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print version[Posted below is a press release issued by NAPM the major social movements coalition in India, followed by a press releases by the human rights group PUCL Chattissgarh unit, by PUCL National and by Amnesty International, and this is followed by a statement issued by concerned citizens]
1.
Politics of Violence and Counter Violence will only Maim Adivasis
NAPM Condemns the Ambush by Maoists in Bastar
Increased Militarisation in the Region would be no Solution
New Delhi : Once again in the ongoing politics of offensive and counter offensive between State and Maoists, adivasis have lost their lives. In an ambush on the convoy carrying Congress leaders, Maoists have reportedly killed 27 people and injured several others including senior Congress leader, V C Shukla. On the intervening night of May 17-18 too eight villagers, including three children, and a personnel of elite CRPF Cobra battalion were killed in a gun-battle near Edasmeta village in southern Chhattisgarh too. Adivasis caught in the armed conflict have been the worst victim of this war of control over resources, territory and sovereignty. That this happened during the Parivartan Yatra, a programme of the Congress Party to reach out to the people, is indeed unfortunate.
National Alliance of People’s Movements condemns this ambush leading to loss of precious lives. Life of those in power and leadership are important and so are the lives of common adivasis who are being tortured, jailed and killed by Security forces and Maoists alike. In the ongoing conflict both claim to represent the interests and work for Adivasis but their stance and means has only alienated them and perpetrated injustice on them. Their rights have often been violated resulting in large number of adivasis in jail on false trumped up charges. In the same Durma valley where the attack by Maoists have killed Congress leaders, state administration violated all the existing laws and procedures to facilitate land grab for Tata Steel.
Salwa Judum, an armed Sena of the young and adolescents worsened the scenario. It has been termed as illegal and directed to be disbanded by Supreme Court, but State government responded by making them part of the regular police. Even, as Salwa Judum burnt houses, raped women, maimed and killed adivasis, the State supported it and failed to provide justice to adivasis and continued to brand them as Maoists and their supporters. A democratically elected government in Chattisgarh or at the Centre can’t use the dictum of ‘you are with us or against us’. Its allegiance is to the rule of law and its duty is to protect the rights of its citizens.
Even while, politicians across the political spectrum are terming this as an attack on democracy, let us not forget that every time an adivasi is jailed, killed, their houses burnt, women raped and their schools occupied to facilitate resource grab or termed as collateral damage in the ’Operation Green Hunt’, democracy is attacked and the faith of citizens in the State’s ability to uphold justice and rule of law, shaken. Violence on both sides is condemnable and should be avoided forever.
We fear that this latest ambush will now be used by the state to justify further militarisation in the region and make lives of Adivasis more difficult. There is an urgent need for political intervention and dialogue. The guns of State or Maoists, will not solve the problem. Politics of violence and counter violence will only make lives of adivasis and others in the region more difficult, which will ultimately have an impact on the democratic norms and freedom of citizens elsewhere in the country, as seen in shrinking spaces for non-violent, democratic movements and arrest of activists. Soni Sori, Lingaram Kodopi and many others are braving brutality as a result of the war promoted by the state and Maoists, both. Mahendra Karma, openly supported Salwa Judum, a violent outfit and the same violence has killed him. This is tragic, yet a telling fact.
The swiftness with which the centre has promised all help in this regard and dispatched a large number of security forces, if the same urgency was shown for providing justice to the victims of Salwa Judum in all these years, Indian state would have won a bigger political battle by now. Awards, compensation and martyrdom will be bestowed on those killed by Maoists but Adivasis victims of this collateral damage and those languishing in jail need justice too. There is an urgent need to address that otherwise situation will only deteriorate. We demand that political dialogue in all sincerity be initiated to arrive at a political solution rather than increased militarisation.
