Invitation to National Convention / Demonstration on Displacement and Development November 18-21, New Delhi
Invitation to National Convention / Demonstration on Displacement and Development in the context of proposed Land Acquisition (Amendment) and Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bills November 18th – 21st, New Delhi November 1 2009 Friends, Since March 2007, NAPM, NFFPFW, National Hawkers Federation, Nadi Ghati Morcha, Him Niti Abhiyan and many other mass organisations of the country came together under the banner of Sangharsh, and resisted the government’s machinations of enacting a faulty Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act and introducing amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, promoting private and corporate interests over public good. We gathered recently in Delhi in July 2009 and our struggle gained a significant boost when the Acts could not be passed in the Budget session of the Parliament. The land related conflicts and ensuing violence and divide across the country today has brought the issue of displacement and resettlement onto the front pages of news papers once again. There have been numerous demonstrations against displacement in Orissa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh in recent months. All across, there is a simmering discontent in the country side and unrest in the urban areas as well. Continuing with our past efforts and series of ongoing actions across the country and our resolve to struggle for a people-friendly, democratic Act on R&R and least displacing development model, we invite you all to a four day programme in Delhi from November 18th -21st . On 18th November , comrades from different regions of the country will gather in Kanjhawala, the hotspot of farmer’s resistance, on the outskirts of Delhi to discuss the current paradigm of anti-people displacement and our action plan for pro-people development, . On 19-20th November we will gather at Jantar Mantar for a two day national convention / demonstration where people from different states would particpate in large numbers. On 21st November we propose to organise a 3-4 hour meeting at Constitution Club between Secretaries of the concerned departments, academics and representatives of social movement ,working on these issues. We request you to kindly attend all the programmes and also mobilise people in significant numbers . The idea is not only to demonstrate, but also to capture the civil and democratic space in this charged time of undeclared emergency, when the government is planning major offensive apparantly against armed resistance by Maoists, but in the process is also clamping down on peaceful mass struggles that are challenging dispossession and inequity. In such difficult times of state-sponsored militarisation, it is important to remind the government and the society at large that there is a large mass of people in the country who have been struggling democratically, for decades, to retain community control over natural resources and resist any attempt at displacing them from their land and livelihood . We wish to make it clear to the government and send out a loud message that these Bills, in their current form, far from providing justice to the millions of displaced people across the country, will only accentuate their misery and anger. We demand the UPA government to desist from passing these two Bills in the existing form in the Parliament in the forthcoming Winter session. The UPA must: 1. Repeal the colonial Land Acquisition Act and bring back the National Advisory Council Draft Development Policy in public debate which must be the basis for a comprehensive enactment . 2. Constitite a Joint parliamentary Committee (JPC) , since matters in these two Bills deal with various Ministries (Rural Development, Urban Development, Environment and Forests, Industry and Commerce, Tribal Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment, Panchayati Raj and Agriculture Ministries). We do hope that you will be able to join all of us in this national endeavour to bring out long-lasting legal and political change in favour of the struggling millions. Important dates are : November 18 – Convention at Kanjhawala, Rohini, Delhi November 19 – 20 – Massive demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi November 21 – Meeting at Constitution Club, New Delhi. (exact time to be finalised) We will be sending posters and leaflets for the programme in coming days, but in the meanwhile, please do spread the word around and make adequate provision for the travel. In Solidarity, Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan & NAPM Ashok Chowdhury / Pushpa, National Federation of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) Gautam Bandopadhyay, Nadi Ghati Morcha , Chattisgarh Dayamani Barla, Adivasi Mulnivasi Astitva Raksha Manch, Jharkhand, INSAF Roma, Kaimur Kshetra Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, NFFPFW (Sonbhadra) Dr. Sunilam, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Betul Guman Singh, Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, Himachal Pradesh Sandhya Devi, Kalahandi Mahila Mahasangh, Orissa Shaktiman Ghosh, National Hawkers Federation, West Bengal Advocate Aradhana Bhargav, Pench Sangharsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh Niketan Palkar, Tata Dharangrast Sangharsh Samiti and Sahyadri Bachao Andolan, Maharashtra Akhil Gogoi, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, NAPM Assam Anand Mazgaonkar, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, NAPM Gujarat Aruna Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, NAPM Bhupinder Singh Rawat, Jan Sangharsh Vahini, NAPM Delhi Debjit Dutt and Murad Hussain, NAPM West Bengal Faisal, NAPM Haryana Gabriele / Geeta Ramakrishnan NAPM, Tamilnadu Geo Jose / Hussain Master, NAPM, Kerala Mukta Srivastava, NAPM Maharashtra P Chennaiah, Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU), NAPM Rajendra Ravi, NAPM, Delhi Ramakrishnam Raju, United Forum for RTI, Andhra Pradesh Praffula Samantray, NAPM Orissa Sandeep Pandey, Aasha Parivaar (U.P.) NAPM Sanjay M G, NAPM Maharashtra Simpreet Singh, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Mumbai, NAPM Suniti S R, Visthapan Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, NAPM Maharashtra Ulka Mahajan, SEZ-Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, NAPM Maharashtra Venkatesh, Sister Celia and Sudhir Vombatkare, NAPM, Karnataka Vimalbhai, Matu Jan Sangathan, NAPM Uttarakhand And many other mass organisations and individuals from different states… For any further queries Contact: Rajendra Ravi – 9868200316 Madhuresh – 9818905316 Or write to [email protected] or [email protected] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
