Pls read the trailing mail & request all esteemed members of the group to forward it to your circle to form a constructive discussion & creating awareness
Regards Satyen Mahanta Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: "'Dr. Aroop J. Kalita' [email protected] [SupportAChild-Assam]" > <[email protected]> > Date: 17 May 2015 4:38:51 PM GMT+05:30 > To: Wahid Saleh - Indiawijzer <[email protected]>, 'Ankur Bora' > <[email protected]>, "[email protected]" > <[email protected]> > Cc: 'Ankur Bora' <[email protected]>, 'North East' > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [SupportAChild-Assam] Re: [NorthEastIndia] Awareness on the need > for a Repatriation Treaty > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Dear Wahid da and Ankur, > > Greetings ! > > The issue of illegal immigrants has been occupying a major space in our > social and political discourse since the last almost 4 decades. However , we > are yet to see any concrete solution emerging. > > The Assam Accord itself has been debated, criticized, analyzed ...... and so > on and so forth. > > When a few of us decided to get into the depths of this issue and have a > threadbare analysis of what went wrong or why this issue has not got resolved > till now, we had some interesting experiences .. will try to summarize a few. > The reason was simple ... if this issue/problem has a solution, then it needs > to be found out and highlighted and if there is no solution, its better to > leave it. > > We decided to organise a Seminar on the topic ::: Assam Accord - Fault in the > Accord or Fault in Implementation ? It was held on 21st of December in > Guwahati (Srimanta Shankaradeva Kalakshetra auditorium). We invited several > intellectuals , journalists, prominent citizens, etc. . whom we often see > either writing columns on this issue or deliberate in TV talk shows. You > would be surprised to know that many of them asked us for a copy of the Assam > Accord !! We were dumbstruck ... the same people who wax eloquent on this > topic don't have a copy of the document on which they speak volumes !! > We also invited legal experts and signatories of the Assam Accord to the > seminar so that we could have the views of all. > > Then came the next part ... we started getting phone calls from several (so > called prominent) people asking us not to go ahead with this seminar .... we > won't disclose their identities now (but surely in due course of time, we > will do so). We were surprised as to what was the issue if we held this > Seminar. But soon, things became clear...... > > Anyhow, the Seminar went on as scheduled, it was chaired by Dr. > R.C.Barpatragohain, Dean Faculty of Law, GU and Dr. Bhuban Ch Baruah, > Principal, Tezpur Law College. > > In that Seminar - I had presented an analysis of 13 Accords signed in > post-independent India in the North East from 1947 to 2005. We also analysed > which ones out of them were productive and which ones failed and why. We also > analysed the constitutional amendments which were brought about following the > signing of each accord to give effect to the agreed provisions of that > particular accord. > > That vested interests and powers had no intention of this issue getting > resolved was clear if we analyse the clauses of the Assam Accord itself. And > also the fact that so many people lost their lives, suffered atrocities, > disabilities, etc. etc to get a genuine problem brought to the attention of > the Center. > > Clause 5.9 of the Assam Accord states : The Government will give due > consideration to certain difficulties expressed by the AASU/AAGSP regarding > the implementation of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, > 1983 - yet it took the intervention of the Hon'ble SC and 21 long years to > get this act repealed/quashed. And surprisingly , even after the Hon'ble SC > struck down this act , subsequent to the said decision, instead of > implementing the directions therein, the Central Government in exercise of > its power under Section 3 of the 1946 Act made an Order known as "the > Foreigners (Tribunal) Amendment Order, 2006" (for short "the 2006 Order"), > which was published in the Official Gazette dated 10th February, 2006. On > 10th February, 2006, the Central Government amended the 1964 Order > principally making the same inapplicable to the State of Assam. Again the SC > was approached and this was quashed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in 2006.... > Who is responsible for this and why ? > > Clause 5.8 of the same Accord states : Foreigners who came to Assam on or > after March 25, 1971 shall continue to be detected, deleted and practical > steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners. .... but even after finalizing > a time bound schedule to implement the clauses of the Assam Accord .. the > Center kept dragging its feet. > > Clause 10. of the AA