Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of three government employed doctors who had been working in the conflict zone in northeastern Sri Lanka until 15 May. Dr. T. Sathiyamoorthy, Dr. T. Varatharajah and Dr.Shanmugarajah were treating the sick and wounded until they reportedly traveled out of the ‘No Fire Zone’ with approximately 5,000 other civilians.

According to reports received by Amnesty International, Dr. Shanmugarajah and Dr. Sathiyamoorthy, the regional director of health services in Kilinochchi, may be currently held at the Terrorist Investigation Division (T.I.D) in the capital Colombo. However, a detention order has not yet been issued so their relatives remain unsure of their whereabouts and they do not have access to a lawyer. Dr. T. Varatharajah, the regional director of health services in Mullaitivu, was seriously injured and is reported to have been airlifted from the Omanthai crossing point to an unknown destination by the Sri Lankan Air Forces (SLAF). According to reports, the three doctors were last seen on the morning of 15 May at a holding area at Omanthai checking point.

Amnesty International fears that they may be held in reprisal for providing information about civilians in the conflict zone. The doctors provided eyewitness reports to the media and the international community from hospitals and makeshift medical centers in the conflict zone. Their reports detailed the suffering of ordinary civilians, many of whom died from war-related injuries. Their reports also highlighted continuous shelling of areas with large concentrations of non-combatants.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been ongoing for decades. Fighting intensified in northeastern Sri Lanka from July 2008 and developed into a high intensity conflict marked by grave violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law. In early 2009, up to quarter of a million people were trapped between government security forces and the LTTE. The Sri Lankan government has restricted independent journalists or monitors from reporting on the situation. As a
result an almost total blackout of information has prevented the population of Sri Lanka and the world from knowing the full scale of the humanitarian crisis in the Wanni region of north east Sri Lanka. In September 2008 the government forced the withdrawal of all humanitarian agencies with the exception of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from the Wanni.

In April 2009, as fighting intensified and international pressure grew for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire, tens of thousands of civilians escaped to government held areas. There are now over 200,000 displaced people in over 20 transit camps across Vavuniya District.
In 2007, following a visit to Sri Lanka, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak reported that “safeguards against torture either do not apply or are simply disregarded […] and leads to a situation in which torture becomes a routine practice in the context of counter-terrorism operations.” At checkpoints and in transitional areas for the newly displaced, the government is reported to be screening the
civilian population in order to identify suspected LTTE fighters. There is currently no standard registration process for the displaced coming out of the Wanni.

Away from the frontlines, freedom of expression is under severe threat in the country. As a result the conflict is not fully reported within Sri Lanka and those who attempt to do so have frequently found themselves targeted by government authority.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of Dr. T. Sathiyamoorthy, Dr. Varatharajah and Dr. Shanmugarajah who are believed to be held incommunicado after being detained by the security forces on 15 May 2009;
- calling for them to be given immediate and unrestricted access to lawyers of their choice and be promptly brought before an independent court where they may challenge their detention;
- calling for them to have immediate access to any medical treatment they may require, and be allowed family visits;
- calling on the authorities to release them immediately, unless they are to be charged with recognizably criminal offenses and remanded by an independent court;
- asking the authorities to allow immediate access to independent observers at holding areas for screening/registration such as Omanthai to safeguard against human rights violations.

APPEALS TO:
His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: 011 94 11 2446657
Salutation: Your Excellency

Hon. Sarath N. Silva
Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Superior Courts Complex
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: 011 94 11 243 5446
Salutation: Dear Chief Justice

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Defense, Public Security, Law and Order
15/5, Bauddhaloka Mawatha
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Fax: 011 94 11 254 1529
Salutation: Dear Minister

Jayantha Wickramaratne
Inspector General of Police
Sri Lanka Police
Headquarters
101/1 Kew Road
Colombo 2
SRI LANKA
Fax: 011 94 11 244 6174
Salutation: Dear Inspector General

COPIES TO:
Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya
Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
2148 Wyoming Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 232 7181
Email: slembassy@slembassyusa.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 29 June 2009.

Amnesty International’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the
rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the
context of its work to promote all human rights.
UANetwork Office AIUSA 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003 T. 202.544.0200 F. 202.675.8566 E. uan@aiusa.org amnestyusa.org/urgent/

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Dear Mr.Rahul Gandhi,

Congratulations for that thumping victory in the last parliament elections.

