[sacw] sacw dispatch #1 (18 May 00)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Web - Dispatch #1
18 May 2000
________________________________
#1. Bangladesh: New documentary film on 1971 genocide
#2. India: Hindu Right in a Missionary Zeal: Minority schools under attack
#3. India: Open letter to Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC)
#4. India-Action Alert: Tell Ogden Corp To Quit The Maheshwar Dam Project
________________________________

#1.

http://www.cryforjustice.com/crew/

CRY FOR JUSTICE:
A DOCUMENTARY FILM ON 1971 GENOCIDE IN [EAST PAKISTAN] BANGLADESH

Between March 25, 1971 and December 16, 1971 Pakistani army and
their local agents killed 3 million innocent, unarmed and peace-loving men,
women and children, violated 300 thousand women, destroyed almost all
factories, roads, bridges and culverts, burned houses, engaged in
indiscriminate looting and plunder
[ ...]
with the active help and cooperation from the butchers of Jamat-i-islami
and agent provocateurs from the Muslim League and Nizam-i-islami Party. It
was Jamat-i-islami, the religio-political party led by Golam Azam, who from
the very beginning extended moral support to the Pakistan army in their
genocidal act by way of forming auxiliary forces known as Rajakar,
Al-Badar, Al-Shams.

Contact e-mail: "Novita Rahman" <novita@c...>
Website: http://www.cryforjustice.com/crew/
_______

#2.

The Statesman
17 May 2000
Editorial

MISSIONARY ZEAL Minority schools under attack

WATCHING a film on Jesus Christ, even for a Christian, has become a
hazardous occupation and requires informing the police if one wants to be
saved from violence, or so the Maharashtra police expect of citizens. VHP
goons recently ransacked a Christian girls hostel, burnt three vehicles and
damaged school equipment to protest a Bible reading programme followed by a
a film on Jesus. All those invited were Christians, so the false argument
of a threat of conversion does not apply. Luckily the female boarders were
safe thanks to the vigilance of those attending the show. The police have
acknowledged that the attackers were local VHP elements but argue that the
organisers should have informed them in advance for protection. Does that
mean from now on every minority community which wishes to practise its
faith even in the privacy of their homes, has to seek police protection.
Attacks on minority educational establishment have become the norm, and
the BJP Government have done nothing to stop them. In UP three missionary
schools were attacked in the guise of robberies. The principal of one
school in UP has been charged with sexual harassment by a sacked female
employee. That it took the alleged victim seven years to make the charge is
intensely suspicious. It offends common sense to take notice of such
fabrications. There is also the vicious police violence on the Jamia Millia
Islamia campus. Innocent students of this minority institution were beaten
up, while Hindu students were given worse treatment for mixing with what
the police called =93ISI agents=94. The students were jailed, their careers
ruined, while the policemen went scot-free. The government refused to order
an inquiry. This supports the hypothesis that such behaviour is impossible
without political support. If such attacks continue, religious segregation
in schools will become inevitable. Hindu parents will stop sending their
children to missionary schools not out of fear of conversion, that is
ludicrous, but for fear of attacks by the VHP. Universities like Jamia
Millia and Aligarh Muslim University which have at least 40-50 per cent
non-Muslim students will become institutions for minorities. Segregation
will create more misunderstanding between communities and the rise of
bigotry. This is what the VHP wants, but is this what India wants? Let us
tell the bigots that their tactics are exposed and will not pass.
_______

#3.

=00=00INSAAF International
A Demand For Justice

Open letter to Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC), India
(In response to PSHRC letter No. D-260/2000 PSHRC-99/5307)

Date 18.5.00
To
Chairperson,
PSHRC

Dear Sir,

Received the letter no. D-260/2000 PSHRC-99/5307 of the commission. It
informed us that our complaint was disposed off in limine by the bench of
the commission vide its orders dated 8.2.00. It is further written in the
letter of Commission that, =ECAs per the news item appearing in the daily
issue of Indian Express in the =EBChandigarh Newsline=ED dated January 22,
2000, the burial of the dead body of Mst. Lajo Begum had already taken
place on January 21,2000. Thus, it cannot be said by any stretch of
imagination that the concerned authorities had not taken prompt action in
the matter.=EE

In our representation dated 21.1.00 to PSHRC we had written, =ECWe have come
to know that an old Muslim woman Lajo Begum of about 90 years, in village
Singh Bhagwantpura district Ropar, Punjab died 5 days back. Since then her
body has been awaiting burial in the village graveyard, which is reported
to have been grabbed by some local person. Large number of men, women and
children of minority community are camping at her house in the village.
Their number is increasing with very passing day.

