Posts Tagged ‘protest
San Franscisco Protest, January 28
Protest at the Indian Consulate, San Francisco, Jan 28th
Bangalore Protest Report
Quick Update
- We had about 400-500 people at the town hall at the peak of the meeting.
- The participation was diverse – many many groups came in a good numbers. Strong show of solidarity! {Everybody mobilised well}
- Highlighting quotes from the speakers:
- Justice Saldanha says, “ It is not a judgment but an atrocity of the worst order.”
- Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swamiji, from Nedumamudi Mutt, says, “Its an undemocratic judgment, and it is an assault on justice”.
- From Popular Front of India, Usman Baig says, “Judiciary is also becoming fascist like the executive and legislature.”
- Advocate Balan, from AITUC, says, “This is judicial terrorism”
- U.R Ananthmurthy says, “Dr. Binayak Sen represents me too”
- Agni Sridhar, and other speakers condemned the turn of events and called it an assault on democracy, pressing for the release of Dr. Binayak Sen.
- There was a good media presence!
Protest March and Candlelight Vigil in Thiruvavanthapuram
Artists, Writers, Film makers, Human rights activists and social activists joined about a 100 people from different walks of life in a protest march and candlelight vigil in front of the secretariat of Thiruvananthapuram in solidarity with Dr. Binayak Sen who was recently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court in Chhattisgarh. Writer Paul Zacharia said that Binayak Sen was the victim of a violent state which is crushing the people’s movements in the state and that we need to understand the politics of this violence. . In a symbolic protest, Sreemith and Ajith, two film makers chained themselves holding placards. T.T. Sreekumar, social scientist, TN Joy, representative of political prisoners during emergency, Gowreedasan Nair, journalist, Sajimon (Dalit Human rights movement), Seeta Dasan (SEWA Union), Sajeed (Solidarity Youth Movement), Reny Ayline, (NCHRO) and Dasan (Yuvajanavedi) too spoke on the occasionA protest march was taken out with candles through the city square. Beena paul Venugopal, Artistic Director, IFFK and Sajitha Madathil Deputy Director, IFFK , Artist Sajitha, Manglin Peter of Kerala Swathanthra Matsyathozhilali Federation CS Venkiteswaran, film critic and Elizabeth of Sahaja, Kottayam also participated.
Protest Meeting in Thane
Protest meeting being held at Thane on Friday, 31st December, 2010 to plan a protest against the conviction and in solidarity with Binayak Sen. This meeting will be held in the Pavilion Hall of St. John’s School at 7 pm. this school is a few minutes’ walk away from Thane Railway Station (West)
Protest Demonstration by citizens of Odisha
Ms.Pramodini Pradhan, PUCL that there will be a Protest Demonstration by citizens of Odisha at 11 AM on 30th December at Master Canteen against the unfair trial of Dr.Binayak Sen.
INVITE PRESS CONF Free Binayak sen: 30th Dec, 3 pm, Chennai PRESS CLUB, Chepauk
Madhumita Writes
Dear all,
The Chennai Police Commissioner has denied us permission to hold the demostration on 31st Dec infront of Memorial Hall citing specious reason of holding demonstration against a judicial decision as “unlawful” and even seeking permission for such a demonstration to be “unlawful”.
Please join us for a press conference, see details below:
Venue: Chennai Press Club, Chepauk (near govt guest house)
Date: 30th December 2010; Time: 3pm (we will need to start on time)
Read the rest of this entry »
Outraged rights activists protest Sen’s sentencing
By Kumar Vikram in New Delhi
SEVERAL human rights groups came together on Saturday to condemn the life sentence awarded to activist Binayak Sen on the charge of sedition.
They staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the verdict passed by a Chhattisgarh court. Holding banners and shouting slogans against the “ injustice”, the activists demanded Sen’s immediate release.
The hard life of a lone revolutionary
Binayak Sen’s detention said it all: innocence is no proof against arbitrary arrest. TNSE looks at similar, lesser known victims from across the country’s southern states and Orissa
By Asha Menon
The New Indian Express
The arrest didn’t come out of the blue,” 34-year-old Padma says as she tries to remember the event. “There were whispered warnings, but nobody took it seriously. After all, we were only a bunch of friends holding classes for villagers on socialism.”
But that was enough for the police in Dharmapuri, one of Tamil Nadu’s naxalite-infested districts. Padma and 24 of her friends were arrested under POTA in 2001. Their crime? They took classes in self-defence, but their talks on socialism and labour rights smacked of naxalite behaviour. That was the clincher, though she didn’t suspect it then. “We did nothing even remotely illegal,” Padma insists.
“That day, the villagers were insistent that we should leave. So finally we did and decided to take the first bus out. We walked through one village after another, but the bus service had been stopped,” she shrugs.
Read the rest of this entry »
‘Naxalism Is Against The Natural Flow Of Life’
From Tehelka Cover Story “Binayak & The Tragedy Beyond”
Activist Himanshu Kumar could not be swayed by the State’s wrath. SHOMA CHAUDHURY speaks to this Gandhian
 |
| Unbent Himanshu kumar, daughters Alisha and Haripriya, wife Veena and father Prakash kumar |
You have two daughters. Does that not make you feel vulnerable?
My father was part of the freedom movement. My uncle was a senior colleague of Nehru’s. I knew men like the scientist Dayanidhi Patnaik, who came back with a PhD from America but gave up everything to join Vinobha Bhave’s Bhoomidan movement. I didn’t even notice when their values were stamped on me. From them, I came to believe that the material world is immaterial. Why should I compromise for my girls? What would I achieve? Two more girls — among lakhs of others — would be brought up to lead a cloistered life. Veena could have pulled me back, but she has never done that. She herself was terrified of wearing bangles and synthetic clothes and being trapped in a marriage that would shut her behind closed doors. She was a social worker before she married me.
What is at the heart of the State’s neglect and abuse of tribals?
I don’t think either the State or the police see them as human. How many officials have even bothered to learn their language? One day a CRPF officer was complaining to me about them. He said, “Oh, these ULFA-Nagas-adivasis — whatever they’re called…” That’s how faceless they were to him. There is such an arrogance in the way the State approaches them. They will not consult them, not communicate with them.
| We are not picking up the gun but are asking for justice within the system. Why does that rouse the State’s ire? |
P Chidambaram has said he will militarily destroy the Naxals, then bring development in the region.
He can do that. He can kill thousands of his own countrymen attempting that. He has greater might, he is a superior race. And as one Naxal leader said in an interview to TEHELKA, “We do not control all areas. Why don’t they bring development to places we don’t control?”
Mumbai Protest-Update Week 4
A group of volunteers from various walks of life gathered at andheri station in Mumbai on Monday May 18th to make people aeware of Dr Binayak Sen and get them to sign the petition to realease Dr Binayak Sen NOW. The protest demostration began at 5.30pm and went on till 7.00pm, wherein more than 250 signatuires were gathered from people. More than twenty activists representing a fairly wide spectrum – feminists, students, lawyers, trade union workers, journalists, artistes, young, old – passionately participated, shouting slogans for his release and in defence of the right to dissent .About 50 people wanted to get involved actively and gave their email addresses to be in the free binayak sen google group as well.
Binayaksen.net is one of many efforts by well wishers and supporters of Dr Binayak Sen to bring the injustice being done to him by the government of Chhattisgarh to the attention of people around the world. 
