Disband Salwa Judum, CPI urges Prime Minister
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Saturday urged the Centre to immediately disband the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh and stop aiding and abetting it in the name of promoting “local resistance groups.”
In a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a CPI delegation, led by party general secretary A.B. Bardhan, demanded institution of a high level independent inquiry into all acts of violence, rape, arson, loot, murder and disappearances involving the Salwa Judum and para-military forces.
Other members of the delegation were D. Raja and Gurudas Dasgupta, both party MPs.
The delegation also urged the Prime Minister to allow the thousands of Adivasis, who have fled, to return home to their villages.
“Wherever house and property have been destroyed and damaged, the government should rebuild them and guarantee the Adivasis’ rehabilitation,” the memorandum said.
The CPI leaders pointed out that the Planning Commission in its report had admitted that the rise of naxalism was a “political movement with a strong base among the poor peasantry and Adivasis” and also took note of recent observations on the Salwa Judum made by the Supreme Court.
The Planning Commission report also ascribed the growth of naxalism to people’s discontent and complete failure of the system and asked for immediate winding up of the Salwa Judum, the memorandum said.
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London: VIGIL FOR THE RELEASE OF DR BINAYAK SEN
1.00pm -3.00pm, Tuesday 13 May 2008
Indian High Commission, The Aldwych, London WC1
(nearest tube: Holborn)
Dr Binayak Sen is a renowned paediatrician and human rights activist who has been working with the poorest people in Chhattisgarh state in central India for the last 25 years. On 14 May 2007, Dr Sen was arrested on trumped-up charges and has been imprisoned without trial ever since.
As a doctor, Binayak Sen is widely respected for his unshakeable commitment to providing health care to poor adivasi or ‘tribal’ communities. He was instrumental in setting up the cooperative Shaheed hospital for mine workers in Dalli Rajhara, and has campaigned tirelessly against violations of the human rights of the poor. On 21 April this year, he was awarded the prestigious Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights in recognition of his work as a public health activist and defender of human rights.
The BJP government of Chhattisgarh claims that Binayak Sen has aided banned Maoist groups who are active in the region. The ‘evidence’ they present for this is that he had met a senior Maoist leader many times in the preceding year. But all these meetings in fact took place when Binayak Sen, as the Vice-President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, visited the 70 year old leader in Raipur Central Jail to provide medical and legal assistance, with the permission of the jail authorities and under their close supervision! Binayak Sen’s real ‘crime’ is to stand by the poor and dispossessed and to speak out about the violence they are facing in Chhattisgarh.
He was arrested after helping to expose involvement by the police in the unlawful killing of 12 adivasi people. He had been a vocal opponent of the Salwa Judum, a state-sponsored militia which has massacred local people and forced thousands to flee from their homes. Behind the violence and repression is the government’s aim of displacing the poor from their land in order to hand over huge tracts of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh to transnational steel, aluminium and mining companies. Over 30 ‘Memoranda of Understanding’ (MOUs) had already been signed with these companies.
May 14 will mark one year since Dr Binayak Sen’s arrest. The Acts under which he was arrested make it possible for the government to keep him in prison for an unspecified period, without any evidence. On December 10 – Human Rights Day – Binayak Sen’s application for bail was rejected by the Supreme Court. The Indian government and the Chhattisgarh state government are determined to silence Dr Sen. We must not allow them to succeed.
Supported by:
South Asia Solidarity Group,
CMC Vellore Alumni Association – UK Branch
Dr Wendy Savage MBBCh FRCOG MSc (Public Health) Hon DSc, Campaigner on Public Health
South Asian Alliance
Peace and Human Rights Trust
The 1857 Committee
Indian Workers Association (GB)
Birmingham Anti-SEZ Campaign
International League of People’s Struggles
Campaign against Forced Displacement
DEEP – Defenders of the Environment and Ecology of Panjab
Hillingdon Asian Women’s Communication Service
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Free Binayak Sen Film Festival
14 May 2008 will mark one year of imprisonment for Dr Binayak Sen, the well-known public health and civil rights activist, arrested on false charges of ‘assisting’ the Maoist insurgency in Chattisgarh.
