Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari will receive
the annual report of the Amnesty International, ending boycott of this
high-profile international human rights watchdog, which has this time
blamed New Delhi for displacing poor people while marking land for
development.
The report, which was released world-wide today, blames the West Bengal
government for patronising a private militia which, it says, had
unleashed a reign of terror on Nandigram and the BJP-ruled Gujarat for
"sitting pretty on 2,000 killings during the 2003 riots".
According to Amnesty International's India Director Mukul Sharma, "we
are meeting the Vice President on June 2, while the Prime Minister's
Office has sounded us for an appointment next week".
So far, India, like many other countries, had ignored the New
York-based organisation's findings. However, today Sharma presented the
report to the National Human Rights Commission chairman.
The report says that the country's land acquisition policy has
displaced poor people and snatched their livelihood options. "Existing
constitutional provisions were ignored as resource-rich areas,
demarcated as ‘adivasi' habitations, were alloted to extractive and
other industries. The affected communities were generally excluded from
decision-making except in relation to resettlement and rehabilitation,"
the report says.
The reasons for the government's attitude are obvious — making a
departure from the past, the Amnesty's report on human rights situation
in 150 countries has, this time, focused on violation of socio-economic
rights of the people affected by land acquisition, alongside the
violations by the government.
The report also severely condemns the terrorists' act, including the
Samjhauta Express and Jaipur blasts.
On Nandigram, the report says that "private militia owing allegiance to
the ruling CPI(M) and armed supporters of local organisations battled
for territorial control. A range of human rights violations followed,
including unlawful killings, forced evictions, excessive police force
and denial of access and information." Referring to the displacement of
about 50,000 tribal people in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, in the wake of
"Salwa Judum" campaign against the Left-wing extremists, the report
says, "No serious attempt was made to ensure their voluntary return."
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