[sacw] sacw dispatch #2 (22 May 00)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web - Dispatch #2
22 May 2000
__________________________
#1. India: Gujarat - Christians in Gujarat insecure after clashes
#2. India: Continuing incarceration of social workers of Sahyog
#3. Pakistan: Military wary of 'emotional power
#4. Plight of Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails
__________________________

#1.

Mid-Day
Mumbai Monday 22 May 2000 3:42 pm

CHRISTIANS IN
GUJARAT INSECURE AFTER CLASHES
Locals have alleged that an
injured Christian was arrested by the police. They have also accused the
police of not arresting VHP and Bajrang Dal activists.
By
Chaitanya Varanasi May 17, 2000

Christians in Gujarat say the community is
living in constant fear, following clashes here with activists of some
Hindu Right-wing groups.
Trouble erupted last week when activists of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) tried to stop some Christians in the Kanbha area in
Ahmedabad from distributing religious pamphlets. In the resulting clashes,
the pamphlets were burnt and several Christians were injured.
Locals have alleged that an injured Christian was arrested by the police.
They have also accused the police of not arresting VHP and Bajrang Dal
activists.
=91=91More trouble lies ahead for the Christian community,=92=92 said St Xav=
ier=92s
College principal Francis Parmar. Parmar is also an executive member of the
Movement for Secular Democracy Groups (MSDG) and the Maulana Azad Centre
Group (MACG) in Ahmedabad.
Parmar said the attacks had created =91=91fear psychosis=92=92 among the 100=
,000
Roman Catholics living in Gujarat. He said the Centre had not provided
enough protection to his community even after the attacks. The government
only makes false promises instead of settling the problem permanently, he
added.
About the pamphlets, Parmar said, =91=91Christians are peace-loving people.
They want to spread love and happiness through their religion and want to
emphasise what their Bible preaches. The pamphlets contained the messages
of love from the Bible.=92=92
Parmar admitted that =91=91the activities of some Christian organisations,
operating in Gujarat, led to trouble in the Kanbha area, though, I do not
know the organisations responsible.=92=92 But he denied that religious
preachers were out to convert people.
Some members of the All-India Christian Council in Ahmedabad have claimed
that the Central Government had sided with the VHP and Bajrang Dal
activists during the Dangs conflict in 1998, when Christians and churches
were attacked in the area. This did not give Christians any hope to live
freely, the council said.
VHP joint secretary Kaushik Mehta, however, claimed that the problem began
when some Christians in the Kanbha area caught hold of some VHP and Bajrang
Dal activists. Mehta alleged that the Christians were carrying sharp edged
weapons and revolvers while distributing the pamphlets. When VHP and
Bajrang Dal activists tried to prevent them from distributing the
pamphlets, it led to clashes, he said.
=91=91Christians are repeating the Dangs episode. They want to convert peopl=
e,
but we are alert this time and will not allow Christians to cross their
limits,=92=92 said Mehta.
However, according to Haroobhai Mehta, a senior Congressman and prominent
advocate of the Gujarat High Court, Article 25 of the Indian Constitution
gives one the right to express and propagate one=92s religion freely. One, o=
f
course, cannot do so through temptation, fraud, force, misinterpretation,
threat or force. But Christian preachers have been propagating their
religious tenets through peaceful means and no one has the right to stop
them from doing so, he said.
Haroobhai said there have been at least 50 cases of violence against
Christians in the last two years, including seven attacks on the community
this year alone. The cases include burning of copies of the Bible, attacks
on community members, institutions and graveyards in Ahmedabad, Vadodara,
Surat and Rajkot districts.
Meanwhile, the United Christian Association has written a letter to
President K.R. Narayanan, urging him to check attacks on the community. The
law and order situation in Gujarat has deteriorated and Christians are
living under duress, with their life and property at stake, the association
wrote.
________

#2.