Congratulations again for your decision to opt out of ministerial posts and to concentrate on organizational works. Well wishers as well as sycophants would say that you should join the central cabinet only to gain experience in governance. Yes, like them, I too am sure that one day you are destined to become the Prime Minister of this country. As the Hindustan Times editorial said on the other day, it is in your genes. There is nothing wrong in it.

Don’t think about my identity and whereabouts. I am couple of years senior to you and looking forward to grow along with the political scenario that you have in a way facilitated in our country. Like many of my age, I am not euphoric about your victory. To be precise I am very curious about your future evolution as a politician; may be I should say, a social activist, that is a qualification that suits you well at this stage. When your activism is translated into policy matters, a lot is going to change in this country. I, as a writer, am curious about this aspect of translation.

I write this open letter to you on behalf of those thousands of people who raise their voices for the release of Dr.Binayak Sen, who has been wrongly detained by the Chattisgarh state government for the last two years. Reports say that Dr.Sen’s bail application is rejected by the State High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

You may think, if that is the case this Dr.Sen must be a dreaded terrorist. The problem lies there. Kasab, the captive from 26/11 terror episode spends his days in an ‘anda’ cell (Egg Cell or Blind Cell?) at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. He is news; even his wish to meet the Bollywood hunk, John Abraham is news. We never know, one day, thanks to political and humanitarian pressures, even you would say let Kasab be pardoned and released. But Dr.Sen, who is not a terrorist, who has not indiscriminately fired at any innocent people is still in Jail. Why that is not a ‘news’ for you, I wonder.

I know, you have been busy with election affairs and you will still be busy for a few more weeks till a stable government is put in placeat the centre. Hence, to apprise you of the case of Dr.Sen, let me tell you- Dr.Sen is a ‘terrorist’. Please don’t jump into conclusions. Dr.Sen is a ‘terrorist’ with a difference. He is a terrorist in the field of social health and medicine. He has been working amongst the poorest of the poor and been giving them medical assistance and awareness. He is a terrorist because he worked selflessly for the poor, which eventually put the elected state government into shame. He is a terrorist because he pointed out the ‘terrorists’ amongst the state police force, who brutally and indiscriminately killed the village folk in stage managed encounters.

Did you tell me through the media that the last election verdict is on good governance? Yes, you did tell me. You told me one more thing that you wanted to spend time amongst the poor and know their problems first hand. You even went to stay in villages (I don’t want to think that it was a PR exercise or a Gandhi Tourism for the foreign friends). Cynics say that the village had already been sanitized. Cynics would say many things. I want to believe in your sincere efforts to reach out to the poor. You also told me that you covered almost one lakh kilometers to understand this country (so what even if it was for election campaign?).

Do you remember that famous scene from Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’? Under a railway bridge, Gandhiji sees a young mother trying to cover her shame with torn rags. He sends his upper clothe floating over the waves. Captured against the setting sun, this scene is the one that got etched in my mind the day I watched this movie as a young boy. Did you see such people in your travel? Or you saw only those post-card perfect images of a tourist’s India. If you have seen what Gandhiji had seen almost a century back, then it is time for you to think in real time.

Organizational activities are needed amongst these people- not amongst those Khadi wearing temporary Youth Congress men. You ask your guys to go to these people and help them out. You have chosen the cream of Indian youth as your team. Great. We have a lot of hope on you and your team.

Let me come back to Dr.Sen’s case. You, in one of the press meets in Delhi said, Ottavio Quottrocchi (Bofors fame) is no longer an issue. True. Intelligent journos like Karan Thapar, Vir Sanghvi, Rajdeep Sardesai and so on also endorsed that statement of yours. They said, you got it right. Yes, I, as an Indian citizen, do not get up in the morning with a chill running through my spine as I see a Bofors gun and Quottrocchi’s face in my early morning dream. I don’t even think about the nuclear policy of India before I go to sleep and when go around with my business during day time. You got it right.

Then, what is our real problem? Dr.Sen’s detention is one of the problems and a pointer towards a host of problems waiting in wings for you. Please address it. I believe you are the only person (in authority) in this country who can take an initiative to free Dr.Binayak Sen. Okay, let me tell you, if Dr.Sen could be proved the biggest terror that our country is facing today, let us hang him; not in the enclosed area of the central prison but in Public, in Connaught Place, and let us telecast it live. Yes, this country should learn a lesson from a `terrorist’ like Dr.Sen. Shouldn’t we?