-------- We demand immediate intervention in arranging the respectful
burial of Lajo Begum
without further delay. At the same time we demand strong action against all
those officials responsible for this cruelty in turning a deaf ear to the
pleas of the relatives of the deceased. We apprehend that such happenings
further add to ever increasing alienation and dissatisfaction of minorities
from the present government. Insaaf International requests you to take such
incidents very seriously and also take strong action to stop repetition of
such callousness of the authorities towards sentiments of the minority
communities in future.=EE

We are really disappointed by the observations made by the PSHRC, which
seems to have been made without reading our letter, news in the paper or
going into the details of the case. The news appeared in Indian Express
dated 21.1.00 (dateline Roopnagar, Jan 20). =EBInsaaf=ED had also sent
telegrams to the district authorities and others on the same day. The body
was buried after 5 days of death, that too not in the Burial ground but in
a common piece of land with the consent of the local villagers. The facts
that the body awaited burial for 5 days, people of minority community
started collecting at the her house and that the body could not be buried
in the Burial ground clearly show that the concerned authorities had not
taken any action let alone prompt action. The news was in detail and it
mentioned, =EC An air of uncertainty continues to prevail in this village fo=
r
the past four days over the delay of the burial of Lajo Begum (90), who
died on January 17. ---- Some 150 Muslims including women and children, are
camping at the house of the deceased and the number of relatives coming
from far off places is increasing with each passing day=EE.

Actually no 'stretch of imagination' was needed to decide this case. Such
orders are instrumental in putting a question mark on the relevance of
statutory human rights Commissions. The use of the unwarranted =EC stretch o=
f
imagination=EE shows the biased attitude of the commission. Even if, in the
opinion of the commission the district authorities had taken prompt action,
this could be communicated to us without =EBsounding=ED offended at the
representation made by =EBInsaaf=ED against the authorities.

These Commissions are supposed to be watchdogs of the Human rights and not
of corrupt bureaucrats. This attitude discourages us to represent or pin
our hopes of getting justice from various statutory human rights
Commissions. We also see this action of PSHRC contrary to the spirit of
=EBfunction section=ED of NHRC, which in section 12(I) says, =ECencourage th=
e
efforts of the non-governmental organizations and institutions working in
the field of human rights=EE

The Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working at the grass root level
do so against all odds with negligible resources. They represent to Human
Rights Commissions for support and justice and do not expect them to be a
transparent defender of the administrative machinery. The government and
its elements often treat those NGOs as adversaries, which point out the
ills in the government functioning. We work tirelessly on great personal
costs to create a better human rights environment for all of us to live in.

We take this opportunity to bring to the notice of the Commission a few
more facts regarding case of Lajo Begum. Orders in case regarding the said
Kabristan, titled Mazid Vs Didar Singh and others in court of the District
Judge Roop Nagar/Ropar were pronounced on 19.1.00. The orders clearly said
=ECThere is no space except for Kabristan provided in the village for buryin=
g
the dead bodies of the people of Muslim community. --- It is well known
that the Kabristan vests in Ahle-islam and a trespasser cannot seek
injunction against the true owner=EE. Even after these orders the
administration did not arrange for the burial. Son of the deceased Lajo
Begum filed an appeal to allow him to bury his mother in the Kabristan,
which was accepted by the learned District Judge Roop Nagar on 19.1.00.
What could be more shameful than this, that despite the judicial orders the
body could not be buried in the Kabristan?

Previously also the DDPO Ropar wrote a letter to the BDPO Ropar on 9.1.98
wherein he was directed to remove the illegal possession of the Kabristan
and in case of any hindrance police help was asked to be taken. There were
many such other letters, which declared the possession of the Kabristan by
local goon, illegal. Nothing was done by the district administration to get
the Kabristan freed from his possession. The members of minority community
had to under go long and expensive judicial battle to get what was to be
done by the administration as part of their duty, years before. The
deliberate inaction of the district administration due to ulterior motives
has turned this in to a personal dispute among the members of minority
community and local goon when it was the duty of the administration to
prevent illegal possession on the Kabristan.

We feel that PSHRC should not have given its verdict without the
preliminary investigation or looking into obvious facts of this case. If
the decisions of the Commissions are influenced by the erring authorities,
then the very purpose of the establishment of the commissions to dispense
justice is defeated.