In a nation where increasingly the medical profession is becoming synonymous with unbridled commercial greed Dr Sen dedicated his entire professional life to the free service of people in the remotest villages.
In a country, which has health indicators worse than that of sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Sen passionately worked for setting up low cost models of healthcare accessible to the poor.
And in a land where the problems of public health are deeply intertwined with the gross violations of the Indian Constitution by state agencies themselves Dr Sen fought for ensuring democratic rights of ordinary people.
Dr Sen’s detention as a ‘threat to national security’ stands therefore as a challenge to every Indian who aspires for a humane, democratic and civilized India.
To mark the first anniversary of the arrest of Dr Sen, on 14 May 2008 and to call for his immediate release the Free Binayak Sen Film Festival is being organised by concerned citizens and groups around the country. The package of 10 documentaries, presented in this Festival, highlight the issues of human rights and public health and deal with themes ranging from nutrition, greed of drug companies, environmental pollution and state atrocities.
They are meant to make all those who watch them wake up and more importantly resist the Silent Emergency that is creeping upon us in front of our very eyes.
Given along with this letter is a list of the 10 films along with a brief synopsis. All groups interested in receiving the package of films for organizing the Free Binayak Sen Film Festival in their areas of work are requested to send the name of their organization, postal address and tentative date of screening to – Wilfred Dcosta, INSAF, New Delhi, insaf@vsnl.com, Ph:011-26517814/ 65663958 . The package is meant to be screened mostly in the month of May, particularly around 14 May, the first anniversary of Dr Sen’s arrest.
For further information contact:
- K.P.Sasi, Bangalore kpsasi36 at gmail.com Ph: 09945282056
- Sarat Chandran, Eranakulam sarat at thirdeyefilms.com Ph: 09446426433
- Satya Sivaraman , New Delhi satyasagar at gmail.com ph: 09818514952
- Anivar Aravind, Bangalore anivar at movingrepublic.org Ph: 080-23435606
- V.Srinivasan, Chennai srini59@gmail.com Ph: 09840081114
For Details of the package checkout Film festival Page
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Appeal to observe one year of Dr. Binayak Sen’s unjust detention
On May 13th/14th, 2008 Dr. Binayak Sen, an activist with a lifelong commitment to the issues of community health and human rights, will complete his first year of unjust imprisonment at the Raipur Central jail in Chhattisgarh. Organizations across the globe will be holding events on the evening of May 13th, 2008 to mark one year of his imprisonment. We appeal to your organization to hold rallies, candlelight vigils or lectures against his unconstitutional detention. Please let us know at freebsen@gmail. com if your organization would endorse this appeal.
Dr. Sen’s life has been focused on providing healthcare to the most marginalized sections of the society. By setting up the unique Shaheed Hospital, the community-driven work of Rupantar and his broader involvement with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan – the Indian circle of the People’s Health Movement, Dr. Sen has made healthcare available to people who have been ignored by government or private systems.
As the State Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties of Chhattisgarh and the national Vice President, Dr. Sen has uncovered human rights violations by the state and other armed groups. He has highlighted starvation deaths, dysentery epidemics, poor conditions of under trial prisoners, custodial deaths and extra judicial killings. Dr. Sen has also worked on the issues of right to food, work, health and education. He has been amongst the most vocal opponents of Salwa Judum, a private militia movement armed by the Chhattisgarh Government to combat Maoist insurgency – that has contributed to a spiraling increase in violence and displacement of thousands of tribals. Even the Supreme Court of India has issued a strong disapproval of the Salwa Judum, citing concerns similar to those raised by Dr. Sen.
On May 14th, 2007 Dr. Sen was arrested in Raipur under the repressive Chhattisgarsh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 2004 (UAPA) on charges of sedition, conspiracy to wage war against the state and conspiracy to commit other offences. The continuing detention of an activist committed to non-violence and social justice is a mockery of justice itself. He now remains imprisoned for a year without trial or bail, including a cruel spell of solitary confinement.
