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dam-l Amnesty International Urgent Action
Please find below an Urgent Action issued by Amnesty International today
concerning events at the Maheshwar Dam project site.
PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 20/10/98
UA 157/98 Police brutality / Use of excessive force /
Fear of ill-treatment 20 May 1998
INDIA Protesters against the Maheshwar Dam project in Madhya
Pradesh, India
Over 150 women and 50 men were reportedly arrested when police broke up
their peaceful protest at the site of the Maheshwar Dam project in the
Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on 20 May 1998. Some were reportedly beaten.
Amid reports that hundreds of other protesters have begun to move towards
the site, there are fears that police may subject activists to further
violence and ill-treatment.
In similar incidents during April, several protesters received serious
injuries as a result of police beatings. The police operations are in
contravention of Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) - the right to freedom of expression and the
right to peaceful assembly.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Over 3000 dams - around 30 of them major - are planned for construction on
the Narmada River as part of a project covering areas of land in four
Indian states: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The
Maheshwar Dam project is one of these.
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), Movement to Save the Narmada, is at the
forefront of opposition to the construction of the dams. It estimates that
the Narmada Valley Project will displace over one million people. Reports
indicate that the project disproportionately affects members of Scheduled
Tribe communities or adivasis (indigenous tribal peoples).
Many thousands of protestors occupied the construction site of the
Maheshwar Dam in January 1998, resulting in a government commitment to
cease work pending a review of the project. However, in the second week of
March, work resumed, and protests were organized in response. During April,
approximately 2,000 police were reportedly brought in to the area of the
project site. The Madhya Pradesh authorities also imposed Section 144 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the area around the dam site. This
provision effectively prohibits the holding of meetings and has meant that
protestors and activists can be arrested for holding an "unlawful assembly"
(a gathering of four or more persons). When NBA activists visited the dam
site in April they were arrested and charged with violating Section 144 of
the CrPC.
Between 21 and 23 April, around 1,500 protestors, the majority of them
women, were arrested under section 151 of the CrPC, which allows police to
preventively detain individuals they suspect may commit a criminal offence.
Many of them were reportedly beaten and several were admitted to hospital
with injuries. All those arrested were released unconditionally on 25
April.
In response to this incident and reports of the ill-treatment of women, the
National Commission for Women (NCW) visited the area on 25 April. Following
the 20 May incidents, the NCW is reported to have faxed a message to the
Madhya Pradesh government urging them not to subject women to violence.
Since 1992, Amnesty International has expressed concern on numerous
occasions to the authorities concerning human rights violations inflicted
on Narmada Valley activists - especially women - by police, including
arbitrary arrests, torture and beatings
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/faxes/express/airmail letters in
English or your own language:
- acknowledging the right of the state authorities to maintain law and
order but expressing deep concern at the apparent use of excessive force by
police against peaceful protesters at the site of the Maheshwar Dam project
on 20 May 1998;
- expressing concern at reports that some protestors were beaten by police
and that some suffered severe injuries, and urging the authorities to
immediately investigate these reports and bring the perpetrators to
justice;
- urging the authorities to clearly instruct law enforcement officials to
abide by international standards for law enforcement, including the UN Code
of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the
Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials;
- urging the authorities to guarantee the right to freedom of expression
and peaceful assembly, as well as the social and economic rights of those
displaced or affected by the construction of the Narmada Valley project
dams.
APPEALS TO:
Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
Office of the Prime Minister, South Block, New Delhi 110 001, India
Telegrams: Prime Minister, New Delhi, India
Faxes: + 91 11 301 9817
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Mr Digvijay Singh
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Office of the Chief Minister
Vallabh Bhavan, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Telegrams: Chief Minister, Bhopal, India
Faxes: + 91 755 540 501/551 781
Salutation: Dear Chief Minister
COPIES TO:
Mr Lal Krishna Advani
Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India
and to diplomatic representatives of India accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 8 July 1998.