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UPDATE (India): Journalists and protesters criticizing the brutal attack on Singur village protesters are severely injured by the police

December 11, 2006

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Indian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Indian authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

11 December 2006

[RE: UA-393-2006: INDIA: Police violently assaulted peaceful peasants in West Bengal]
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UP-224-2006: INDIA: Journalists and protesters criticizing the brutal attack on Singur village protesters are severely injured by the police

INDIA: Attack of journalists; abuse of rights of peaceful protestors; violation of the freedom of assembly; arbitrary arrest and detention
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information from its partner organization MASUM regarding the brutal attack on peaceful Singur peasants by the police during their protest against the forced acquisition of their land for an automobile project in the Hooghly district, West Bengal on 2 December 2006 (See further: UA-393-2006). On December 8, the Srirampur police brutally attacked unarmed peaceful protesters near Sheoraphully Railway Station, Hooghly district, injuring several protesters, journalists and cameramen.

UPDATED INFORMATON:

At around noon on 8 December 2006, a peaceful rally that was organized and announced well in advance proceeded from Sheoraphully Railway Station in Hooghly district towards G.T. Road. All the protesters gathered to criticize the state government's forced acquisition of land at Singur area and the recent brutal attack on the villagers by the police. To see the AHRC’s original urgent appeal about the police attack, go to UA-393-2006 and also see the MASUM’s Fact Finding Report: FS-037-2006.

Many journalists, photographers from print media, as well as the electronic media were present at the scene. The Srirampur police began to obstruct the rally and ordered the protesters to disperse immediately. The protesters were then surrounded by a huge police contingent with batons, tear gas, revolvers and rifles.  The police were acting under the direct control of the Hooghly district police administration.

The organizers then told the police officers that they had no authority to disperse the rally because the area is not under the jurisdiction of the Singur police station.  Also, no promulgation had been declared as stipulated under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code of India.  Section 144 of Cr. P.C states, "Power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger…" As of 2 December 2006, the entire Singur area has been cordoned off by a huge police force. According to the West Bengal State government, 6,000 policemen have been deployed there; however, local people put the number at more than 14,000.

The police began to indiscriminately attack the protesters with lathis. At that time, the huge crowd of protesters was in front of Udayan cinema hall and a large number of journalists were present. When cameramen from various TV channels started capturing the incident, the police then assaulted them and other journalists. As a result, several protesters and media personnel were severely injured. They include; Mr. Shyamapada Shit, a cultivator of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, Ms. Swapna Sarkar of Kolkata, Ms. Gayetri Roy of Tollygunge, Mr. Upen Koilya, a cameraman of Tara News channel, Mr. Jyotirmoy Basu, a cameraman of ETV channel and 12 other protesters.  In particular, Mr. Jyotirmoy received a grievous injury causing bleeding over his head and his camera was broken by police. Two injured cameramen are now being treated at Walsh hospital in Srirampur but their present condition is reportedly poor.

The police forces at the scene that were reportedly from the Srirampur police station area in Hooghly district have been functioning under the direct control of the Hooghly district police administration. It has been confirmed that Inspector-in-Charge of Srirampur police station, Mr. Salil Kumar Ganguly, and Sub Divisional Police Officer of Srirampur, Mr Meena, were present during the incident.  However, they claim that there were other senior police officers who were there at that time. 

Meanwhile on December 7, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Central Office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in New Delhi on 7 December 2006 to voice their condemnation towards the forced acquisition of land in the Singur area. The MASUM from Kolkata and other human rights organizations from Delhi held a protest in front of the Central Office of Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPIM), at AK Gopalan Bhavan, Bhai Veer Singh Marg in New Delhi. The CPIM is the ruling party in West Bengal.

Hundreds of protestors gathered there to register frustration against the indifference shown by the West Bengal state government and the brutal police attack on the protestors at Singur, who are opposing the forced acquisition of the land belong to the marginalized agrarian population. During the protest, Ms. Bharati Das, a victim of police brutality on December 2 was also present.