Dr. Sen is victim to an increasing trend of arresting human rights activists in India for challenging state authority. Lachit Bordoloi, a human rights activist from Assam; Prashant Rahi, journalist from Uttarakhand; Govindan Kutty, editor of People’s March in Kerala; Praful Jha, a journalist from Chhattisgarh; Vernon Gonsalves, an activist from Nasik; Arun Ferreira, Ashok Reddy, Dhanendra Bhurule, Naresh Bansode, activists from Vidarbha have all been charged under the UAPA and kept under prolonged detention without bail.
We appeal to the international community to speak out against the stifling of pro-poor and democratic voices such as Dr. Binayak Sen’s. The international community has already shown its appreciation by bestowing the Jonathan Mann award for public health and human rights on him. In addition, the UAPA and the CSPSA must be repealed, and the Chhattisgarh government should stop its support for Salwa Judum.
Endorsed by:
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India: Fair Trial Doubtful for Honored Rights Advocate : Human Rights Watch
Chhattisgarh Government Should Not Use Naxalite Issue to Silence Critics
(New York, April 29, 2008) – Criminal charges against award-winning human rights defender Dr. Binayak Sen raise serous concerns that he will not get a fair trial in Raipur district court in Chhattisgarh state when hearings begin on April 30, Human Rights Watch said today.
Chhattisgarh state officials charged Sen in February 2008 with being a member of a “terrorist organization.” Sen has been in custody since May 14, 2007. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
For over two decades, Sen has provided medical care in remote tribal villages in Chhattisgarh. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his work. On April 22, the Global Health Council announced that he won the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights.
“Dr. Sen appears to be a victim of the Chhattisgarh government’s attempt to silence those who criticize its policies and failure to protect human rights in its fight against Naxalites,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The court should ensure that this trial is not used by the state government to cover up its failures by punishing the messenger.”
Human Rights Watch said that likely political motivations for the charges and other fair trial concerns in Chhattisgarh merit the trial’s change of venue to another Indian state. The case against Sen was brought after he called on the Chhattisgarh government to respect human rights in its campaign against Maoist armed combatants called Naxalites.
The presiding judge has allowed only one of Sen’s supporters to attend the hearings at a time, despite a provision in international law that trials be public. A judge may cite public order reasons to restrict the attendance of the press and public. However, the district court’s limit of one supporter of the defendant at the trial is unnecessarily restrictive and raises broader concerns about the fairness of the trial.
“The actions of the local authorities and the presiding judge call into serious question whether Dr. Sen will receive a fair trial,” said Adams. “To ensure fairness, the venue should be moved to another state with no political axe to grind.”
In 2005, the Salwa Judum movement was started with state support in Chhattisgarh to oppose the Naxalites. With state backing, the Salwa Judum began committing serious human rights abuses, including killings, beatings of critics, burning of villages, and forced relocation of villagers into government camps. As a prominent leader of the human rights group People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Sen called for an end to Salwa Judum abuses. He also opposed the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, criticized human rights violations such as torture, extrajudicial killings and campaigned for improvements in prison conditions.
Sen was first detained under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2006. Human Rights Watch has criticized this law because it could lead to serious abuses. The law allows detention for “unlawful activities,” a term so loosely defined that it can severely restrict the peaceful activities of individuals and civil society organizations in violation of the Indian constitution and international human rights law.
The state’s primary evidence produced in court thus far includes letters Sen allegedly smuggled out of prison, which were written by an alleged Maoist leader, Narayan Sanyal. The police say that Sen visited Sanyal in prison a number of times, and that documents and other materials, including his computer, confiscated after his arrest, allegedly contain unspecified subversive materials. Sen has denied all these charges and said that his meetings with Sanyal were facilitated by jail authorities to provide medical care.
“The laws in Chhattisgarh make it easy for the government to prosecute human rights defenders like Dr. Sen,” said Adams. “The court must fairly decide whether a real crime has been committed.”