=46rom Abha Sur on the FOIL List
22 May 2000

----Forwarded Message---

Continuing incarceration of social workers of Sahyog

Dear Friends,

This is an urgent appeal based on an update of the letter of protest
issued earlier by 'Concern for Sahyog' a large number of Calcutta based
academics, writers and publishers who have personally known many of the
workers of Sahyog.

Abhijit ( Tapai ) Das, Jashodhara Dasgupta and some of their other
colleagues from Sahayog had been accused of publishing an obscene
booklet on HIV AIDS, and were arrested under IPC 505A and 505B, which
are non-bailable sections. Some of the Sahyog people have also been
handcuffed and marched through the marketplace in Almora. Sahyog has
already issued an apology and promised to pulp all copies of the report.
Despite this, they are being held in custody. Their bail application has
been rejected repeatedly in the lower court. The Uttar Pradesh Bar
Association has issued a statement saying that they will not be
represented in court.

On May 10th, the application for bail came up before the Allahabad High
Court, but before the result of the proceedings were declared the Sahyog
members were charged under the National Security Act and remanded into
further judicial custody under the same. Further, a motion to ban
Sahyog from working in Uttar Pradesh is to be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha
(state legislative
assembly) on May 12-13.

We appeal to all concerned individuals and organizations to give this
matter urgent consideration, to take whatever action possible to put an
end to the violation of human rights in this case, and to ensure that
the basic democratic rights of NGOs and activists are safeguarded.

Abhijit Gupta and Kavita Panjabi,
On behalf of
Concern for Sahayog
Jadavpur University,
Calcutta.

- -----Original Message-----

Subject: Protest letter

An Appeal to protest the incarceration of social workers

On Thursday, 20th April, eleven members of Sahyog, a 'society for
participatory rural development', based in Almora, Uttar Pradesh, India,
were taken into police custody on charges of purveying 'obscene'
literature. About six months ago, the organization had conducted a survey
on AIDS in the region and a report titled AIDS aur Hum had been printed for
circulation among other NGOs in the region. A copy of the report was leaked
to the local press and since then,
there has been a systematic campaign by interested parties to defame,
harass and intimidate members of the organization. Recently, a meeting of
Sahyog was disrupted and two workers beaten up. This was followed by the
ransacking of Sahyog's registered office. When the members of the
organization appealed for police protection, arrest warrants were issued in
their names. Five of those held were subsequently released but the six
chief office bearers of the organization continue to be behind bars.
Bail has been refused at least thrice though no criminal charges
have been made against the Sahyog members. Local parties are exerting
tremendous pressure not to grant bail on the local administration. It may
be pointed out here that the campaign against Sahyog is being orchestrated
solely by the residents of Almora town. The
villagers among whom Sahyog worked are solidly behind the organization and
have even raised a large sum of money for posting bail.

The members of Sahyog have repeatedly apologised for the allegedly obscene
language used in thew report. They have said that certain words are
unavoidable in a document concerning AIDS but they are ready to apologise
if local sentiments have been hurt. This has, however, cut no ice with the
protesters, who refuse to spell out what form of apology or recantation
will satisfy them. They demand that the NGO be derecognized and its funding
stopped. Meanwhile the human rights of the Sahyog workers continue to be
violated as they are repeatedly denied bail. Other members of the
organization are on the run or have gone into hiding.

The following letter of protest was issued by a large number of
Calcutta based academics, writers and publishers who have personally known
many of the workers of the organization. This was initially sent to Sahyog
as a gesture of solidarity. We are now forwarding this to you (or your
organization) with the appeal that you add your name to the list and
forward it to as many people as possible. So that we can keep track of the
message, we request that every thirtieth person also mail a copy to us:
offog@v...