So far no real charge has been slapped against Dr.Sen. Oh yes, they say he has been colluding with a detained Naxal leader. But it is proven with evidence that Dr.Sen was visiting him in Jail (when Dr.Sen was a free bird) with the permission of the Jail authorities. That too, in the capacity as a medical practitioner, not as a comrade in arms.

Come on, I have been visiting Tihar Jail, Delhi for the last two years as a part of a project that I am doing with Anubhav Nath of Ramchander Nath Foundation. None can even stop his car in front of the Jail without the permission of authorities, forget just entering the premises.

If Quottrocchi is no longer our problem, then what it is? Dear Rahul Gandhi, I strongly believe that we have so many problems in our country that need urgent attention. Detaining a well meaning man is one amongst them. What do we get by punishing a man who helped the poor?

I have spent a few days in Chattisgarh. I have been to Naxalite infested areas like Narainpur there. I saw police units deployed along the length of roads adjoining the forests. But at night I saw none of them. I heard a lot of stories from people who are traumatized both by the Naxalites and the state police. Dr.Sen was living amongst these people and helping them in their medical problems.

Think about it. Your image is going to be etched permanently in the minds of the young people in this country if you take initiative to free Dr.Sen. Whether you become the Prime Minister of India or not, your social activism will be acknowledged for the humanitarian gestures that you express in public a la Mahatma Gandhi.

Yes, I know the ‘Gandhi’ in you and that in the Father of Our Nation are qualitatively different. But you can equalize it….only you can equalize it because you are the last Gandhi standing in Indian political firmament.

Yours sincerely

JohnyML

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Hello and greetings. Many of you have been asking for copy of the song written in the context of Dr. Binayak Sen and Lalit Mehta.

So here it is with rough English translation. Your suggestions are welcome. We are trying for a rapid recording of the same and if all goes well in about 10-12 days, we should have at least the audio recording with us.

It talks of how historically there have been people who have told us not to be scared of speaking truth. It has one stanza on the salwa judum, one on binayak and lalit and the last stanza talks of the exploitation of resources and people and all those unfulfilled dreams which keep telling us not to be scared.
You all are welcome to sing it, print it, use it and spread it further.

In Solidarity,
Charul – Vinay

विनय महाजन और चारुल भरवाडा (by  Vinay & Charul )

पीरों का यह कहना है ,फकीरों का यह कहना है’
बुल्ले का यह कहना है, कबीरों का यह कहना है
रांझों का यह कहना है, हीरों का यह कहना है
साथी डर मत जाना

(Pirs are saying, Fakirs are saying
Bulleh is Saying, Kabirs are saying
Ranjhas are Saying and Heers are saying
Arrows of Birsa Munda, Tilika are saying
Friend, Don’t be  scared!)

जले हुए घरों की दीवारों का यह कहना है
आदिवासी आंसू के अंगारों का यह कहना है
गोलियों से मिट गयी तकदीरों का यह कहना है
पूरब पश्चिम, उत्तर दक्षिण चरों का यह कहना है
साथी डर मत जाना

(Walls of the burnt up homes are saying
Flames in the Adivasi tears are saying
Destinies erased by the bullets are saying
East-west north-south, all four are saying
Friend, Don’t be Scared)

ललित का यहे कहना है, बिनायक का यह कहना है
जेलों की सलाखों का, जंजीरों का यह कहना है
दीवारों पे लिखे हुए नारों का यह कहना है
उठे हुए हाथों की लकीरों का यह कहना है
साथी डर मत जाना

(Lalit is saying, Binayak is saying
Bars and the chains of prisons are saying
Slogans written on the walls are saying
The lines in the raised up hands are saying
Friend, Don’t be Scared)

खेतों का यहे कहना है, खदानों का यह कहना है
जंगलों में सूखे पढ़े झरनों का यह कहना है
रोती हुई मिटटी का, मशीनों का यह कहना है
तेरी मेरी ज़िन्दगी के, सपनों का यह कहना है
साथी डर मत जाना

(Farms are saying and the mines are saying
Dead dried springs in the forests are saying
The soil that is crying and Machines are Saying
Dreams of your life and mine are saying
Friend, Don’t be Scared.)