states : The Ministry of Home Affairs will be the nodal > Ministry for the implementation of the above. > > The 2 major issues in the Illegal immigrants problem are - > 1. The porous international border > 2. Detection, deletion and deportation of illegal immigrants > > And both these subjects are Central subjects, no state government has any > jurisdiction over them. > > The Report of the Committee for Preventing Infiltration through the > unprotected riverine areas in the Assam-Bangladesh Border – constituted by > GOA on 12th September’2011 submitted its report on 19th January’2013 and > this report shows some shocking revelations as to how the international > border in this part of the country has been neglected since independence till > date. > > Anyhow during that seminar, we highlighted the fact that unless and until we > have a "Repatriation Treaty" with Bangladesh, it is not legally possible to > deport illegal immigrants even after the Tribunals / Courts declare them as > illegal immigrants. > > The glaring failure in deportation of illegal immigrants is also evident from > the Tripura State Government and ATTF accord signed in 1993 – (also called > The Agartala Agreement) –wherein in Clause 2.(B) it was mentioned that - > Action would be taken in respect of sending back all Bangladesh foreign > nationals who have come to Tripura after 25th March, 1971 and are not in > possession of valid documents authorizing their presence in Tripura..... > However records of the actual status reveal that, till July 2012 only 2442 > people were pushed back while 42,338 people were declared as foreigners... > which is a mere 5.76% > > Most news papers of the state carried this on 22nd December, but then we > realized that this aspect was till date not highlighted /brought into public > domain ... the reasons for the same are not clear till date. Most people we > spoke to pleaded ignorance. Subsequently we brought many recent reports of > World Bank and UN into public discourse. > > We prepared a detailed memorandum in this regard and presented to the Hon'ble > Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly and also the Hon'ble Governor. We > requested the Hon'ble Speaker to convene a special session of the Assembly to > adopt a resolution in this regard and place before the GOI. The Hon'ble > Governor when appraised of this issue, suggested that we send copies to the > memorandum to Hon'ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Hon'ble Chairman of Rajya > Sabha and he volunteered to forward them through his office. > > We also published a booklet on this issue which we have sent to all MLAs & > MPs of our state and also to Editors and prominent journalists of the state > and the country. > > As Wahid da has mentioned, India and Bangladesh have signed an Extradition > Treaty on 28th Jan,2013 but as per Article 2 of the treaty - An extradition > offence for the purposes of this Treaty is constituted by conduct which under > the laws of each Contracting State is punishable by a term of imprisonment > for a period of at least one year. However as per our laws, if anyone enters > our country illegally , he/she if caught is convicted under the Passport Act > and under the provisions of the same, the maximum punishment is 3 months > imprisonment. This has been highlighted in several recent court cases where > even after conviction and serving the jail term, India is unable to deport a > person to Bangladesh. > > The Indian Parliament enacted the The Repatriation of Prisoners Act, in 2003 > and following that till November’2014 India has signed such agreements with > 35 countries including Bangladesh. However under the said act : “prisoner” > means a person undergoing a sentence of imprisonment under an order passed by > a > criminal court including the courts established under the law for the time > being in force in contracting States. Moreover, to be repatriated , any > prisoner who is a citizen of a contracting State may make an application to > the Central Government for transfer for transfer of his custody from India to > that contracting State , Provided that if a prisoner is not able to make an > application himself because of his ill health, mental condition, old age or > being a minor, then, the application may be made by any other person entitled > to act on his behalf. > > Thus the provisions of the existing treaties make it impossible to apply to > the case of illegal immigrants. > > After we had press conferences on this issue and we handed over copies of > booklets to all the Media houses of the state and several prominent citizens, > slowly we are seeing that people are realising the implications of the > absence of this treaty and we are seeing mention of the need for a > "Repatriation Treaty" in several Editorials , Letters to editors, Articles by > Columnists, etc... > > Various people belonging to