***********************************************

We, the undersigned, are deeply anguished and concerned over the arrest and
continued incarceration of six members of Sahyog, a voluntary organisation
based in Almora, Uttar Pradesh. The reported charges against them would
clearly not warrant such extreme measures. Over the last decade, Sahyog's
work in the fields of community health and education has made a
considerable difference to the lives of the indigenous peoples of the
region. It is vitally important that such work is recognised and supported
by the state and local governments. The recent police action against the
organisation will seriously impede the provision of health and educational
services in the area and will only encourage those who have a vested
interest in maintaining the status quo. We extend our full support to the
members of Sahayog and assure them of all possible help. At the same time,
we urge the administration to ensure their speedy release.

1. Signed: Sankha Ghosh (former professor of Bengali, Jadavpur=3D20
University)
2. Amiya Dev (former professor of Comparative Literature, JU and =3D
former=3D20
Vice-Chancellor, Vidyasagar University
3. Jasodhara Bagchi (former professor of English, JU and former=3D20
director of School of Women' s Studies, JU)
4. Sourin Bhattacharya (former professor of Economics, JU)
5. Nabaneeta Dev Sen (professor of Comparative Literature, JU)
6. Malini Bhattacharya (professor of English, JU and director of =3D
School=3D20
of Women' s Studies, JU)
7. Supriya Chaudhuri (professor of English, JU)
8. Sukanta Chaudhuri (professor of English, JU)
9. Sibaji Bandyopadhyay (head of the department of Comparative=3D20
Literature, JU)
10. Subha Chakraborty Dasgupta (faculty, department Comparative=3D20
Literature, JU)
11. Sajni Mukherjee (faculty, department of English, JU)
12. Amlan Dasgupta (faculty, department of English, JU)
13. Nilanjana Gupta (faculty, department of English, JU)
14. Indira Chowdhury (faculty, department of English, JU)
15. Paromita Chakravarti (faculty, department of English, JU)
16. Abhijit Gupta (faculty, department of English, JU)
17. Aveek Majumder (faculty, department of Comparative Literature, =3D
JU)
18. Suman Ghosh (faculty, department of Comparative Literature, JU)
19. Abhijit Roy (faculty, department of Film Studies, JU)
20. Manabendra Bandyopadhyay (professor, department of Comparative=3D20
Literature, JU)
21. Anjum Katyal (Seagull Publishers)
22. Kavita Panjabi (faculty, department of Comparative Literature, JU)
22.Ananda Lal (faculty, department of English, JU)
23. Rimi B. Chatterjee (Stree Publishers)
24. Moinak Biswas (faculty, department of Film Studies, JU)
25. Sandeep Banerjee (student)
26. Anasuya Sengupta (student, Oxford University)
27. Kaushik Sunder Rajan (student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
28. Abha Sur (Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

_________

#3.

