*13 July 2009* * *
*PRESS RELEASE* Today, two supreme commanding officers engaged with protecting their national boundaries are in a meeting at Dhaka; the Director General of Border Security Force from Indian side and his counterpart from BDR of Bangladesh. They have various agenda to discuss, from national security of their respective countries to the bilateral relation between the countries. But we can obviously opine that one major thing is an absolute absent in their agenda; the rampant human rights violation of the citizenries of both the countries by their forces; while in both the countries the victims are the marginalized communities of these two countries. We are haunted by the sordid and horrified experiences of human sufferings in the bordering districts of India and Bangladesh in Indian part of the border. The experience can be exemplified or compared with mediaeval arbitration; in which persons are killed, brutally tortured and after all these wrongdoings the BSF personnel are enjoying extreme impunity; in some cases with legitimate provisions of Criminal Procedure Code as section 197 and in majority of the cases with ‘illegitimate provisions’; as police and BSF are in connivance. The section 19 of The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 also prohibits to investigate against the BSF and other armed forces for their involvement in torture & killings. >From 2008 to till date we made fact findings on 25 cases of human rights abuses (torture) BSF on the Indian population and that too from 5 police stations under only two districts; Murshidabad and 24 Parganas (North). We have also recorded 18 cases of extra judicial killings by the BSF personnel during the same time span and same police stations. So, the numbers are only tip of an iceberg and everyone can gauge the numbers and rampancy of these incidents; everyday everywhere along the border. The subjugation and abuse on women, the unfair restrictions on agrarian populace on their agricultural activities and blatant attack on children by the BSF are rule of the day. The illegal activities can not be restricted by the barbed wires only while the persons responsible for minimize or end the illegal smuggling and trafficking of human beings are all connived with these acts and personnel posted in both sides of the border having relation of ‘fraternity’ and hands in glove because crores of rupees / takas are involved with these illegal activities and highest echelon of administration and protecting forces from both the sides are involved with these acts. The cattle from every nook from Indian sides are smuggled through the border with other amenities by bribing BSF and on the other hand thousands of women and girls are trafficked through the border from Bangladesh to India by bribing BDR on every passing day and get settled with prostitution and personnel of both the protecting forces are committing these offences by certain points known to every higher ups of the BSF, BDR, civil and police administrations. We strongly condemn the atrocities upon the populace of both sides of India- Bangladesh border by BSF and BDR and demand for accountability of the judiciary and civil authorities of our country in cases of such extreme violations of human rights. -- Kirity Roy Secretary Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) & National Convenor (PACTI) Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity 26 Guitendal Lane Howrah 711101 West Bengal INDIA Mobile: 09903099699 Tele Fax : +91-33-2640 4118 Phone: +91-33-2640 4520 e. mail : [email protected] Web: www.masum.org.in -- W A Laskar Freelance Reporter and Human Rights Activist with Barak Human Rights Protection Committee, http://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com 15, Panjabari Road, Darandha, Six Mile, Guwahati-781037, Assam, India Cell: +919401134314 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