विनय महाजन और चारुल भरवाडा

१४थमे २००९

For Dr. Binayak Sen and late Lalit Mehta who have inspired us and many others.
On the eve of 2 years of Dr. Sen’s imprisonment and 1 year of Lalit’s murder.

On 23 March, 2009; as part of Raipur Satyagraha, Dr. Sen’s mother Ansuya Sen sang an inspiring
Bengali song before courting arrest “Aami Bhoy korbo na…” which meant we are not scared and will
continue to speak up. Vinay witnessed and experienced this unique and extraordinary moment of Dr.
Sen’s mother singing for fearlessness. This song is inspired by that moment, Ilina Sen, wife of Dr. Sen
and by all those who have chosen to speak truth.
–

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House of Lords
India: Binayak Sen

Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat) | Hansard source

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations the European Union has made to the Government of India on the case of Dr Binayak Sen; and whether the European Union will send an observer to all further judicial proceedings in this case.

Lord Malloch-Brown (Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Labour) | Hansard source

I share the noble Lord’s concerns and we continue to take an active interest in this case.

The EU has registered its concern with the Indian Government, writing to the Ministry of External Affairs, the National Human Rights Commission and a number of senior political leaders about the case.

The EU has sent observers to the various stages of his judicial hearings so far and plans to attend his bail hearing, now due in May.

In Another Development Support for EDM 1441 in UK Parliament increased to the support of 29 MPs. Great work UK Campaigners

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JohnyML

I don’t like wearing my conscience on my sleeves. But today I feel like doing it, thanks to Facebook, a networking site that I started hating recently.

I have been seeing Free ‘Dr.Binayak Sen’ campaigns as taglines of my friends for a long time. But I had never thought of asking these questions, ‘Who is Dr.Binayak Sen?’, ‘Why is he arrested?’ etc.

Today, I chanced upon the country singer, Susmit Bose’s Youtube posting on Dr.Binayak Sen. Let me tell you I was more interested to see Susmit Bose’ singing than the cause for which he was singing.

I googled to know more about Susmit Bose. The more I learnt about Bose, the more I felt the need to know about Dr.Binayak Sen. So I started googling Dr.Binayak Sen.

As all of you know by now, Dr.Binayak Sen is detained under the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act by the Chattisgarh Government. Surprisingly, today (14th May 2009) marks the second anniversary of his detention.

Dr.Sen has been working amongst the poor people in Chattisgarh, giving them free medical help. The allegation against him is that he has been helping the Maoists (ultra leftists) who have been usurping the state government for long. Dr.Sen raised voice and attracted the attention of the responsible citizens all over the world about the state sponsored killing of poor tribal people, in the name of cleansing the area of ultras.

No substantial evidence is found against Dr.Sen for his alleged affiliations with the ultras. But he is still languishing in the state central prison. The High Court of the state and the Supreme Court of India have rejected his bail applications.

Why? Can’t the state correct itself if it has done something wrong, book the culprits in uniform for mindless killing and absolve Dr.Sen? Shouldn’t an egalitarian democracy like India be honoring a man of Dr.Sen’s worth with high accolades rather than keeping him jail and letting him rot at the sensitive age of fifty eight?

I join the millions of people, who voted or not in the last general elections, who demand the release of Dr.Sen. I demand this not because that I am a great radical or sensitive to everything that is going on around me, but because I know that the injustice being inflicted on Dr.Sen is nothing but injustice. I need not go into a case study with a skeptical mind in order to keep myself ‘objective’ in this matter.

Our egalitarian democracy has provisions for the criminals to contest in elections from jail and come out with state security for voting, and later for attending the policy meetings, denting the common exchequer.

A man who has helped poor people, however does not have these rights in our democracy. Who needs this kind of democracy?

Free Binayak Sen. That’s all.

A campaign is going on to change the facebook profile picture for a month with the ‘Free Binayak Sen poster’ in order to express solidarity with the millions who raise voice for freedom.

I humbly join them, faceless.