[excerpted from]
South China Morning Post
Monday, May 22, 2000
MILITARY WARY OF 'EMOTIONAL POWER'
Fervour: Islamic fundamentalists stage a sit-in on the main
road in Lahore, Pakistan. Religious fundamentalism appears to be on the
increase in several Asian countries. Agence France-Presse photo
RELIGION IN POLITICS by TASGOLA KARLA BRUNER in Islamabad
Pakistan's military Government has been
accused of caving in to Islamic parties after it withdrew a plan that would
have made it harder to accuse someone of blasphemy.
Observers are worried that these parties, encouraged by their victory,
will make more demands and return the country to the path of Islamic
conservatism taken by prime minister Nawaz Sharif before he was deposed in
a military coup seven months ago. They say political parties are too
discredited to galvanise liberal and moderate Pakistanis, who are in the
majority.
After last week's decision, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
accused the Government of panicking. "There is now a clear danger that the
so-called religious parties, puffed up on their present success, will want
to keep the momentum going. They have a long list of demands which are all
meant to advance their narrow agenda," it said.
Following the decision, religious parties demanded the return of Friday as
the weekly holiday and the restoration of Islamic provisions that were
suspended with the constitution after the October 12 coup.
Newspapers reported that the demands also include full freedom for
religious schools and protection for holy warriors. Others could follow,
including the imposition of ultra-strict sharia (Islamic law), one report
said. Another predicted that extremists would stir up more trouble in
Indian Kashmir.
Observers are trying to understand why a military regime, free of
political constraints, retreated from its stance so easily. Retired army
general Talat Masood said that, historically, military regimes in Pakistan
have been "held hostage to the expanding influence of religious groups".
He said although these groups gained only about five per cent of the vote
in Pakistan, they have a lot of "emotional power" to get people on to the
streets and destabilise the country. That is enough to make the military
pay attention.
"When you have a political vacuum, as you always have in military
governments, that vacuum is filled by the religious parties," Mr Masood
said. "There is no party currently trying to give leadership to moderate
forces, because of the failure of political parties in Pakistan. The
religious parties say: 'We are the ones who can deliver'."
Whatever General Pervez Musharraf's relationship with the religious
parties may be, the military and these parties share a common history
because of Pakistan's foreign policy, Mr Masood said. The military
supported Afghan Mujahedeen, or freedom fighters, battling the Soviet Union
between 1979 and 1989 and now says it morally supports freedom fighters in
Kashmir.
All of this had increased the relative importance of religious groups.
"There is a tacit link today between the military establishment and the
religious parties," Mr Masood said.
The proposed change would have required anyone with a blasphemy grievance
to register a complaint, called a first information report, with a district
administrator instead of a police station. Critics are now wondering how
the military Government will be able to implement unpopular reforms if, at
the first sign of resistance, it surrenders on a relatively minor
procedural matter.
[...]
=2E
_________

#4.

The News of Sunday
21 May 2000

THE HUMAN HAUL

Despite an unwritten agreement, both India and Pakistan frequently arrest
each other's fishermen. S. Raza Hassan writes on the plight of Pakistani
fishermen in Indian jails

