[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
dam-l press note on Human Rights March of NBA (fwd)
Forwarded message:
From owner-irn-narmada@igc.org Sat Apr 10 18:24:13 1999
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 14:06:51 -0800
From: Delhi Forum <delforum@unv.ernet.in> (by way of patrick@irn.org (Patrick
McCully))
Message-Id: <v02140b08b33572c106db@[208.25.72.78]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Precedence: bulk
Sender: owner-irn-narmada@igc.org
Subject: press note on Human Rights March of NBA
To: irn-narmada@igc.apc.org
X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by igc7.igc.org id PAA09870
X-Sender: patrick@pop.lmi.net
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
B-13, Shivam Flat, Ellora Park, Baroda. ( Guj). ( Ph. 0265-382232)
( Delhi Contact : 6426783. Vimal- 2256394)
Press Note/ 8.4.99
Social Justice Deptt. to Send Team to Reassess Status Of Rehabilitation
HUMAN RIGHTS MARCH CONCLUDES WITH RESOLVE TO INTENSIFY STRUGGLE AGAINST
UNJUST DISPLACEMENT
Thousands of tribals and peasants from the Narmada valley have concluded
the Manav Adhikar Yatra ( Human Rights March) with a resolve to intensify
their struggle against the unjust displacement and for the right to life,
on Thursday ( April 8). This was preceded by the decision by the Union
Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment to send a high ranking team of
the officials to reassess the status of rehabilitation and the land
availability for the oustees of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP).
ì This has vindicated our stand that the governments of Center and states
have lied in the Supreme Court regarding the status of rehabilitation and
displacement in the SSPî said Jagannath Kaka Patidar, the senior activist
in the Narmada Bachao Andolan while addressing the concluding session of
the two days dharna in Delhi. The people in the valley will closely monitor
the proceedings of the committee and would see that the government would
present the ground realities in the apex court.
A delegation of the from the march met the Minister , Ms. Menaka Gandhi on
8th April. The people expressed their displeasure over previous dayís
incident of police highhandedness and the attitude of the Minister. They
challenged the claims by the governments about the complete rehabilitation
of all the oustees coming under the submergence at 90 meters. After the
discussions, the Minister appointed two joint secretaries of the
department and one from the Rural Development Ministry for reassessing the
claims of rehabilitation and the land availability. The officials were told
to start their mission within two days and would directly report to the
Minister.
It was thus indirect confession on the part of the government that it has
submitted false affidavits in the Court and the and non-consideration of
the data about the ground realities provided by the Andolan.
The Human Rightís March was started in Badwani, in M.P. and was welcomed in
number of towns and villages including Shahada, Dhule, Malegaon, Niphad,
Nashik and Thane en route Mumbai. They were welcomed by hundreds of
organisation and movements of tribals, Dalits, fishworkers, urban poor,
backwards, minorities, workers, trade unions, environmental and human
rights organisations. The organisations of those affected by the dams and
other development projects too supported the Andolanís issues and
programmes. The struggle against the displacement has emerged as a
political consensus among the various organisations and sections of
population. This, according to them, was important in the days of the
globalisation, liberalization and the onslaught of the
national-international capital on the right to life and resources of the
people.
The people arrived in Delhi on April 7th and held dharna in the premises of
the Social Justice Ministry ( Shastri Bhavan) in the early hours. The
people invited the Minister to come down to meet the people who traversed
hundreds of kilometers to come to Delhi. Despite the rude response by the
Minister , the Andolan did prepared a memorandum and was awaiting a
dialogue in the closed meeting. Baba Amte, the veteran social worker,
Kishan Patnaik, senior Socialist thinker and activist, number of
organisations in Delhi were present at the meeting. The police, however,
changed their decision and arrested the women and men in very highhanded
manner. Number of protesters, including Medha Patkar, were dragged and
received minor injuries. Swami Agnivesh was also picked up. They were later
released. Baba Amte too was not spared. He was forcibly packed up in the
waiting police ambulance and was told that he was under arrest. Later, in
one of the Delhi hospitals, he was brought and abandoned by the police. The
doctors too neglected him. Baba had a small request : the police must
return him back from where they brought him. But police disregarded his
request. Baba and Mrs. Amte did not take food as a mark of protest against
this treatment. On Thursday, after the government expressed his regrets, he
withdrew the fast.
Meanwhile, number of prominent social and political activists and
organisations protested against the grave injustice against the peopleís
movements and demanded a space for people to put forward their cause.
Senior Socialist leader and president of Samjwadi Jan Parishad, Kishan
Patnaik, Surendra Mohan, senior ideologue of Janata Dal, Ram Dheeraj of
Azadi Bachao Andolan, Swami Agnivesh, Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan, Thomas Kocherry of the World Fishworkers Forum and National
Convenor of National Alliance of Peopleís Movements condemned the behavior
of the police.
( Sanjay Sangvai)