Update as of May 29, 2025: Advocate Ebo Mili has been found, but we are still concerned about his safety, as well as the safety and security of the Adi communities. We urge the Government of India to address the demands of the Adi communities regarding the proposed dam project. Additionally, we call for the protection of the affected Adi communities and the Indigenous Peoples human rights defenders and advocates who support these communities, ensuring they are not subjected to harassment or threats.
Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) and the Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples (REP) express concern about reports of the unknown whereabouts of Advocate Ebo Mili, an Indigenous lawyer supporting communities affected by the Siang Multipurpose Project. We call on the Government of India to conduct an impartial investigation into Ebo Mili’s whereabouts and ensure his safety.
We likewise extend our solidarity with the Indigenous Adi communities of Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India in their peaceful protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project that is anticipated to cause massive displacements and loss of livelihood and biodiversity among others and condemn the deployment of armed police forces against the protesting communities. We call on the Government of India to conduct a meaningful dialogue with the affected Adi communities and address the concerns raised.
The Project being implemented by the State-owned NHPC Limited (erstwhile National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) will be the largest hydroelectric project in the Indian subcontinent with the generation capacity between 10,000 and 12,000 MW or more. The families affected by the Project have opposed the dam since the early 1980s and have never consented to the study. The Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF), which represents thousands of Indigenous Peoples who will be impacted by this project, has repeatedly rejected the project and has expressed their intention to oppose any preparation of the dam.
Since 22 May 2025, the deployment of India’s Central Armed Police Force in the Project sites in Beging, Geku, Jengging, and the district headquarters of Pasighat (East Siang), Boleng (Siang), and Yingkiong (Upper Siang) to conduct the pre-feasibility study of the Project has caused fear and tension in Indigenous communities and prompted continued protests. Photos and videos circulating online show women and men urging the armed forces not to proceed with the Project.
We condemn the forceful conduct of Project surveys, as it represents a blatant violation of fundamental rights under international human rights law and the Constitution of India and an arbitrary abuse of power.
We call on the Government of India to withdraw armed police from the Project sites without any delay and urge the Indian authorities as well as the NHPC Limited to engage in meaningful consultations with the affected communities to obtain their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) – in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – before initiating the Project. If the communities do not provide their FPIC for the Project, the State and NHPC Limited should respect their right to say no.
We further call on the Indian authorities to immediately halt reprisals against Indigenous human rights and environmental defender Advocate Ebo Mili, among others, who are supporting the affected communities opposing the Project. On 26 May, the Siang district Deputy Commissioner directed the local administration to take legal actions as Ebo allegedly led the communities in their protests against the Project. Thereby, around 400 protestors are reported to have assembled under the banner of SIFF at one of the survey sites of the Project in violation of the prohibitory orders of the authorities.
Ebo has been arrested or detained three times earlier in July 2024, August 2023 and March 2022 for his legitimate activism against the Project and other mega dams proposed or under construction in Arunachal Pradesh. Those dams will impact the fragile ecology of the state and displace the Indigenous communities from their lands and resources. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and others has also drawn attention to the Indian authorities concerning reprisals against him.
In July 2024, Ebo was held for about 10 hours and released after signing a bond obliging him to refrain from any activity that could be considered “breaching the peace” or “causing a breach of the peace” for one year, or until an inquiry into police cases filed against him was closed. On that day, the police had summoned many other anti-dam activists, including members of SIFF, as India’s Power Minister was on a two-day visit to the state. Failure to comply with the bond would result in a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees for any breach identified.
In August 2023, Ebo Mili was detained under similar circumstances when the Minister visited the state capital for the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for 13 large hydropower projects in the state. Then too, he was forced to sign a bond before being discharged. In March 2022, he was arrested with artist Neelim Mahanta for three days and charged with destruction of public property for defacing a wall of the Arunachal Pradesh state secretariat with a “No More Dams” graffiti. If found guilty, they can be slapped with a maximum of one-year imprisonment.
The case of Ebo Mili represents the troubling trend of wrongful detention and arrests of and legal reprisals against human rights defenders in India. AIPNEE and REP deplore such legally binding restrictions on human rights defenders, which have the effect of muzzling civil society voices from speaking up for themselves and their communities. The authorities in India should be constructively engaging with human rights defenders and the communities they work with – NOT subject them to continued reprisals and insecurity.
We reiterate our unwavering commitment to stand alongside the affected communities in Arunachal Pradesh and their defenders in their struggle to protect their ancestral lands against the Project.
Read and/or download the full statement.
For media contacts:
Prabindra Shakya, Convenor, Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE)
Email: prabin@aipnee.org, shakya.prbn@gmail.com; WhatsApp: +9779860980745
Robeliza Halip, Executive Director, Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples (REP)
Email: robie@rightenergypartnership.org; WhatsApp: +639214928244