Every year fishermen across the world including the Pakistani fish
workers celebrate the World Fisheries Day on November 21. That day the
fishermen don't go for fishing to give rest to the fish resources.
Instead, they organise cultural programmes. However, each year there
are numerous fishermen families, both in Pakistan and India, who stay
away from these activities in a silent protest against the
imprisonment of their loved ones on the other side of the border --
for committing a 'crime' in ignorance. Prolonged delays in the repatriation
of these poor fishermen shows the indifference of governments of both the
countries. Months and even years go by following the announcement of
release of fishermen but the lethargic attitude of the higher
governmental authorities does not let it materialise. As a
consequence, a sizeable number of fishermen from both India and
Pakistan are still languishing in each other's jails for years on end.
The most glaring example is the delay in the release of 19 Pakistani
fishermen who were due to arrive on last Eid-ul-Fitr. Despite agreeing in
principle at various levels that if fishermen were found violating the
waters they would be let off after warning, both India and Pakistan
are still following the policy of taking each other's fishermen
captive.
The latest arrest of Pakistani fishermen by the Indian authorities
last month added to the list of such prisoner fishermen. It may be
pertinent to note here that during the early part of 1999 Pakistan had
released the last remaining batch of 109 Indian fishermen from the
Landhi Jail. On the other hand, an unconfirmed figure of 108 Pakistani
fishermen are languishing in Indian prisons. "Though the Fishermen
Co-operative Society (FCS) has now taken some steps to look after such
fishermen families, much more needs to be done in this direction,"
said a local fisherman. Several fishermen complain that the FCS is not
doing the job it was meant for, that is the welfare of fishermen. As
for the tall claims by the FCS that it has provided life-insurance cover to
fishermen, the local fishermen dispute them. The worst victims are the
families of these poor fishermen who are struggling to survive without
their breadwinners. Rukhsana is one such example who is undergoing
treatment at the Psychiatry Unit of Civil Hospital Karachi. She
suffered a mental breakdown after receiving the news of her husband's
detention in an Indian prison. Her husband Ali Nawaz is missing now
for over two years when he had gone on a catch along with his several
companions.
"Traditionally fishermen know no boundaries or limits as according to
them the sea is the domain of God, nor do they have any hostile
feelings towards fishing communities across the borders," said
Mohammad Ali Shah, President Fisherfolk Forum Pakistan. "The maritime
agencies of the two countries play a pivotal role in deciding whether
the fishermen are on the wrong side or not as they have the arresting
powers," he added. According to Article 17 of United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea, it is expected that the maritime security agency, the
investigating agencies and the judiciary should believe beyond reasonable
doubt that the fishing boats and the fishermen had entered into the other
country's maritime zone willingly and for conducting fishing activities.
Thus the Article 17 upholds the right of innocent passage in the
territorial sea. However, the right of innocent passage in the
territorial waters is never awarded to the poor fishermen by either of
the two countries. According to a report complied by the South Asian
Labour Forum titled 'Fishermen as POWs' fish workers from both the
countries are facing similar hardships when they go out to open seas.
Ghani Rehman, 31, is one such example who was in the Porbandar Jail of
India for two and a half years. Though his punishment term is almost
ending, he also has to pay a fine of Rs 8,500. If the fine is not paid
he will have to spend another 11 months in jail. Given the
circumstances, Rehman most probably will have to do this. After being
arrested Rehman wrote a letter to the boat owner. No reply came. He
also wrote to his family but they were helpless. Rehman was the
captain of Al-Jaison boat, which had 14 more fishermen. All were caught
and penalised. The rest were punished for two years and two months and
after having completed their period, they were moved to the police
headquarters on January 1, 1997. The report says that there are 100
Pakistani fishermen in the custody of Porbandar police, caught for
crossing the Indian border, and they have already completed their
prison term served by the court orders. Legally they are not in jail
now but are still in police custody. Under no law of the country can
they be kept in police custody but unfortunately they are and will
continue to be so. They are being kept in a room within the police
headquarters at Porbandar with no fans, no beds and no other facilities. So
far two of them have died after falling ill.
There were nine fishermen on the Al-Ameera boat which was caught on
Indian waters on October 8, 1989. Going through the torturous process
of captivity, police custody, court case and jail they completed their
terms, but were sent to police custody at Kutch in September 1991.
They have remained in the custody of Porbandar Police since March
1992. According to the report, one of the fishermen Naushad Ali said,
"They caught us by force in the ocean, for five days we were kept in
the boat itself. Then they took us to jail; we got one cup of pulses
and two loaves of bread to eat." Children also accompany their elders
during the fishing trips and in some cases also get caught by the other
side. For years they have stayed in Pakistani jails or Edhi Home of the
Children at Karachi. In March 1996, the Pakistani government released
38 such children. Now free Manji Dayar 18, of Vanakvada village of Diu
district fearfully remembers that day in 1994, when he was caught in
the ocean. The Pakistani Navy stopped the boat and all five people on
the boat were caught and taken to Karachi. There they were kept in
police custody for three days and then in jail. Later they were taken
to the Edhi Home. PILAR and South Asian Labour Forum (SALF) Pakistan
with the cooperation of FCS and the HRCP paid visits to all the jails
in Sindh where Indian fishermen were detained and collected information
about them and also compiled a comprehensive list and sent it to
SALF-India for tallying the particulars of the detained fishermen.
The group also met 242 Indian fishermen detained in the jails of Sindh
including Karachi Central Prison, Karachi Juvenile Jail, Landhi
Central Jail, Karachi Malir District Jail, Hyderabad and Nara Jail. As
a good will gesture, governments of both the countries announced the
release of each other's fishermen held captive for several years. The
move came after secretary level talks, held on October 15, 1998
between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. However, since
than no high level talks to release more fishermen have taken place.
One wonders for how long this practise of taking fishermen as prisoners
will continue?

______________________________________________
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