CPI(M) led govt in tight spot on Tribal eviction issue The Hindu, Sunday, March 30, 2008 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200803301862.htm
Kochi (PTI): With hardly two months remaining to ensure eviction of thousands of encroachers from the Harrisons Malayalam Plantations Ltd's 16,000 acre estate at Chengara in Pathanamthitta district, CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) governemnt in Kerala is in a tight spot. Though the government had informed the High Court that there would be law and order problem and eviction of the Tribals, who launched a landright agitation in the estate, was not possible without bloodshed, the court directed that eviction proceedings should be completed by May 6. Earlier attempts to evict encroachers from the land had proved futile as they threatened to commit mass suicide if they were forcibly evicted. On March 3, when police reached near the estate to execute a court order for removal of agiatators, several Adivasi men climbed on trees and made nooses out of their clothes round the necks threatening that they would hang themselves if police removed them. Tribal women also threantened that they would immolate themseles if their men or children were harmed. Leaders of Sadhujana Vimochana Samyukta Samithi, which is spearheading the stir, said they 'will carry on with the struggle until the goal is met, for which we are ready to sacrifice our lives,'. About 7000 families have been staying in tents pitched in the RPG group owned estate for the last three months to assert their right over the property and pleas by government to call off the agitation has fallen on deaf ears. The Samithi leader, Laha Gopalan, told PTI that 'there is no question of evicting them. 'We will not shift and continue to be here until our demand for land is met'. The agitators are being supported by political parties like the BJP, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Abdul Nasser Madhani and activists like Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