various strata and sections of our society talk > about a multitude of problems and issues and instead of exploring and > highlighting solutions to these issues try to attract attention of the people > by coming to the streets. In a democratic form of governance, protests based > on facts and logic definitely has a role to play. But at the same time, we > have a responsibility to explore and highlight solutions to these > problems/issues. Instead of creating unnecessary disturbances which are > avoidable, we believe that if people become aware of the actual reasons > behind the problems plaguing our state, public pressure will build up and > eventually the Governments of the day will be forced to act. > > People get misled because of ignorance and in this case when most of the > intelligentsia was ignorant, the common man can't be blamed. > > We are making an effort, there might be shortcomings .. we welcome > constructive suggestions. > > Warm Regards > > Aroop > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Saturday, May 16, 2015 2:59 AM, "'Wahid Saleh - Indiawijzer' > [email protected] [NorthEastIndia]" > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Dear Ankur, > It is a good initiative. So also the work done by Aroop and his group. > But don’t you think that your request/proposal regarding the “Need an > Indo-Bangladesh repatriation treaty” is like closing the stable door after > the horse has bolted? > There is already an India-Bangladesh extradition treaty which took effect in > October 2013. The treaty allows exchange of convicts sentenced for more than > a year in prison but will not be applicable to political prisoners and asylum > seekers. This treaty helped to get the ULFA leaders' extradicated to India. > Would it not be easier/better to seek amendments to an existing treaty than > trying to put something new? > For the list of extradition treaty signed by India with another country pls > visit Extradition Treaties and Arrangements. The link Extradition - Central > Bureau of Investigation also provides information on this issue. > My two cents! > Greetings, > Wahid da > PS: For the next two weeks I shall have limited access to Internet. > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Ankur Bora [email protected] [NorthEastIndia] > Sent: vrijdag 15 mei 2015 22:21 > To: [email protected] > Cc: Dr. Aroop J. Kalita; Ankur Bora; North East > Subject: Re: [SupportAChild-Assam] Re: [NorthEastIndia] Awareness on the need > for a Repatriation Treaty > > > Dear all > > Please find my Letters to the editor Assam Tribune. The original has also > been attached below. > http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/showpage.asp?id=may1615,6,435,1611,981,546 > > I stongly believe that Delhi hoodwink the Assamese people in 1985 , > unfortunately none realized it at that time. I am glad that Aroop Kalita and > others are taking it now. I am trying to convey in the letter - It's not a > new demand , The Union Government is duty bound to sign the Treaty. > Need an Indo-Bangladesh repatriation treaty > Sir, > The unabated influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam and the > consequent dramatic change in the demographic pattern of the state, has been > a matter of grave concern to all of us. If the trend doesn’t change , > Assamese will be a minority on their own land , consequent relegation of > their language and culture, loss of control over their economy and politics, > and, in the final analysis, the loss of their very identity and individuality > as a people. After the six years long Assam movement and the subsequent > signing of Assam Accord in 1985, common people hoped that the Assamese > identity would be protected. > However, many of us, later realized that certain clause of the accord was > simply a tool to hoodwink people from the agitation. It is said the accord > was drafted overnight on 14th of August and the student leaders were made to > sign the accord next day. In retrospect, those inexperienced young men had > neither foresight nor acumen to examine the clauses of the accord before > signing in. They were a desperate lot to capture political power and rule the > people. Assamese people also supported them blindly; there was no critical > examination, perhaps no one read what was there in the accord, most > unfortunately. > There are many loopholes and the main one is the procedure for deportation of > illegal immigrants. The accord clearly defines who is a foreigner of illegal > Bangladeshi. However, there is no well-defined , practical steps required to > be taken for expulsion of the detected foreigners. It is not possible to > carry out deportation, if there is no proper procedure. It’s always takes > tremendous effort to detect an illegal , the next step i.e. deportation is > perilous. There is proper flag meeting between BSF and Border Guard > Bangladesh (BGB) and