Students from JNU, several Human Rights activists, social activists and Concern Citizens of Delhi (a combination of 32 organisations), noted writer Ms. Arundhuti Roy, activist Senior Advocate Mr. Prashant Bhushan and Editor of Mainstream Mr. Sumit Choudhury were also present with the Secretary of MASUM, Mr. Kirity Roy.

Later that day, a press conference was organized at the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi and a large number of journalists from Delhi attended the meeting. The MASUM's secretary Mr. Kirity Roy, noted writer Ms. Arundhuti Roy, a senior advocate Mr. Prashant Bhushan, well known editor Mr. Sumit Chowdhury along with a socialist leader Mr. Surendra condemned the atrocities upon the rural populace of Singur in a single voice. They also demanded an immediate national moratorium on all land acquisition and displacement until a national consensus on the issue is achieved.

Eighteen well-known social leaders and activists signed the statement. They are; Mr. Rabi Ray (former speaker of Lok Sabha (the House of the People)), Mr. Justice Krishna Iyer (former judge of Supreme Court), Prof. Rajni Kothari (former member of the Planning Commission), Ms. Aruna Roy (former member of the National Advisory Council, UPA Government), Prof. Muchkund Dubey (former secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr. D. Bandopadhyay (former commissioner of Land Reforms, West Bengal & former secretary of Rural Development, Government of India), Mr. S.P Shukla (former member of Planning Commission), Mr. S.R Sankaran (former secretary of Rural Development, GOI), Mr. K.B Saxena (former secretary, Rural Development, GOI), Mr. K. Subramanian (former director general of Police, Tripura), Mr. K. Balagopal (human rights lawyer), Dr. Bela Bhatia (sociologist), Mr. E.A.S. Sarma (former secretary of Ministry of Energy, GOI), Prof. Arun Kumar (Economist, JN University, Delhi), Prof. Chaman Lal (president of JN University Teacher’s Union), Mr. Vijay Pratap (social activist), Mr. Suhas Borker (filmmaker and social activist) and Mr. Sumit Chakravarty (journalist).
 
Meanwhile, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Member of Parliament and main opposition leader in West Bengal is continuing a 6 day hunger strike in Kolkata. The local member of legislative assembly (MLA) of Singur and five others were also staging hunger strikes against the forced eviction.  All had later been forcefully taken to hospital by police.

BACKGROUND:

Singur, in Hooghly district of West Bengal was in the national news for the resistance by the agrarian populace in Singur against the forceful eviction from their property by the state government. The local people had long been building up their resistance in the area where the TATA group had been permitted to establish a 'small car' factory after the acquisition of the total 997.1 acres of fertile land by the state government. The protesters camped in Beraberi, Ghaser Veri and other nearby villages in order to resist the forced acquisition of the fertile and multi-crop producing lands.

The West Bengal state government claims that about 95% peasants of the concerned area have already handed over their land title to the government but the peasants and human rights groups say that the figure is completely untrue. They also say that the peasants who did not sell their property are not allowed to harvest crops on their own land, although the fields are full of paddy.

The West Bengal state government has also not provided any rehabilitation programme for the Singur villagers as it did in earlier forced evictions in the Bellilious Park (FA-27-2003, UP-54-2003 and HA-06-2004), Tolly Nala, Rabindra Sarovar and so on. Furthermore, the villagers have been denied access in their right to information as per RTI Act 2005 in West Bengal.
 
SUGGESTED ACITON:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge their strong intervention into this matter. Please urge them to bring those responsible for attacking the protesters to justice, respect the Sinpur peasants' land rights and provide adequate rehabilitation programme to the affected people.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter;

Dear ________,

INDIA: Journalists and protesters criticizing the brutal attack on Singur village protesters are severely injured by the police

Victims who are identified:
1. Mr. Shyamapada Shit, a cultivator of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district
2. Ms. Swapna Sarkar of Kolkata
3. Ms. Gayetri Roy of Tollygunge
4. Mr. Upen Koilya, a cameraman of Tara News channel
5. Mr. Jyotirmoy Basu, a cameraman of ETV channel
6. At least 12 other protesters 
Those responsible: Policemen from Srirampur police station area in Hooghly district under direct control of Hooghly district police administration. Inspector-in-Charge of Srirampur police station, Mr. Salil Kumar Ganguly, and Sub Divisional Police Officer of Srirampur, Mr Meena, were also presented at the time of incident and other senior police officers were also allegedly presented.
Date of incident: At around noon on 8 December 2006
Place of incident: In front of Udayan cinema hall located between Sheoraphully Railway Station towards G.T. Road in Hooghly district

I am deeply concerned by the police’s brutal attack on unarmed peaceful protesters near Sheoraphully Railway Station, Hooghly district on 8 December 2006. Several protesters, journalists and cameramen have been severely injured.

