts.
Greenpeace India traditionally fights for the environment. Lately it has been fighting the Government of India. The government has frozen its bank accounts and accused it of hurting India's economy.
Greenpeace India head Samit Aich, below, left, responded to the government's allegations in an e-mail interview with A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
You have said that your staffers are willing to work for a month without pay. Do you feel the legal route will solve your fund problems within a month?
We have absolute faith in the Indian judicial system and are hopeful of relief from the courts. But the wheels of justice can take time, and we need to make sure Greenpeace India is able to run the most basic functions while they turn.
Our case is strong -- the Union home ministry has gone far beyond its remit by taking this action and we are confident that the courts will rule in our favour.
Greenpace's activism is hurting the country's economy, alleges the government. What do you have to say in your defence?
This is an absurd accusation; we support sustainable development that can keep our country great for decades to come. That's why we've helped the village of Dharnai in Bihar switch to 100 per cent renewable energy.
We are an organisation of less than 400 people with a small budget whereas our country's economy is the seventh largest in the world.
The real threat to our long term prosperity is pollution and environmental destruction. According to the World Bank, environmental problems like air and water pollution cost India 5.7 per cent of its GDP each year. So it is the neglect of our environment that is hurting the country's economy.
Home ministry officials allege that Rs 60 million received in foreign funds are not accounted for. It is alleged that the money was paid to activists and villagers to obstruct development projects. What do you have to say to this?
The home ministry has made a serious allegation to the media without providing a scrap of evidence to back it up. We think this shows quite clearly how worried the ministry has become. It is using these malicious allegations to smear Greenpeace India's reputation because we are starting to win strong public support.
According to reports, B K Prasad, a senior home ministry official, has said that 'The accounts in which Greenpeace receives domestic aid have not been frozen, so why are they complaining?' What is the truth?
After reading this, we checked our accounts again -- they are still blocked. Last month over 77,000 of our Indian supporters were unable to donate money to these domestic accounts. All of our main bank accounts are blocked, including those that receive the vast majority of donations each month.
If Prasad has decided to instruct the banks to remove this arbitrary block, we would welcome that.
You had said that you have money to pay salaries till June 1 and then your staff will work without salaries for a month. What happens after that?
Honestly, we don't know what will happen. But we will continue to stand up for free speech. We know that our books are clean. We know that we have followed the law of the land and we believe in our country's judicial system.
We have challenged the home ministry's arbitrary actions twice before and we have won, we believe that we have a strong case.
And finally, we believe in Indian democracy. This is what will win out in the end.
How far has the legal process gone ahead?
Like the previous two times, we have again approached the Delhi high court. The matter is being heard by the honorable court and notice has been issued to the home ministry.
Image: Villagers at a Greenpeace event in Madhya Pradesh. Photograph: Courtesy Greenpeace India
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