GCM Resources

2006 Phulbari incident

On 30 August 2006 six protesters were shot dead, allegedly by paramilitary forces, and 300 were injured when a crowd of 30,000 people stormed the local offices of Asia Energy. Further unrest occurred the days after the shootings, when widespread half-day strikes were organised across the country, and another 20 people were injured. The Bangladesh government banned further protests at the mine site.

Gary Lye, chief executive of Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh) Pty Ltd, was quoted as saying, "It is up to the authorities to determine exactly what happened, but it would appear that the unforgivable events and the needless loss of life and suffering that took place yesterday in Phulbari are entirely the fault of the organisers (of the protest)". Asia Energy had its right to mine in Bangladesh withdrawn. Asia Energy said that fewer people would be displaced and they would be compensated. Spokesmen noted the benefits of the $1.1bn (£700m) project. The government closed the mine at the time because of the violent protests.

A 2009 leaked US diplomatic cable showed that American diplomats pressured the Bangladeshi government to reopen the Phulbari Coal Project with GCM. As of late 2010, there was still potential to proceed with the project.