So we request the PSHRC and other statutory Commissions to uphold the
spirit of Justice. The Justice should not only be done but it should also
appear to have been done. Further we request that NGOs which are not
patronized by the establishment, but are committed to form a better society
free from corruption, injustice and discrimination on the basis of caste,
creed, religion and status, should not be considered as enemies or aliens
by the Commissions.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully

Dr. Vineeta Gupta
General Secretary, Insaaf International=0BKishori Ram
Hospital Building, Basant Vihar, Bhatinda, Punjab, India
Phone
91-164-215400 (work), 91-164-253903 (home), Fax 91-164-214500
Email: insaaf@g...
Website:www.geocities.com/insaafin
________

#4.

CALL! FAX! EMAIL!
TELL OGDEN OFFICIALS TO GET OUT OF THE MAHESHWAR DAM!
TUESDAY, MAY 23

Scott Mackin
President and CEO
Ogden Corp.
Tel: 212-868-6000
=46ax: 212-868-5714
Email: scott_mackin@o...

Kent Burton
VP, Policy and Communications
Ogden Corp.
Tel: 703-246-0833
=46ax: 703-246-0808
Email: kent_burton@o...

--------------------------
SAMPLE LETTER
--------------------------

Dear Mr. Burton or Mr. Mackin,

I am writing to urge you to withdraw from the Maheshwar Dam in India. This
project is a social and economic disaster and will destroy the lands and
livelihoods of 40,000 people living in the Narmada Valley.

Despite assertions by your company, no land is available to give to people
whose lands will be flooded. A 1998 report by India's premier social
research institute, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, found that
government lands claimed to be available for resettlement were either
eroded and stony, already used by other poverty-stricken communities, or
located in the submergence zone of the reservoir. The report also found
that claims of private lands identified for resettlement were fictitious.

Investment in the Maheshwar Dam poses serious political and financial
risks. The Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board, which is supposed to purchase
power from the project, is bankrupt and is likely to default on its
payments. The affected people, led by the Narmada Bachao Andolan, are
determined that they will never let the project be built. The project's
poor economics and massive opposition, including countless demonstrations
and rallies, forced two German utilities and one American company to
withdraw during the last two years.

I urge you to respect the demands of the people affected by the Maheshwar
Dam and withdraw from this destructive and uneconomic project.

Sincerely,

--------------------------
BACKGROUND
--------------------------

The Maheshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh state in central India would affect
around 40,000 farmers, wage laborers, fishers and crafts people in 61
villages and submerge about 1,100 hectares of rich agricultural land. Many
of these people would lose part or all of their lands, others such as those
who quarry river bed gravel, do not own land but would lose the source of
their livelihood.

The affected people, led by the Narmada Bachao Andolan which has campaigned
for more than a decade to stop dams on the Narmada River, are determined
that they will never let the project be built. Over the last two years,
thousands of farmers whose lives and livelihoods will be destroyed by the
Maheshwar Dam have occupied the dam site ten times, barricaded all roads
leading to the dam for three months, and held mass demonstrations and
hunger strikes opposing the dam.

Electricity generated by the dam is projected to cost four to five times
more than current electricity produced by Madhya Pradesh state. The Madhya
Pradesh Electricity Board, which is supposed to purchase power from the
project, is on the verge of bankruptcy and is likely to default on its
payments. Due to the project's serious financial risks and intense
opposition from local people and Indian and international environmental and
human rights groups, U.S. power utility PacifiCorp backed out of the
project in 1998, and German utilities Bayernwerk and VEW Energie pulled out
in April 1999.

-------------------------------------------
OGDEN'S CLAIMS AND SOME REBUTTALS
-------------------------------------------

Ogden's Claim: Families affected by the dam will be compensated for their
homes and land. Land is available for resettlement.

RESPONSE: A 1998 report by India's premier social research institute, the
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, found that government lands claimed to
be available for resettlement were either eroded and stony and already used
by other poverty-stricken communities, or located in the submergence zone
of the reservoir. The report also found that claims of private lands
identified for resettlement were fictitious.

The legal framework governing resettlement in MP clearly stipulates that
land lost to submergence must be compensated by grants of new lands. As of
today, project authorities have not made a single person an offer of
cultivable land. Instead, project authorities have tried to intimidate
people to accept cash compensation by not offering them any land and
committing various illegal acts like dumping stone on people's land and
seizing lands arbitrarily.

Ogden's Claim: The new resettlement villages will have new roads, schools,
medical, sanitation and drinking water facilities and households will have
electrical connections.

