Press ReleaseFree Dr. Binayak Sen! Mumbai Public Meet on May 14! A dedicated
doctor with brilliant academic records, a doctor settled in Raipur with the
mission of serving the poor and oppressed adivasis, a leading human rights
activist, national Vice President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL), state Secretary of PUCL Chattisgarh - this is Dr Binayak Sen. And Dr.
Sen is languishing behind the bars for two years now because of vindictive
actions of the government of Chattisgarh.
Dr Sen was thrown behind bars on May 14, 2007, under the draconian Chhattisgarh
Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) 2005 and the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act (UAPA) 2004. As a result he has been persistently denied bail,
even though by now charges against him have been framed and the case is
crumbling.
The principal charge against Dr Sen was that he was smuggling letters to and
from an ailing and elderly imprisoned Maoist leader, Narayan Sanyal. In the
capacity of a human rights activist and a doctor of some repute, Dr Sen had
been visiting Sanyal in the Raipur jail with due permission from the jailor.
And, whenever Dr Sen would visit the jail, as per the norms laid down by the
jail manual, he would to be thoroughly searched while going in and coming out
of the jail premises. So the charge is just ridiculous.
Dr Sen has played a stellar role in drawing national and international
attention to the gross and large-scale atrocities perpetrated by Salwa Judum, a
private militia set up by the state government, purportedly to fight out Maoist
insurgency in the Bastar region. Dr Sen’s efforts did not go without success -
the Supreme Court of India in April 2008 passed a stricture against the
Chattisgarh government in this regard.
Dr Sen’s imprisonment is an obvious act of revenge. The arrest is also meant to
be a chilling message to others that it is best not to mess with the state
government and its brutal and evidently illegal Salwa Judum campaign.
National as well as internationally renowned figures - including retired
Supreme Court judge and jurist V R Krishna Iyer, 22 Nobel laureates, Noam
Chomsky, Arundhati Roy and leading doctors - have appealed for his release. The
international prestigious medical journal ‘The Lancet’, in its two consecutive
issues (in April and May 2009) has strongly critiqued the Indian judicial
system. The Amnesty International and other well-known human rights
organisations have appealed for his release.
Currently, he is suffering from life-threatening heart ailments, and under the
trial court’s instruction, a doctor from Raipur examined Dr Sen and referred to
the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Dr Sen’s alma mater, for further
diagnosis and treatment on an urgent basis. Yet, the Chattisgarh government is
barricading it, even though Dr Sen is ready to bear the costs of his own
medical treatment. The Chattisgarh government surely is trying its best to
snuff life out of this intrepid fighter.
In solidarity with Dr Sen and his life’s mission, an outraged Mumbai has been
observing protest gatherings every Monday afternoon since April 27, 2009, in
sync with the ongoing satyagraha and courting arrest programme in Raipur, which
has been on every Monday since March 16, 2009.
May 14, 2009: On the occasion of the second anniversary of Dr Sen’s
imprisonment, a public meet will be held at Dhuru Hall, Dadar(W) at 6.30 PM. In
the meeting, apart from prominent speakers, well-known and young poets would be
reciting and reading out original compositions appropriate to the occasion. And
famed artistes would render inspiring and soulful songs. Protests paintings
would also be up on display.Please send your reporter to cover the event.
The following is the list of scheduled speakers, poets and artistes:
Speakers:Sajjid Rashid - Urdu journalist and social commentatorAnand Patwardhan
- documentary film maker Dr. Amar Jesani - health and humanrights activist
Musicians:Neela Bhagwat, and her party / Kabir songs / solo and chorusSambhaji
Bhagat and Vidhrohi JalsaRepublican Panther troupe
Marathi poets:Pradnya PawarNeerajaArun MhatreVivek MorePrashant
More Hindi/Hindustani poets:Rakesh SharmaSanjay BhiseShailesh SinghRaman
MishraHridesh MayankRizvi Amir Abbas Syed
Paitnter:
Rajendra Suradkar (Aurangabad)
Peace Is Doable
Get an email ID as [email protected] or [email protected]. Click
here http://in.promos.yahoo.com/address
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