[sacw] sacw dispatch #2 (25 Sept.99)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web Dispatch #2
25 September 1999
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#1. United Christian Forum for Human Rights release re voilence against 'Nun' 
#2. SAHMAT press statement (24 september 99)
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#1.
UNITED CHRISTIAN FORUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
CBCI Centre, 1 Ashok Place, New Delhi
President : Archbishop Alan de Lastic
National Coordinators : Archbishop Vincent Concessao, Bishop Karam Masih
National Convenor :John Dayal

ABDUCTORS ATTEMPTED TO RAPE NUN
COMMUNITY OURAGED AT ASASUALT ON NUN IN BIHAR; PARIVAR THREATS TO DISTURB POPE'S DELHI VISIT

NEW DELHI, Sept 24: The two men who abducted and stripped a Catholic Nun in Jalalpur near Chhapra in Bihar on 20th September 1999 had attempted to rape her but could not succeed because she put up a stiff resistance, Bishop Victor Henry Thakur of Bettiah has said.

The Nun was however overpowered under threat of death and made to drink urine that two men gave her in a bottle, the Bishop said in his letter to the Catholic Bishops Conference of India and to the Police.

The incident has outraged not just the Christian community and the church, but women's and human rights groups. As United Christian Forum for Human Rights president Archbishop Alan de Lastic wrote an sharp letter to Prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today, the All India Catholic Union, and the All India Christian Council also wrote to the national Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women demanding urgent action against the `affront to human dignity and insult to Indian Womanhood..

In his letter to the prime minister, Archbishop de Lastic complained of anti-Christian violence in recent days in Rajasthan, Bihar and other states. He referred to published statements by the leaders of the RSS and VHP to take out a Rath yatra to coincide with the arrival of Pope John Paul II in New Delhi in November this year.

In his strongly worded protest to Mr. Vajpayee, Archbishop de Lastic said, "While you are busy during the elections the attacks on the Christian community are still continuing". 

Public outrage has grown as more details have come in of the Chhapra incident. Bishop Thakur went to Jalalpur, Chhapra where the Pondicherry sisters have been running a convent since 1987, working mainly in non formal education and empowerment programmes. Bishop Thakur is now in Patna to meet the political and police leadership of the state.

The convent had been repeatedly threatened in the last two years and it was only at the intervention of the local priest and the civil authorities that a major incidents had been averted. 

The assailants of the young nun -- who had been transferred to the convent recently -- repeatedly asked her why the religious had not fled despite the violence against Christians in other parts of India. Later, as they forced her to drink urine at knife-point, the two men told her that after the elections were over, they would `put an end to the work' of the Convent.

(released by John Dayal)
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#2.

SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001
Tel-3711276 / 3351424 Fax
e-mail-sahmat@n...
24.9.99
PRESS STATEMENT
Dharana and Hunger Strike against attack on artists in Mr. Vajpayee's
constituency

Hundreds of cultural activists, artists, scholars, journalists and concerned
citizens sat in a dharana at the Gandhi statue at the GPO in Lucknow today
( September 24) at 11 a.m. to demand the arrest of the BJP MLC Ajit Singh
and his goondas who had brutally attacked the SAHMAT Rangmanch actors on
September 22 evening. SAHMAT secretary Shabnam Hashmi has undertaken a
hunger strike at the venue while the Rangmanch, despite injuries to several
of its actors, continued to perform the play " Teen Terah Ka Chakkar" at
several venues in the city to expose the divisive and communal character of
the BJP rule. The call for the dharana was given by 40 democratic, secular
and social organisations of journalists, women, youth, students and artists. 

A number of prominent citizens including senior professors of the university
- Roop Rekha Verma, M.N.Kakkar, Ramesh Dixit joined the dharana. The
representatives of all the secular political parties visited the Gandhi
statue which included Arjun Singh, Salman Khursheed and Dr. Karan Singh from
the Congress (I), Samajwadi Party candidate Bhagwati Prasad apart from the
Lucknow leaders of the CPI (M), CPI and Janata (Secular). Prof.
K.N.Panikkar, Prof. K.M. Shrimali, photographer Ram Rahman and Vijaya Pratap
of Lokayan went from Delhi to join the dharana.They have called upon
cultural activists and artists all over the country to organise protest
actions. A delegation of SAHMAT is meeting the President tomorrow to
apprise him of the situation in the constituency from where the prime
minister is seeking re-election.

Speaking on the occasion, the speakers demanded the arrest of the culprits
named in the FIR filed under sections 147, 323 and 504 of the IPC. They also
said that the incident was not an isolated one. They demanded an explanation
from Mr. Vajpayee whether he supported such behaviour of his supporters and
party men.

While the site of the hunger strike and dharana bore a festive look with
paintings and posters by local artists, display of the exhibition " Harvest
of hatred" it was also reported that the unnumbered vehicles with BJP flags
in which the miscreants had been travelling on the evening of Sept 22 was
also taking the rounds of the venue in order to terrorise the protesters.
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