south-north development monitor - SUNS [Email Edition]

SUNS #4383
Friday, 26 February 1999

contents

Environment: Monsanto seed trials lands in Indian Supreme Court (Chakravarthi Raghavan, Geneva)

Brazil: Hopes and fears over new deal with IMF (IPS, Washington)

Commodities: Brazil crisis roiling Asian markets (IPS, Kuala Lumpur)

Brunei: Pampered Sultanate told to change old ways (Bandar Seri Begawan)

Pakistan: TNCs push for pharmaceutical price hikes (IPS, Islamabad)

Africa: Clinton pushes US-Africa Trade Bill (IPS, Washington)

Jamaica: Software industry poised for take-off (IPS, Montego Bay)

Excerpts from selected articles:

Environment: Monsanto seed trials land in Indian Supreme Court

Geneva, 24 Feb (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- The environmental and health safety issues as well as threats to biodiversity posed by the trials of planting genetically engineered Bt cotton seeds by the US Transnational Corporation, Monsanto is now before the Supreme Court of India which has now issued notice to the government of India and its various departments.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, the apex court of India, consisting of Justices S.P.Bharucha, B.P. Mohapatra and R.P.Sethi has issued notice to the government over a Art. 32 (right to move the Supreme Court under the Indian Constitution for any violation of fundamental rights) petition by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) through its Director, Dr. Vandana Shiva.

The Indian Constitution has made the right to move the Supreme Court to enforce fundamental rights itself a fundamental right (in Art. 32), and enables the apex court to issue a wide range of writs to give effect to its decisions on these matters. And the court has used these powers to give directions in public interest litigation relating to public health, safety and other areas.

The large scale field trials by Monsanto in several states of India of the Bt cotton has also been the foci of public agitations, interventions by some State governments against the Central sanction of such trials, and direct action by some activists...........

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