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UPDATE (INDIA): Update on expulsion of Sr Vanaselvi while in detention

August 25, 2003

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update Appeal 26 August 2003
[RE: UA-08-2002: Expulsion of Sr Vanaselvi while in detention (UP-07-2002, UP-10-2002)]
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UP-33-2003: Update on expulsion of Sr Vanaselvi while in detention

INDIA: Unfair dismissal, social ostracism, denial of right to livelihood and freedom of expression by a religious order
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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had previously issued urgent appeals and wrote appeal letters to the Congregation of Mother of Sorrows Servants of Mary calling for the justice for Sr. Vanaselvi who was exqelled by the Congregation while she was in detention. Sr. Vanaselvi was arrested by the Suramangalam Police of Salem on her way from Bangalore in Karnataka State to Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu State on 20 November 2001. Sr. Corona Mary, the former Superior General, and the Congregation exqelled her without prior information or any inquiry into the incident by reason of her involvement in socio-political activity. Sr. Vanaselvi has completely devoted her life to the service and upliftment of the poor in India, especially she was championing the cause of human rights and had worked staunchly for the elimination of child labour.

In May, 2002, The Congregation elected a new Superior General. However, Sr. Ladisca Mary, new Superior General, has kept the same attitude like her predecessor about this matter even though she got the support from the members of the Congregation that she would redeem the situation. Until now, there is no positive answer or reaction from the Congregation.

Sr. Vanaselvi is continuing her toilsome fight to get her dignity and work back from the Congregation with help from a group of women volunteers in a tiny village where she has been educating hundreds of poor children. Your urgent action is required to request the Congregation of Mother of Sorrows Servants of Mary to reinstate Sr. Vanaselvi immediately and to support her.

[To see the detailed information of Sr. Vanaselvi case, our appeals for this case are available at:
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2002/201
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2002/207
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2002/212]

Update on expulsion of Sr. Vanalselvi while in detention


After the arrest of Sr. Vanaselvi, it was found that the police made many irregularities when they arrested her. At hearing, the police were unable to produce any of the pamphlets in Tamil that they claimed Sr. Vanaselvi was carrying, eulogizing the sandalwood smuggler Veerappan and denouncing the present and former Chief Ministers of Tamilnadu, the present Chief Minister of Karnataka and the police of both states. Until now (for 21 months since the arrest of Sr. Vanaselvi), the police has not filed the charge sheet.

One week later Sr. Vanaselvi's arrest, Sr. Corona Mary, the former Superior General of the Congregation dismissed her without any inquiry into the incident. This dismissal of Sr. Vanaselvi lost the Superior General the Congregation members' support and resulted in the loss of her position during the election in May 2002.

Sr. Ladisca Mary, who was elected as the new Superior General, had condemned Sr. Corona Mary's action on Sr. Vanaselvi's case and the Congregation hoped that she would reconsider the case and redeem the situation. On the contrary, as soon as she became the Superior General, she changed her attitude dramatically and submitted same views like her predecessor on Sr. Vanaselvi's case to the Vatican on 13 May 2003. At its behest, Rome imposed a three-year expulsion on Sr. Vanaselvi even though the Congregation already expelled her in November 2001. It indirectly showed that the previous Congregation's reaction against the incident was excessive and not appropriate.

The Council of the Congregation passed the decree of the Vatican to Sr. Vanaselvi but then they arbitrarily imposed 21 conditions on her, which went against all human considerations. The conditions did not even mention where she could stay. The Council offered 6,000 rupees for two month with the 21 conditions but Sr. Vanaselvi returned the money because she didn't want to accept the conditions.

Meanwhile, Sr. Vanaselvi was also suspended from her headmistress post. They held an internal inquiry without the presence of the accused and the arbitrator appointed by the congregation suggested the Congregation to dismiss her. This one-sided proceeding was challenged in the High Court of Chennai which stayed the process and ordered that no further action can be taken without informing the High Court. Another petition has been filed in the High Court to this effect but the Congregation didn't revoke the suspension. In addition, the school authority has an obligation to give subsistence allowance. In fact, Sr. Vanaselvi hasn't gotten any subsistence allowance for 21 months at all even though the school authority (congregation) imposed the suspension.

Under the those difficult situation in the Congregation, a few priests who had preached social analysis and vehemently supported the Sr. Vanaselvi now openly declared that they would tread a middle path which meant in fact that they don't support her any more.

Sr. Vanaselvi is continuing her toilsome fight to get her dignity and work back against the Congregation with help from a group of women volunteers in a tiny village where she is educating hundred of poor children. Her demand is very simple: "Give me back my job and compensate for the losses I incurred."

SUGGESTED ACTION
Write to the Superior General of the Congregation of Mother of Sorrows Servants of Mary, requesting that she immediately reinstate Sr. Vanaselvi and offer her every possible help for the baseless allegations being made against her. If you want to send a supporting letter, Sr. Vanaselvi can be reached at vanaselvi@hotmail.com

Send a letter or an email to:

Sr. Ladisca Mary
Superior General
The Servite Generalate,
41-42 Tank Bund Road, Nungambakkam,
Chennai 600034
INDIA
Tel: +91 44-8203819
Fax: +91 44-8203830
E-mail: serviteg@yahoo.co.uk

SUGGESTED LETTER:

Dear Superior General Sr. Ladisca Mary

RE: The Case of Sr. Vanaselvi osm

Expulsion of Sr Vanaselvi and dismissal from a headmistress position at a high school by your congregation in 2001 is based on unproved and baseless charge made by the police. The fact that the police didn't show any reliable evidence against Sr. Vanaselvi at the court and haven't filed the charge sheet until now shows that they manufactured the false case. In particular, at its behest, Rome imposed a three-year expulsion on Sr. Vanaselvi even though your congregation already expelled her in November 2001. It shows that the previous Congregation's reaction against the incident was excessive and not appropriate.


I urge you to dismiss 21 conditions imposed on her by the council of the congregation, which went against all human considerations and urge you to reinstate her immediately. I also urge you to offer her every possible help for the baseless allegations being made against her. For 21 months after her arrest, Sr. Vanaselvi didn't get any subsistence help from your congregation and she is living in very difficult situation. It would be an only way that your congregation protects the dignity and human rights of Sr. Vanaselvi and show an evidence of love of Jesus to both of believers and nonbelievers in the world.

Yours truly,

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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-33-2003
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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.