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Statement issued on 4th May 2009, Raipur by Ms. Medha Patkar and other social activists on the occasion of the 8th week of the Satyagrah for the release of Dr. Binayak Sen

Satyagrah by Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, Narmada Bachao Andolan, and National Alliance of People’s Movements

Photo from Raipur Satyagraha Week 8

The incarceration of Dr. Binayak Sen for the last 23 months is a shameful episode for those who consider India to be a democratic nation. By abusing rather then using the law, he has been arrested ostensibly as a ‘supporter of naxalites’ and his bail has been denied. Well known as a creative doctor, a progressive scientist, a human rights defender and a sensitive personality, Binayakji has been the victim of a political conspiracy only because of his social commitment and ideological clarity.

We, the supporters of People’s Movements from all over the country condemn the Chattisgarh government and administration for this immoral act. Without any concrete and legally admissible evidence, without proper judicial processes, to deny bail is to deny the right of life and liberty to such a senior activist. We perceive this as a violation of the rights of all of us and as an insult to our citizenship.

Photo From Raipur Satyagraha Week 8

‘Salwa Judum’ is no peace march. We the supporters of non-violent people’s movements believe that dealing with any violence and anyone’s violence with violence is not only illegal but also impossible. When the state itself uses violence openly, then it looses the moral authority to oppose its opponents – whether they be violent terrorists or people’s movements. So, to consider a person who was working on the basis of non violence and compassion, who was involved in alleviating these suffering of the adivasis of Bastar district, and who was the General Secretary of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties to be a supporter of violence is a distorted understanding, which the Chattisgarh government must correct at the earliest.

The deprivation of adivasis from their rights over water, land and forest; the transfer of natural resources to companies – to our mind, this is not development but rather in reality a destruction which is going to increase inequalities. In the name of ‘development’ in countless ways the lands of adivasis are being looted from us. They want to displace us from the lands of our ancestors, from our traditions ; they want to tie down our rivers, pollute them and divert all water towards themselves. It is a person like Binayakji who stood in solid support with us against these processes, whom the state today holds prisoner.

At a time when many murderers, terrorist and goondas are roaming scot-free in this country, when corrupt and cruel politicians are called “social workers”; at such a time the crime of Binayak Sen is only that he didn’t support the acts of anti-social forces but chose to stand with the poor the exploited, dalits and adivasis. Despite giving an irrefutably violent speech Varun Gandhi is released on bail, but Binayak Sen is considered more ‘dangerous’ by the state, perhaps this is his strength.

Jagrit Dalit Adivasi Sangathan (Madhya Pradesh)

We, Jagrit Dalit Adivasi Sangathan (Madhya Pradesh), Narmada Bachao Andolan (Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) and Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan (Mumbai) which are all part of the National Alliance of People’s Movements condemn the Chattisgarh Government and urge that Dr. Binayak Sen be released. We vow that we are prepared to go to jail and stay with Binayakji. We share with Binayak Sen his values, organizational process, theoretical role and the non electoral politics of the people’s movements.. so why should the Chattisgarh government not take courage and put us also in jail with him? Resolute in our commitment to the release of Dr. Binayak Sen we are

Medha Patkar, Tukaram, Butibai, Dharam Singh, Bhilu Yadav, Durga behen, Noorjahan, Himanshu Kumar, Ramesh Agrawal, Alok Shukla, Banshilal etc.

Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, National Alliance of People’s Movements.

Dated 4th May, 2009
Raipur.

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Last night I cried in a movie
You cry, if that’s all you can do
Last week I stopped reading a book
It hurt too much to see it through
There’s bitterness there’s misery
Things going wrong in my homeland
I fret but I don’t do much more
It is not easy to take a stand
Besides, there are consequences
To building worlds better and free
‘Coz somewhere up in Raipur jail,
A man is in for sympathy.

Read the Complete poem on Known Turf

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• Dr. Abhay Shukla and 3 activists from the Pune Solidarity Committee for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen
• Bhan Sahu and 9 activists from Lok Sangwaari Pariwaar, Rajnandgaon, CG.
• Anuradha Talwar and 53 activists from Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samiti(an NTUI affiliate) and Shramjivi Mahila Samiti, West Bengal
• Subir Bandyopadhyay and 3 members from All West Bengal Sales Representative Union (AWBSRU, an NTUI affiliate)
• Adhiyok from Lucknow
• approximately 30 activists from various groups in Chattisgarh

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On 3rd April 09, the ‘Committee for Release of Dr. Binayak Sen, Pune’ organized a public programme in support of the ongoing Satyagraha movement at Raipur. Since three persons from Pune are joining the Satyagraha at Raipur on the coming Monday (6 April), it was decided to express public solidarity with the Satyagrahis going from Pune and to strongly reiterate the demand for immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen.