RESPONSE: No new villages have been built with the amenities claimed by
Ogden. Many villagers have refused to move to two of the resettlement
villages, Samraj and Jalud, because of the barren lands and small house
plots there. Meanwhile, construction of the dam will destroy the rich
economy in the valley and flood existing agricultural fields, schools,
roads and other infrastructure. The German NGO Urgewald states in their
report on Maheshwar (1999) that "if compensation at replacement value [of
homes, lands, existing infrastructure and sources of livelihood] would be
undertaken, the project would very likely not be economically viable."

Ogden's Claim: Local people support the Maheshwar Dam and are encouraging
us to finish as soon as possible.

RESPONSE: The affected people state that they are "prepared to wage a
relentless struggle" against the Maheshwar Dam and are determined to "not
let the dam be built at any cost." The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA - Save
the Narmada Movement) has been leading the fight against dam construction
on the Narmada River for more than a decade and represents tens of
thousands of local people. This spring, nearly 300 elected representatives
of the affected area sent Ogden a resolution opposing the project.

Over the last two years, thousands of people affected by the dam have
occupied the construction site ten times and held mass demonstrations and
hunger strikes opposing the project. In spring 1998, protesters barricaded
roads leading to the damsite for 3 months and blocked the flow of
construction material to the site.

On February 24, 2000, villagers launched an indefinite protest in front of
the damsite demanding authorities to demonstrate the utility of the project
and available lands for resettlement. On March 8, police beat and arrested
the protesters. On April 4, 200 project affected people demonstrated
outside the US Embassy in Delhi opposing Ogden's involvement in the
Maheshwar Dam.

Ogden's Claim: The number of people who would be displaced by the dam has
been overestimated.

RESPONSE: Recent surveys by the NBA suggest that about 35-40,000 people
will be affected by the project (this figure also includes landless people
who will lose their livelihoods). Independent reviews show that the
official figures, which range from 2,264 to 4,000 families, are gross
underestimates and based on outdated and incomplete data. The official
figures also exclude thousands of people who would lose their livelihoods
to the project (including landless labourers, fisherpeople, and those
dependent on riverbed gravel quarrying).

Ogden's Claim: The 400 megawatts generated at Maheshwar will supply the
state with peaking power to meet demand that cannot be handled by existing
facilities.

RESPONSE: The project is expected to generate far less power than expected.
While the project is designed to produce peaking power, nearly 80% of the
project's energy generation will occur in the four monsoon months, when
there is an existing surplus of power. According to project data, the
average firm power expected to be generated by Maheshwar is 92 MW initially
and 49 MW finally. Generation at Maheshwar is supposed to rely on water
released from a massive storage reservoir upstream (the Narmada Sagar
Project). This project is long delayed and unlikely to ever be completed,
and this will thus reduce the amount of power expected to be produced at
Maheshwar.

Independent energy analysts who participated in a Task Force on the
Maheshwar project sponsored by the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government estimate
that its power will cost around four times the cost of power currently
produced in MP and will be among the most expensive in the country. Project
authorities have denied these allegations but refused to provide their own
detailed estimates of power costs.

There are cheaper and more effective alternatives. The Task Force also
recommended that work on the Maheshwar dam be halted and a fresh analysis
of costs and benefits undertaken to establish the viability of the project.
It suggested various alternatives including demand-management measures,
biomass generation, optimum use of oil-based plants and existing dams, and
micro-hydro plants. In March 1999, the Central Power Minister, Mr.
Kumaramangalam, made an offer of significantly cheaper power to the state
of Madhya Pradesh from the Cepa project in Orissa.

Ogden's Claim: This project will provide people with an important new
source of clean energy.

RESPONSE: The energy from Maheshwar Dam will not be "clean." Dams block
fish migration and alter the natural pattern of floods and sediment flows.
Because dams trap a river's flow, dams foul river water in numerous ways,
affecting its chemistry, temperature, and turbidity (sediment load). These
hydrological, chemical and physical changes have serious impacts on
riverine and floodplain flora and fauna which are adapted to the natural
characteristics of the river. The specific environmental impacts of the
Maheshwar project are not known because no comprehensive environmental
assessment exists. This is a violation of both Indian and international
standards for dam projects.

=46OR MORE INFORMATION:
Go to www.narmada.org or www.irn.org
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
tel: 510-848-1155 fax: 510-848-1008 email: swong@i...
________

#5.

__________________________________________
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