According to the information I have received, at around noon on 8 December 2006, a peaceful rally proceeded from Sheoraphully Railway Station in Hooghly district towards G.T. Road, in order to criticize the state government's forced acquisition of land at Singur area and the recent brutal attack on the villagers by the police. The Srirampur police then obstructed the rally and ordered the protesters to disperse immediately. The protesters were also surrounded by a huge police contingent with batons, tear gas, revolvers and rifles.  The police were acting under the direct control of the Hooghly district police administration.

I have been informed that the police indiscriminately attacked the protesters with lathis. As a result, several protesters and media personnel were severely injured. They include; Mr. Shyamapada Shit, a cultivator of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, Ms. Swapna Sarkar of Kolkata, Ms. Gayetri Roy of Tollygunge, Mr. Upen Koilya, a cameraman of Tara News channel, Mr. Jyotirmoy Basu, a cameraman of ETV channel and 12 other protesters. 

The police forces that were reportedly at the scene are from the Srirampur police station area in Hooghly district and have been acting under the direct control of the Hooghly district police administration. It is confirmed that Inspector-in-Charge of Srirampur police station, Mr. Salil Kumar Ganguly, and Sub Divisional Police Officer of Srirampur, Mr Meena, were presented during the incident. Other senior police officers are also believed to have been there at the time. 

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge their strong intervention in this matter. Please ask them to bring those responsible for attacking the protesters to justice, respect the Sinpur peasants' land rights and provide adequate rehabilitation programme to the affected people.

I am deeply concerned that this incident took place following the December 2 brutal attack on peaceful peasants by the police regarding the same matter at Singur. It has been alleged that even elderly women and children were indiscriminately beaten and arrested with serious criminal charges, going completely against the norms that have been established under the law.

Such brutal police acts are in clear violation of the freedom of assembly and expression that is guaranteed by the Constitution of India as well as the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). I therefore strongly urge you to inquire about this matter and take action against those police officers responsible for inflicting indiscriminate violence against peaceful protesters and journalists. I also urge you to ensure that an independent inquiry is also conducted into the December 2 incident and that the cases against the villagers who were arrested are unconditionally withdrawn. 

I am also concerned about the forced eviction of the poor peasants in Singur area. In this regards, I request that you use your official capacity to ensure that the Government of India respects the Sinpur peasants' land rights and provides adequate rehabilitation programmes to the affected people.

I look for your urgent intervention into this matter.


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister's Office
Room number 152, South Block
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23016857

2. Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Chief Minister/ Minister of Home Department
Government of West Bengal
Writer's Building
Kolkata - 700 001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 2214 5480/ 2214 1341

3. Justice Mr. Y. K. Sabharwal
Chief Justice of India
Through the Office of the Registrar General
Supreme Court of India
1 Tilak Marg, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23383792

4. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi -110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2334 0016
Email: chairnhrc@nic.in

5. Chief Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22144328

6. Home Secretary
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 22143001
Email: sechome@wb.gov.in

7. Minister-in-charge
Municipal Affairs and Urban Development
Government of West Bengal
Writers' Buildings, Kolkata - 700001
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 22145497
Fax: +91 33 22143853

8. Home Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Jaisalmer Hosue
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23094221/ 23794833

9. Mr. Jean Zeigler
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
c/o Mr. Carlos Villan Duran
Room 4-066, OHCHR, Palais Wilson,
Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9300
Fax: +41 22 9179010 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR RIGHT TO FOOD)


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-224-2006
Countries :
Issues :
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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.