Goliath versus David Among the many stories in the Bible is one of David versus Goliath in which David a puny youth slays the Philistine giant with a sling stone. David goes on to become King of Israel. In far away Colamb, a similar battle is underway. A wiry Green is making life difficult for a giant mining company. Enter a new vice president of communications and the battle is taken to a new level – the legal level. The end is awaited. Will David (the green activist) succeed in slaying Goliath (Sociedade de Fomento Industrial Private Ltd)?
To think that the blogspot run by Seby Rodrigues has caused a loss of Rs 500 crore to Fomentos, which has a mining lease in Colamb village is hilarious. However, the fact that the company has gone to lengths to file a defamation suit against Seby for reports published on his blog is proof that this Siolim-based green is a thorn in the flesh of the mining company. The petition filed by the company lists blog entries which are defamatory to it. We do not intend to discuss whether these entries are indeed defamatory or not. A court of law is the right platform to test this charge, and if found guilty, Seby will have to face the penalty decided by the court. There aren't any other issues involved because the blog is not anonymous. In that respect Seby plays with a straight bat. The nature of the battle that is presently underway depends on where you are standing. If placed on legal footing, the mining company appears to be in the right as it has all the permissions to go ahead with mining in Colamb. If you stand shoulder to shoulder with the villagers of Colamb and green activists then the company comes out as the 'bad guy' ripping up their lives and damaging precious forestland and fields. If you love green Goa and have no stake in the mining industry you will stand with the Greens. On the other hand if you have a truck or two, a tyre repair shop or a metal fabrication unit, you will sympathise with the miner. Taking sides is a hazardous job in this situation because the positions taken by the dramatis personae are extreme. There is no middle path here. The Rs 500 crore defamation suit alters the equation a bit. While we agree that every aggrieved party has a right to approach the courts for redressal, in the case of Seby Rodrigues we question why the case was filed in Kolkata and not Goa? Both Seby and Fomento are based in Goa, the mine in question is in Goa, why go to a far off place like Kolkata? One does not have to be Arun Shourie to conclude that the purpose is to transport Seby to a place where he has virtually no support and no access to friendly lawyers and to make it financially difficult for him to run the case. Hence the court case has two objectives –- defamation and harassment. This approach was adopted to silence Rajan Narayan when he was editor of 'O Herald' and leaders of the anti-Meta Strips agitation. It might be important to recall that an earlier attempt to neutralize Seby by labeling him as a Naxalite failed when the proof failed to match up to the charge. Then, Seby emerged victorious and the sobriquet 'Naxalite Seby' was stuck on him by those who wished to easily identify him in a state which probably has a thousand Sebys. Nobody is questioning the technicality of whether the case can be filed in Kokatta or not. But, if justice is the issue then the case should be transferred to Goa where it can be heard. In other words, the Vice-President (Communications) who has filed the case, should also play with a straight bat. ------------------ 7th January 2009 - Gomantak Times =========