The programme started with a mass demonstration in which over a hundred activists from various organisations participated. The demonstration started from the central venue of Mandai and marched through the major commercial area of Laxmi road. Along with standard slogans like ‘Dr. Binayak Sen ko riha karo’ (Release Dr. Binayak Sen) and ‘Lokshahi hakkancha vijay aso’ (Long live democratic rights) there were some new slogans like ‘Chhattisgarh sarkar bimar hai, Binayak Sen doctor hai’ (the Chhattisgarh government is sick, Binayak Sen is the doctor). Numerous banners, placards, songs and the sound of drums added colour to the lively demonstration.

The demonstration culminated at the Nivara ashram where an evening public meeting was convened, attended by about two hundred citizens of Pune. A brief introduction was given by Abhay Shukla, describing the Satyagraha actions at Raipur on 16th, 23rd and 30th March, as well as the recent solidarity actions in the US and UK to demand Binayak Sen’s release. An appeal was made for everyone to send inland letters available printed with standard content to the Home Minister (over 200 such inlands are being sent by people from Pune), for donations to support the Satyagraha, and for more persons from Pune to join further Satyagraha batches. The need to politically target the BJP, the ruling party in Chhattisgarh, keeping in mind the current election scenario was also mentioned.

Following this the main speaker, Bhai Vaidya, senior Socialist leader and former Home Minister of Maharashtra, spoke about Dr. Binayak Sen’s continued imprisonment. He mentioned the paradox that BJP was opposing the arrest of Varun Gandhi, who was giving the most venomous and hatred filled speeches; on the other hand the same BJP in power in Chhattisgarh continued to keep Binayak in jail for 22 months despite lack of even a shred of evidence. He emphasized that firstly, Binayak was not a Naxalite, and secondly even if someone believed in Naxalite ideology, that alone could not be ground for imprisonment. He condemned the misuse of the label ‘Naxalite’ by the Police, by means of which they branded and persecuted genuine social activists fighting democratically for justice. Talking of violence, he questioned whether deaths of lakhs of children by malnutrition and thousands of farmers committing suicide was not systemic ‘violence’ of the worst kind, which we need to speak out against. He stated his opinion that if Binayak continues to be kept in prison by the Chhattisgarh government, then President’s rule should be imposed since that state government was failing to uphold the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Following this, the chairperson of the meeting, Justice B.G. Kolse Patil, former judge, Mumbai High court, briefly expressed his views. He felt confident that given the scale of protests, Binayak would be released soon. He lamented that especially since the 1990s, governments had abandoned their responsibility to ensure a welfare state. He noted that current governments were functioning increasingly under the dictates of capitalists, linking this with Binayak’s imprisonment. Both Bhai Vaidya and Justice Kolse Patil assured the audience that they would be willing to actively participate in any further protests to demand Dr. Binayak Sen’s release.

Finally, Neeraj Jain expressed thanks to all those who had contributed to making the programme successful and reiterated that we may need to have an even more powerful protest around 14 May, marking two years of Binayak’s imprisonment, if he was not released by then. The ‘Satyagrahis’ from Pune – Milind Chavan, Suhas Kolhekar and Abhay Shukla – were felicitated along with Bhai Vaidya and Justice Kolse Patil. The programme concluded with the screening of two short films – Anand Patwardhan’s clip of the 16th March Satyagraha with brief shots of Binayak, and a documentary by the ‘International Association of People’s Lawyers’ outlining facts and myths about Salwa Judum.

As a form of expressing solidarity, dozens of people signed on the ‘protest banner’ demanding Binayak’s release which will be carried by Satyagrahis to Raipur, and people contributed donations amounting to a total of over Rs. 15,000 to support the Satyagraha. The ‘Committee for Release of Dr. Binayak Sen’ would be meeting again soon to discuss the further strategy for action around 14th May.

For more information contact abhayseema@vsnl.com

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Drs Sanjay Nagral & Santosh Karmarkar, who have been associated with Dr Binayak Sen, lamented the fact that the medical community had not been vocal for the release of Dr Binayak Sen. Dr Santosh committed that he will ask his colleagues in the association of paediatricians to raise the issue and put pressure on the government. It is ironical that medical profession is a such a strong lobby that it is rare to see a doctor behind bars, but here is doctor who is also civil liberties activist, who has raised his voice against SALWA JUDUM, and has been incarcerated. Dr Nagral while echoing the same question which is in our minds, why is Binayak is not being released, he said that the answer, which is scary, is that the Government has to be accountable for keeping him illegally for two years without a case, if they release now, how can they account for his two years in the prison ?