Medha Patkar, Prafulla Samantara, Dr. Sunilam, Arundhati Dhuru, Gabriele Dietrich, Gautam Bandopadhyay, Ramakrishnan Raju, Sister Celia, Maj. Gen (Retd) Sudhir Vombatkere, Vimal Bhai, Krishnakant, Rajendra Ravi, Meera, Seela M, Madhuresh Kumar
—
National Alliance of People’s Movements
National Office : 6/6, Jangpura B, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110014
Phone : 011 26241167 / 24354737 Mobile : 09818905316
Web : www.napm-india.org
Facebook : www.facebook.com/NAPMindia
Twitter : @napmindia
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2.
CHHATTISGARH LOK SWATANTRYA SANGATHAN
(PEOPLES UNON FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES, CHHATTISGARH)
Chhatisgarh PUCL condemns the abduction and killings of Congress Party men in Darbha Ghati in Bastar area of the State
Calls for urgent intervention by democratic forces
to end the spiral of violence in the Region
Raipur,
25th May, 2013
The Chhattisgarh PUCL strongly condemns the attack by suspected Maoists on the convoy of Congress Party leaders in the course of their election campaign in the forested Darbha Ghati in Sukma area in which, according to news reports till the present time, Congress leader Mahendra Karma and Uday Mudaliar have been killed and the President of the Congress Party Nand Lal Patel is suspected to have been abducted. More than 20 people have been reportedly killed with several seriously injured and the numbers of missing, injured and fatalities are on the increase.
The PUCL has always had a principled stand opposed to violence and the politics of killings and abduction. The spiraling violence in the Bastar region in which the present killings and abduction have occurred, and only a week ago on 17th May, 8 villagers including 3 children and a jawan were killed in an operation of security forces in Village Edesmeta, district Bijapur. For the first time, the police actually admitted that those who were attacked were innocent and instituted an enquiry. This situation requires the urgent intervention of all democratic forces in the country as also expressed in the recent strong and anguished letter issued by the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri K Chandra Deo to the Governors regarding the situation in the Scheduled Areas.
Sudha Bharadwaj
General Secretary
(Chhattisgarh PUCL)
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3.
PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
270-A, Patpar Ganj, Opposite Anand Lok Apartments, Mayur Vihar I, Delhi 110 091
Phone 2275 0014 PP FAX 4215 1459
President: Prof. Prabhakar Sinha; General Secretary: Dr. V. Suresh
E.mail: puclnat@gmail.com; pucl.natgensec@gmail.com
26th May, 2013
PUCL Condemns Killings of Congress Party leaders, their PSOs and Ordinary Villagers by Maoists in Dharba Ghati of Sukma District, Chhattisgarh
The PUCL strongly condemns the ambush of a Congress party election cavalcade by the dalam of the CPI(Maoist) party at Dharba Ghati area in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, 25th May, 2013, resulting in the death of 28 people including Congress party leaders, their personal security officers and ordinary villagers of the area. PUCL denounces as totally unacceptable, the abduction, kidnapping and subsequent killing in cold blood of the Congress party President of Chhattisgarh, NK Patel, and his son Dinesh. The Maoists also killed Mahendra Karma, the founder of the dreaded Salwa Judum, and his security guards.
What is particularly reprehensible is the killing of unarmed political workers of the Congress party by over 200 gun wielding members of the Maoist party which ended up killing a number of innocent bystanders also, who accidentally happened to be in the spot. Particularly reprehensible is the fact that armed Maoists cadre also killed people who had surrendered and were in their custody.
It is the PUCL’s understanding that under no circumstances can acts of brutality be justified, even if they be in response to equally heinous and brutal acts unleashed by the security forces, as we are seeing presently in Chhattisgarh, as recently as the killing of 8 innocent tribal villagers in Edasmeta village of South Bastar on 17th and 18th May, 2013; or in response to the brutalities committed by the vigilante Salwa Judum founded by the deceased Mahendra Karma.