deportation takes place only when BGB accepts the > foreigner. If BGB refuses to accept the foreigner, BSF is left with no > further option and such persons become ‘stateless’; they would most likely > reenter back in Assam. > This is why a repatriation treaty is needed between Government of India (GOI) > and Government of Bangladesh. The GOI has to sit across the table with its > counterpart and work towards a laid down procedure for persons being deported > to their territory. The recent Indo–Bangla land transfer treaty is a glowing > sign of co-operation between the two countries. It is the right moment to > raise the influx issue by the Indian Government in their bilateral talks. It > is also the duty of India government since the union is constitutionally > bound to protect its states and citizens. Hence, Delhi should engage Dhaka to > sign illegal migrants repatriation treaty, without which pushing back off any > foreigners cannot be handled legally. > We also request the members of parliaments of Assam and forums like Axom > Jatiya Gana Sangram Parishad to raise the issue at the national and > international level. Illegal immigrant is not only a threat to Assam; they > are a threat to constitutional sovereignty and integrity of India. We cannot > remain blind us to these realities. > Sincerely > Ankur Bora > Dallas , Texas , USA > > On Wednesday, May 13, 2015 10:11 AM, "Niren Choudhury [email protected] > [SupportAChild-Assam]" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi All, > > I do concur with Tituraj. I just do not understand if we could identify and > count the number of foreigners, why we have so much problem in detention. One > of reasons may be corruption which is our own issue rather than Bangladesh > government. > > Immigration issue will be always continued. Who knows if Bangladesh became > economically stronger, may be some of Indian will go there. In today's global > economy, it is not unthinkable. In that scenarios, all of those foreigners > will run back faster than bullet train. > > But that is more like a dream for now. The best solution is actually to > engage with Bangladesh govt and with govt of Assam in trade and Transportaion > agreement. I am sure Bangladesh govt will be willing to engage in that > discussion more easily that deportation discussion. In that case, all those > "foreigners" could be utilized as bi-partisan agreement. In fact that will > employ lots more from Assam and Bangladesh. > > One other point. If we do not have to depend upon Bangladeshi for our daily > labor work, they will likely go back anyway. Here also, we need to look into > our daily lives. > > Even if Bangladeshi give agrees to take over, we will probably can send only > 50% or 30%. That is huge effort and time to get very limited success. > > In summary, let us think about friendly trade and Transportaion and let us > try to do something of our own rather than depending upon foreigners. > Immigration will take care of itself. > > Thx > Niren > > > On May 13, 2015, at 5:03 AM, tituraj kashyap [email protected] > [SupportAChild-Assam] <[email protected]> wrote: > > I believe you are aiming for the star, if not Utopia. I wish you my best > wishes in this regard. > However, when we deal at a contentious issues, where everyone has suffered, > isn't it best to address it in a more pragmatic way? > If we believe that today we can detect, check and push back illegal > immigrants from our neighboring countries, then we are no less than God. > Imagine a person who is born in 1971 (the cut off year) in India to parents > of disputed nationality. Today, he is 44 years old, lived all his life in > India, married with children, most probably exercise adult franchise > regularly, living and tilling land in India. Is he not a son of the soil? > > I don't know if we should move beyond and think and look for a practical > solution than beating around the bush that may be dead in popular conscience > long time ago. > Rest, if we are talking it in order to exercise our grey cells and maneuver > it to drive a practical political point, then it is perfect. > > On Wed, May 13, 2015 at 1:41 PM, 'Dr. Aroop J. Kalita' [email protected] > [NorthEastIndia] <[email protected]> wrote: > > > [Attachment(s) from Dr. Aroop J. Kalita included below] > Respected Sir / Madam, > > Greetings ! > > Almost 3 decades have elapsed since the signing of the historic Assam Accord > in 1985 ending a six year long agitation by the people of Assam against the > unabated illegal immigration from the neighboring country of Bangladesh, but > the core issue yet remains unresolved. > > The White Paper on Foreigners’ Issue released by the Home & Political > Department of Government of Assam on 20th October,2012 clearly shows the rate > of push back / deportation against the number of persons declared as > foreigners by both IM(DT) Tribunals & Foreigners Tribunals