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dam-l LS: Committee to Protect Journalists Protest at A. Roy Censorship
Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465-1004 Fax:
(212) 465-9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: info@cpj.org
July 28, 1999
SENT BY FAX to 011-91-11-301-6857
His Excellency Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
Office of the Prime Minister
South Block
New Delhi 110 011, India
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the latest
efforts to suppress discussion of the social and environmental costs of
Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar dam construction, part of a controversial irrigation
and hydroelectric project along the Narmada River.
India's Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow, July 29, to decide
whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the writer Arundhati
Roy for publishing an essay on the Narmada Valley Project. In a statement
issued
by the three-bench panel on July 22, the judges said that the essay - which
originally ran as an article in the Indian weekly newsmagazines Outlook and
Frontline, then was excerpted in London's The Guardian newspaper, and has now
been published as a short book - seemed to be "an attempt to undermine the
dignity
of the court and influence the course of justice." Two leading activists with
the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), or "Save the Narmada Movement," are also
threatened with contempt charges.
Chief Justice A.S. Anand, Justice S.P. Barucha, and Justice B.N. Kirpal
scheduled the hearing in response to a petition filed by the Gujarat state
government, which claims that there should be a ban on the "publication of
various matters in different newspapers, journals, and other media touching
upon
the matter under consideration of the court." In February, the court lifted a
four-year stay on further construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam, and this
decision was scathingly critiqued in Roy's book, The Greater Common Good.
In her book, Roy argues against "Big Dam" projects generally, and
criticizes the
court for its apparent indifference to reports that the Sardar Sarovar project
would displace half a million people.
Meanwhile, in Gujarat State, CPJ's sources report that virtually all bookstores
have pulled copies of Roy's book for fear of violent reprisal. Last week,
activists from the two most powerful political parties in India, the Congress
Party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), held demonstrations
condemning Roy for her anti-Narmada views. On June 22, members of the youth
wing
of the Congress Party burned several copies of The Greater Common Good, and
Youth Congress president, Himattsinh Patel, threatened that "If within the next
24 hours, all [Roy's] irresponsible, anti-development books are not withdrawn
from the shelves, the bookstores will have to face the wrath of angry Youth
Congressmen." The BJP's youth wing held a similar demonstration on Saturday,
July 24. In this climate of extreme intolerance, the renowned Gujarati writer
Ashwini Bhatt was unable to find a publisher willing to release a Gujarati
edition of Roy's essay, and is now planning to publish the book himself.
However, CPJ fears that distribution of the book will be extraordinarily
difficult, and even dangerous.
As an organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of press freedom
around the world, CPJ is dismayed that the powers held by India's Supreme Court
and by Gujarat's political leadership are being used to stamp out dissent on a
matter of vital public interest.
CPJ respectfully urges Your Excellency to use the power of your office to
condemn the actions taken by the Youth Congress as well as by members of your
own political party to threaten and intimidate bookstore owners and publishers
in Gujarat, effectively censoring debate regarding the Sardar Sarovar dam. We
further request that you instruct the Gujarat state government to ensure that
those who choose to display and distribute The Greater Common Good will be
protected from violent reprisal.
CPJ also hopes that the Supreme Court will uphold Article 19 of India's
constitution, which guarantees that "All citizens shall have the right . . . to
freedom of speech and expression," and abandon its pursuit of contempt of court
charges against Arundhati Roy.
We thank you for your attention to these urgent matters, and await your
response.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
cc: President K.R. Narayanan
Home Minister L.K. Advani
Information Minister Pramod Mahajan
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Amnesty International
Article 19
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Congressional Committee to Support Writers and Journalists
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Association of Broadcasting
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Newspaper Publishers
International Journalism Institute
International PEN
International Press Institute
National Association of Black Journalists
National Press Club
Newspaper Association of America
The Newspaper Guild
North American Broadcasters Association
Overseas Press Club
Reporters Sans Frontières
Society of Professional Journalists
South Asian Journalists Association
World Press Freedom Committee