Film maker Sudhir Mishra said , who will after studying medicine aboroad, go and settle in the most unapproachable area of chattisgarh, nobody except people like Binayak! He left the comfortable club we all are part of and went to a place where there are no clubs. Dipankar, his brother and my friend, once told me that the time he spent in Sagar was synonymous with hell, that when he was there he had a terrible feeling that he would never be able to get out. Sudhir , during his visit to Binayak sen in raipur met many people and he saw people are forced to shift in designated camps. The camps are fortified. Those who don’t come to camps are attacked. The people who choose to live in villages have their houses burnt down, their crops destroyed, hitting them economically. All connections between those living in the villages and the outer world are systematically broken down.

Sudhir said that in the middle class unfortunately, who does not know about binayak and the issue, if you dig in their psyche you will hear the whisper that “he is a naxalite, hence should not be supported’. During his visit when he asked the concerned police officer what were the charges against Binayak, the police officer said it was done during his predecessor’s tenure and he did not know. Noted lawyers while looking at the case papers have said that there is NO CASE, but it is more of a political issue now.

“I think India needs to listen to people like Binayak, and through him, look at the problems he is addressing. I think more violence will follow if we do not listen to Binayak Sen’s urgent plea for compassion. I think different places have their own unique problems and need unique ideas to resolve them. I think India needs to listen to people like Binayak, and through him, look at the problems he is addressing. I think more violence will follow if we do not listen to Binayak Sen’s urgent plea for compassion. Appealed. He pointed out that now his health is the prime issue, it is no more political issue it is right to life which is being threatened.

Flim Maker Anand Patwardhan, while sharing his experience in court when he had gone to support the Raigarh Satyagrah,last month at the court hearing with said that although a cardiologist was treating Binayak Sen, but he has also recommended angiography ands angioplasty from CMC Vellore, but the court has said the treatment will be done “ niyamanusar” (as per the rules). There is basically no case against Binayak, no evidence and all star witnesses are turning hostile. Narrating the court hearing. Where one witness was to depose,Anand said when Judge asked him has he seen binayak before ? The witness said yes I have seen him on television. A mockery of justice is being made in Binayak sen case, he added. Anand showed his 5 minute film of his recent visit to raipur, in which Binayak talked about his health status, that he is suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure.
Dr Binayak Sen’s elder daughter Pranita Sen who is studying mass media at Xavier College in Mumbai, making her first public appearance said that she has been accompanying her father in many of investigations on salwa judum, and infact she has herself seen people dying in cross fire in front of her own eyes. “ It is one thing to hear about it, to read about it, but to see it with your own eyes, I could not sleep for days”. She also said that in Chattisgarh region The Tatas and the Essar Group, interested in mining, are financing the Salwa Judum. Both the Maoists and the Salwa Judum cadres are tribals and they are often made to clash and kill each other. The industrialists are interested in getting Tribal lands vacated to start their mining work.Chattisgarh, particularly its capital Raipur, has suddenly started buzzing with industrialists interested in exploiting its mining wealth. The politicians are kept pleased with bribe. Its diamond mine has attracted the world’s No.1 diamond magnates, the De Beers, a South African Jewish business house. She said,” it is no more individual issue, it is no more chattisgarh issue, it is your issue, my issue , it is our issue, which has to be taken nationally.”

Sanober Keshwar from Committee for Release of Binayak Sen said that Ilina sen is trying to go to the supreme court before 14th May , depending on the availability of the counsel which will mark two years of his imprisonment . A batch of activists will be going to support Raipur Satygrah on apirl 6th and april 13th from Maharashtra.Many suggestions came up for strengthening the free binayak sen and also supporting the raigarh satyagrah in Mumbai and Delhi every Monday. May 14th will mark two years of his incarceration, and we all need to mass mobilise support for release of Binayak sen.Anjaam film by Ajay T G on  Binayak Sen was also shown in the meeting.The next planning meeting will be announced soon.

For further information contact- kamayani@ymail.com

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