Petition to express deep shock and dismay at the illegal demolition of the premises of Vanvasi Chetna AshramTo: Ms. Pratibha Patil, President of India Mr. ESL Narasimhan Governor of Chhattisgarh India Mr. Raman Singh Chief Minister Chhattisgarh,India cc: Mr. Joy Oommen, Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, and Mr. RP Jain, Home Secretary of Chhattisgarh We are writing to express deep shock and dismay at the illegal demolition of the premises of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram (VCA) by the local administrative authorities on the morning of 17th May 2009, and the subsequent detention, harassment and brutalization of students and journalists working with VCA by the police. We condemn the campaign of vilification and harassment that the state administration has unleashed against VCA, and demand its immediate end. Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, has been working for the welfare of the adivasi (indigenous) people of south Bastar (Chhattisgarh, central India) since 1992, consistently fighting for their legal rights and access to their forests, lands and livelihood.. Since 2005, VCA has also called for government accountability and social justice in light of the violence against adivasis and their forced displacement from their villages by the state-sponsored militia Salwa Judum in Dantewada and Bijapur districts. VCA is one of the few community organizations engaged in resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced adivasis[1] by organizing individual and community support under very adverse conditions,and is also providing themlegal aid. VCA has recently been involved in highlighting the complicity of the state administration in several cases of extrajudicial killings—including the case of Singaram massacres, where 19 villagers were killed on 8th January, 2009. What was initially presented by the state as a case of Maoist insurgents being killed in an alleged “encounter” with the state security forces was later revealed by media and human rights organizations to be a staged killing of unarmed villagers[2]. VCA has been at the forefront of asking the government for accountability, and has brought this case to the Chhattisgarh High Court. It is therefore, particularly alarming to note that the Sub Divisional Magistrate who carried out the demolition of the VCA premises, Mr. Ankit Anand, is also the one who conducted the magisterial inquiry in the Singaram killings, and has a clear conflict of interest. Ever since VCA took a strong stance against the government’s support of Salwa Judum a few years ago, the government has been conducting an unending campaign of harassment against the organization, as detailed below: ·In February 2007, a case of “illegal” encroachment on village forest was lodged against VCA, even though the said piece of land had been granted to them by the Kawalnar Gram Sabha resolution in 1994. VCA challenged this original notice in the court.[3] ·In July 2007, while the case was still under consideration in the courts, VCA was issued an eviction order by the local revenue official, ordering them to immediately vacate their premises.[4] ·In January 2008, VCA received another notice from the Registrar of Firms and Societies in Chhattisgarh, threatening to cancel their registration under the Societies Registration Act of 1973, on the basis of the complaint of the District Collector that they have encroached government land (even though the matter was still sub judice).[5] ·In December 2008, VCA’s registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976, was “temporarily suspended in public interest” without any reason being provided—making it impossible for them to receive funding from international organizations. [6] ·Finally, on 16th May 2009, the VCA was delivered a notice dated 13th May, informing them that their premises were going to be bulldozed the next day. Not only is this a blatantly illegal notice, considering that the matter was still under judicial consideration, the late delivery of the notice also ensured that the VCA were also left with no time to move the courts to get an injunction to stay the order (the 16th being a holiday). [7] Even though the VCA immediately responded to the notice informing the local administration of the status of the case, it made no difference. On the morning of the 17th of May, a 500 strong posse of policemen, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other security forces cordoned off the area, and bulldozed the entire structure, painstakingly put together by the VCA and the local community over 17 years, not even sparing the tubewells and an open well which had been constructed by the Government. The police and armed personnel manhandled five VCA visitors and staff members, including a freelance photojournalist, two PhD research scholars from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, one woman student intern from the corporate firm Symbiosis, Pune, a relative of the Director, who was there on a personal visit and a health worker.[8] We unequivocally condemn the systematic campaign of harassment and intimidation that the administration has launched against Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, and demand that it be immediately halted and the organization be fully and properly compensated. Not only has the administration flouted all norms in ordering the demolition of a structure still under court’s consideration, the undue haste and urgency shown in implementing this order is also very disturbing. Furthermore, we note that this area is governed by Schedule V, and hence, Gram Sabhas have the primary responsibility to take all decisions over land use. However, by effecting this demolition, the administration has shown utter disregard for the opinion of the Gram Sabha. We demand the following: · An end to the systematic harassment of all human rights activists and critics of the Chhattisgarh state. · Immediate legal action against the officials who ordered and carried out the illegal demolition. · Full compensation to VCA and the rebuilding of its premises. · Immediate action against the police officials responsible for the brutalization of the visitors and staff members. · An assurance from the administration, that it will seek explicit consent of the Gram Sabha before erecting or demolishing any further structures in the area., Sincerely, List of SupportersClick here to view the list of current signatures Privacy PolicyEmail addresses are required to verify the authenticity of the petition. They are kept strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to anybody. |