which is a mere > 2442 till July,2012 against a total of 55,184 declared as foreigners. > > The same White Paper in Section 2.5 DEPORTATION/ PUSH BACK clearly mentions > the following : > 2.5.2. Once a person is declared as foreigner he or she is taken into custody > and kept in detention centre till he or she is pushed back to his or her > country of origin. The foreigners who are kept in detention centre are pushed > back through BSF deployed on the border. > 2.5.3. There is difference between 'Push Back' and 'Deportation'. In case of > Push Back there is no need for acceptance of the person concerned by the BGB. > In case of deportation, on the other hand, there is proper flag meeting > between BSF and BGB and deportation takes place only when BGB accepts the > foreigner. If BGB refuses to accept the foreigner, BSF is left with no > further option and such persons become 'stateless'. > 2.5.4. In the absence of a proper laid down procedure for deportation of > illegal migrants between the Government of India and the Government of > Bangladesh, it has become difficult to carry out deportations. As such, > deportation of foreigners is mainly carried out through the ‘push back’ > method. …….. The matter of deportation of foreigners who have illegally > entered into India needs to be taken up by the Government of India with the > Government of Bangladesh so that a proper policy could be evolved and the > process of deportation of such declared foreigners become easier and hassle > free. > Also it is quite surprising at the same time that out of the declared number > of persons identified as foreigners, the figures of persons kept in > detention centers is as follows as per the data published in the > aforementioned White Paper : The number of such foreigners kept is three > detention centers (as on 15/10/2012) is as follows-. Goalpara (66), Kokrajhar > (32), and Silchar (20) which is a mere 0.2% of the total number of persons > declared as foreigners which is also possibly due to absence of an effective > laid down mechanism for effective deportation. > However till date, we are yet to see the Government of India formally taking > up this issue with Government of Bangladesh and also at the same time we have > not seen concrete steps being taken up by Government of Assam to effectively > take up the matter with the Government of India regarding the issue of > effective deportation of illegal immigrants as is evident from Section 4.7 > – of the aforementioned White Paper titled “Roadmap for Future” which is > strangely silent on this issue. > > At this stage, taking into account the developments in most advanced > countries and their formulation of Immigration policies and the Repatriation > Treaties, with the intervention of the United Nations, and in compliance with > the directions made by the Division Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, it is > the bounded duty on the part of the Government of India to immediately > negotiate with the Government of Bangladesh and sign a Repatriation Treaty to > resolve the vexed and hydra-headed issue of illegal immigration from > Bangladesh. > > This issue of a absence of a Repatriation Treaty between India and Bangladesh > as being the major impediment in deportation of illegal immigrants is yet to > be highlighted in the national media so that attention of the lawmakers of > our country can to be drawn to this subject and also at the same time, the > people of our country become aware of the threat being faced by the > indigenous people of Assam, who as a result of this population movement from > Bangladesh, face the serious threat of being reduced to a minority in their > home state with their cultural survival in jeopardy, their political control > weakened and their employment opportunities undermined. > > We therefore seek to draw you attention to this subject and seek your kind > help in getting this issue highlighted amongst your friends / acquaintances / > associates. > > A copy of a booklet on “ Repatriation Treaty – The only workable solution for > deportation of illegal migrants” printed and published by us to highlight > this issue is being attached for your needful perusal. > > Thanking you > > Yours Sincerely > Dr. Aroop Jyoti Kalita > (Chief Convenor) > > Dr. Shyamal Kumar Bhuyan > Debajit Adhikari > Dilwar Hussain > (Convenors) > > Guwahati, Assam, India > > > > -- > Axom Jatiya Gana Sangram Parishad > .... exploring logical solutions for a progressive > Assam > > > > > -- > Tituraj > 9871918187 > http://twitter.com/tituraj > > > > __._,_.___ > Posted by: "Dr. Aroop J. Kalita" <[email protected]> > Reply via web post • Reply to sender • Reply > to group • Start a New Topic • Messages in > this topic (7) > VISIT YOUR GROUP > • Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use > . > > > __,_._,___ _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