We equally stress that whatever the circumstances, the security forces must act within the bounds of law. Our apprehension that the present incident will be used by both the Central as also State Governments to launch a brutal counter-offensive engulfing local tribal communities amidst greater state violence springs from the already grim human rights situation that prevails in the area. Complaints abound of state security forces committing with impunity, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, secret detentions, abductions, arbitrary, prolonged and incommunicado detention, unfair trials, and enforced disappearances, and worse in the wake of Operation Greenhunt.
A Fact Finding Team of PUCL Chhattisgarh had recently, on 21st May, 2013, released its Report titled, `Guilty until proven Innocent – A Report on Unlawful Police Activities in North Bastar, Chhattisgarh’ which detailed the atrocities committed by the security forces in 2 villages in Chhattisgarh.
While PUCL firmly condemns the violence of the Maoists and acknowledges the constitutional duty and responsibility cast on the Governments to protect the life of all people, PUCL nevertheless asserts that all counter-measures adopted by the Government should adhere strictly to the rule of law, including the core principles of criminal and constitutional law and the specific standards and obligations of international human rights law, and, where applicable, humanitarian law. It should be noted that these principles, standards and obligations, as constantly affirmed by the Supreme Court, define the boundaries of permissible and legitimate State action against extremism and terrorism. It is however very important that the revolting nature of extremist acts cannot serve as a basis or pretext for the Governments to disregard their national and international obligations, in particular in the protection of fundamental human rights. We would like to point out to the caution highlighted by the International Council of Jurists in its Declaration on Upholding Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Combating Terrorism, The Berlin Declaration, 28 August 2004
PUCL would like to point out that it is important to strengthen civil society, not weaken it so as to effectively tackle political violence. An effective strategy to preventing the downward spiral into lives filled with violence, fear and repression is to genuinely acknowledge, respond and respect the key issues faced by tribals and local communities in Chhattisgarh; this will deny the basis for real or imagined grievances from supporting violence. The best way to strengthen democracy is by integrating human rights, equity and social justice considerations into all government policies, plans and programmes.
The spirals of violence and counter-violence in the troubled areas of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and other states is grim and life threatening. The PUCL, through this appeal, is therefore giving a national call for a `HUMANITARIAN RESPITE’ and appeals to the Central and State Governments, the security forces and also to the Maoists, to agree to an immediate ceasefire, stopping of armed engagements and engage in talks.
Sd/-
Prof. Prabhakar Sinha
National President, PUCL
Sd/-
(Dr. V. Suresh)
National General Secretary, PUCL
PUCL National Office:
270-A, Ground Floor, Patpar Ganj, Mayur Vihar-I, Delhi-110091
Ph. 011-22750014
Website: www.pucl.org
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4.
Amnesty International
30 May 2013
India: Maoist attack puts civilians at risk of further violence
“Both the Maoist and state forces must refrain from committing any attacks that could directly or indirectly lead to civilian casualties. Authorities must also take immediate steps to guard against any attacks, including reprisal attacks, which could cause further civilian casualtiesâ€
Shashikumar Velath, Director of Programmes at Amnesty International India
Thu, 30/05/2013
The killing of 24 people, including three senior politicians and eight police personnel, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on 25 May could further escalate violence in the state, putting more civilians - including local Adivasi (Indigenous) communities - at risk, Amnesty International has warned.
“We unequivocally condemn the taking of hostages and murder of civilians in Chhattisgarh, which constitute serious human rights abuses,†said Shashikumar Velath, Director of Programmes at Amnesty International India.
According to the police, around 250 heavily armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of senior leaders of the Congress party on the Jagdalpur-Sukma highway in Bastar, triggered a blast in two vehicles and fired indiscriminately. The attackers shot dead, among other Congress leaders, former Home Minister of the state Mahendra Karma, the state Congress President Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh. Patel and his son were allegedly taken hostage before they were killed. The attack also wounded 33 people, including former Union Minister V. C. Shukla. The police say that one policeman is still missing.
