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UPDATE: The fourth open letter on the issues regarding Fr. Pallath's case

June 21, 2001

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 22 June 2001
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UP-17-2001 (RE: UA12/01: Jesuit Priest abused by his own order)

UPDATE: The fourth open letter on the issues regarding Fr. Pallath's case
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Dear Friends,

We would like to send you a copy of a fourth open letter sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit Superior General in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath's case.

For further information including this letter, please visit http://jjpallath.ahrchk.net

Thank you.


Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission

===========================

(This is the fourth of a series of letters on the issues regarding the treatment of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph of the Kerala Province of Jesuits in India.)

An Open Letter to:

Rev. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach
Superior General
Curia Generalize
Compagnia di Gesu
C.P. 6139
00195 Roma Prati
ITALY
Fax: 39-06-686-8214

FOURTH OPEN LETTER RE: Physical Assault, Slander through the Gutter Press, Filing of Fabricated Criminal Cases, Denial of Right to Livelihood and Other Matters Relating to Fr. Pallath J. Joseph Request for an Inquiry

June 22, 2001

THEME OF THE FOURTH LETTER: How to Correct Wrong in a Good Way

Dear Rev. Fr. General,

In the first and second open letters to you, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) raised some concerns from a moral and human rights point of view regarding all of the episodes relating to the case of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph of which you are aware. While it is not our intention to interfere with the affairs of your order, there are matters of public interest about which many people, including our commission, is quite concerned. They are as follows:

(1) The physical assault of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph by two members of your order, together with several other hired thugs;

(2) The throwing of the body of Fr. Pallath over the wall of the Jesuit’s premises and onto the road while he was in an unconscious or semiconscious state;

(3) Slandering Fr. Pallath by some members of your order using a gutter magazine called Crime Star;

(4) The filing of fabricated criminal complaints against Fr. Pallath with the view to have him arrested as a way to prevent him from entering a Jesuit house;

(5) The failure of the Jesuit superiors to respect an agreement entered into between Fr. Pallath and the Jesuits in Kerala through the mediation of the bishop of Calicut; and

(6) The failure to provide for the livelihood of Fr. Pallath after 33 years of service.

This is my fourth open letter to you. Our third letter to you outlined in detail why we as a human rights organisation are concerned about Fr. Pallath’s case. Your silence is no deterrence to us, though your words may have made matters easier. In this letter, we question the manner in which the leaders of the Jesuit order have dealt with this issue.

The facts narrated above have never been denied despite the enormous publicity these facts have received. There is no way to deny these either as incidents are well-known and have been well-recorded from the beginning.

What did the superiors of the Jesuit order do regarding these complaints? Did they ask for an explanation from the culprits who happened to be superiors of the Kerala Province of Jesuits? Did they inquire into the matter? Did they take any action?

If there was any such reaction, they would have called the complainant, Fr. Pallath. This though has not happened. Consequently, there is no other conclusion we can draw except that Jesuit leaders are ignoring these valid complaints.

The next question then is, On what ethical, moral or religious base has a decision been made to ignore the complaints? Is it that the higher ranks of the Jesuit order are not bound by any moral or ethical code? If so, is discipline then a matter for the lower ranks only? Is it also that the highest superiors in the Jesuit order are bound to protect their provincial superiors irrespective of whatever wrong they have done, or is it that there is complicity on both sides in which higher superiors and provincial ones require that each must defend the other? Is this what Ignatius Loyola, the founder, meant by the military style of the organisation?

However, in the secular world, such a military style is no longer permitted. If a top officer learns of acts that his provincial delegate has done for example, like those narrated above it is his legal duty to act and correct the wrong. If he does not, he himself becomes liable before the law and can be punished. Of course, there are still many countries where primitive Idi Amin-like practices continue, but these contradict international laws relating to these matters.

Even the secular world accepts the ideal that no one can violate human rights and that those who do violate these rights must be held accountable. Thus, there is now a good model that the religious leaders also must support rather than contradict.

In the case of Fr. Pallath, the first good act would have been to provide for the physical well-being of the colleague who had worked for the order and who was sent out without even a cent with which to continue his life. This horrible neglect must be corrected. Other allegations of physical assaults and fabricated cases must be dealt with as well. That is what any good organisation, including the State, is expected to do to be considered good by modern standards. This too is the path to reconciliation. It is human to do wrong, and it is possible for the human to correct the wrongs by open admission of what went wrong. The South African Truth Commission has taught the world about morality that combines justice and mercy. Do not all of these considerations apply to the Jesuit order?

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,


Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission

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(You may write to the Jesuit Superior General yourself)

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Rev. Fr. General,

Silence over Fr. Pallath J. Joseph’s Case!

Although complaints of very serious rights violations have been made by Fr. Pallath J. Joseph and although many people have shown their concern that these issues must be addressed by your order, I understand that your order is keeping silent over this issue. I urge you to create a disciplinary inquiry into the actions of the superiors of the Kerala Province of the Jesuit order on this matter and to take all actions necessary to correct the wrong. I also request you to provide for the psychical well-being of Fr. Pallath, who has been dismissed after 33 years of service, even without any consideration for his food, lodging and basic needs.

Thank you.

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***Please send a copy of your letter to AHRC Urgent Appeals:
E-mail: ua@ahrchk.org
Fax: +852 2698 6367

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-17-2001
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.