The Communist Party of India (Maoist), an armed opposition group banned by the central government, has claimed responsibility for the attack. In a four page note sent to select media, the group stated that a People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army or PLGA detachment had carried out the attack in order to “punish†those who had launched the anti-Maoist Salwa Judum civil militia in 2005 and put “anti-people policies†in force in Chhattisgarh.
The letter expressed regret at the death of a few “innocent Congress workers†, but maintained that it was right in targeting a political party. Earlier, the CPI (Maoist) had called for a strike to protest against the killings of eight Adivasi villagers, including three children, by central paramilitary forces on May 17.
Intentionally directed attacks against civilians, and violence to life and person – including murder of all kinds, cruel treatment and torture – go against fundamental principles of humanity, as reflected in international humanitarian law.
“Authorities must conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the attacks, and bring those suspected of criminal responsibility to trial in fair proceedings without recourse to the death penalty. In doing so, they must ensure that Adivasi communities are protected from discrimination, violence and harassment†, said Shashikumar Velath.
“Both the CPI (Maoist) and state forces must refrain from committing any attacks that could directly or indirectly lead to civilian casualties. Authorities must also take immediate steps to guard against any attacks, including reprisal attacks, which could cause further civilian casualties.â€
Mahendra Karma was instrumental in the establishment of the anti-Maoist state-sponsored civil militia, Salwa Judum. Following widespread human rights violations, including killings, rape and other crimes of sexual violence, committed by the Salwa Judum, India’s Supreme Court in 2011 banned the militia and ordered its disarming. But state authorities incorporated the militia’s 3,000-strong members into an auxiliary police force which is still active.
Over the last eight years, Chhattisgarh has witnessed an escalation of violence between government forces and the Maoists who claim to be fighting on behalf of Adivasis against India’s established political order. The confrontation has seen routine killings, taking of hostages and other attacks against the civilian population. More than 30,000 Adivasis remain forcibly displaced.
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5.
Statement Condemning the Maoist Politics of Murder in Chhattisgarh!
We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the horrific massacre of leaders and workers of the Congress Party carried out by the CPI(Maoist) in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. We also wish to express our deepest condolences to the families of all those killed including the security personnel accompanying the convoy of Congressmen returning from an political rally at Sukma in Bastar district.
The killing of senior state Congress leaders and their cadre is particularly barbaric and reprehensible as they had, in the course of the Maoist ambush, become captives or had surrendered voluntarily. This is tantamount to cold-blooded murder of prisoners in custody, an act that goes against all norms even in a state of civil or international wars. It is also most foul as Maoists have tried to stop political activity they do not agree through violent means.
The latest Maoist action will only invite even more state repression in the area. The CPI(Maoist) leadership, which authorized the attack, seem to have cynically calculated that such increased repression will swell their numbers and help their movement grow. If that is the case then their politics is as evil as those they claim to be fighting against and should be shunned by all those who stand for democratic norms in political struggles for peace with justice.
We call upon the Congress Party, the state and central governments to exercise great restraint in their response to the Maoist atrocity.
Abha Dev Habib, Associate Professor, Miranda House, DU
Apoorvanand, Professor, Delhi University
Anivar Aravind, IT Engineer, Bangalore
Arshad Ajmal, Social activist, Patna
Dilip Simeon, Academic, New Delhi
Jagadish, Trade Unionist , Bangalore
Kavita Srivastava, PUCL, Rajasthan
Satya Sivaraman, Journalist, New Delhi
Shabnam Hashmi, ANHAD, Delhi
Vinod Raina , Educationist, Delhi
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Relevant news reports:
Witnesses say 17 killed in attack by Maoist insurgents in India (25 May 2013, UPI)
Maoists kill Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma among other Congress leaders
Joseph John & Rashmi Drolia, TNN May 26, 2013, 08.40AM IST
Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people in attack on convoy carrying ...
(26 May 2013, The Independent)
Collateral damage? Maoists say sorry for killing Bastar journalist (March 31, 2013, Dilip Simeon’s Blog)
