________________________________ Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:34:01 -0700 From: [email protected] Subject: Fw: [Info-Bureau] FW: The Jury Verdicts of Indian People's Tribunal on Operation Green Hunt, Ranchi To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] --- On Mon, 10/11/10, ngu rumo <[email protected]> wrote: >From: ngu rumo <[email protected]> >Subject: [Info-Bureau] FW: The Jury Verdicts of Indian People's Tribunal on >Operation Green Hunt, Ranchi >To: [email protected], [email protected], >[email protected] >Date: Monday, October 11, 2010, 11:27 AM > > >The Jury Verdicts of Indian People's Tribunal on Operation Green Hunt, Ranchi > >September 28, 2010 > >We are extremely pleased to inform you that we had organized a very >successful Independence People's Tribunal on Operation Green Hunt in >Ranchi on 25th and 26th of September, 2010 under the banner of the >Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum with the support of Operation >Green Hunt Virodhi Nagrik Manch, Jharkhand Indigenous People's Forum, >Jharkhand Initiatives Desk, Jharkhand Jungle Bachao Andolan, Jharkhand >Mines Area Coordination Committee and many other groups. > >We had the renowned author and activist Ms. Arundhati Roy as a special >observer in the IPT. The esteemed members of the Jury were Retd Judge >of Jharkhand High Court, Justice Vikramaditya Prasad, Sri Prashant >Bhushan Senior Supreme Court advocate, Sri K.S. Subramanian, I.P.S. >and former Director General of Police, Sri C.S. Jha, former CMD of >BCCL and ECL and others. We are sharing the observations and >recommendations of the Jury. We hope it will have a huge impact in the >human rights movement. > >INDEPENDENT PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL ON OPERATION GREEN HUNT IN JHARKHAND >(held in Ranchi on 25th and 26th Sept 2010) > >Organised by : Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum > >Observations of the Jury > >The jury heard the testimonies of a number of social Activists working >the Tribals in Jharkhand as well as a number of Tribals themselves who >have been directly affected by Operation Greenhunt over the two days. >The picture which emerges from these testimonies presents a dismal and >indeed alarming picture of Human Rights violations of the adivasis >population of the State which has driven them to unprecedented levels >of desperation where their very survival is being threatened. > >Over the last 60 years, more than 20 lakh acres of land has been >acquired directly by the State in the name of various "development" >projects displacing more than 15 lakh Adivasis from their homelands. >This drive for acquisition of their land has become particularly acute >during the last decade when 102 MOUs have been signed with a number of >large private corporations, some of which are for thousands of acres >of land involving the displacement of thousands of tribals in each >case. Most of these MOUs are for mining or for setting up other >polluting industries. These have however met with enormous resistance >from the adivasis who have organized themselves and have so far >successfully resisted the accusations of their land as a result of >which virtually none of these MOUs have so far been operationalised. > >All this land acquisition of Adivasi land has however been done >without the consent or even consultation with the Adivasis. The MOUs >were in fact signed in great haste and secrecy with no information at >all to the people who were to be affected. All this is in complete >violation of the PESA Act which provides that all development in the >Scheduled areas would be in consultation (which should mean consent) >of the Gram Sabhas. This has led to a widespread feeling among the >Adivasis that not only is their right of self-rule being flagrantly >violated, but their very identity and existence is being threatened. >Many of them consequently taken up the Gun and joined the Maoists who >have organized them to fight the state. > >The government's response to this has been Operation Greenhunt which >uses large sections of Paramilitary forces what they perceive as the >single security threat to the State. Interestingly, Operation >Greenhunt is largely concentrated in the areas where the MOUs have >been signed. The testimonies before us revealed that this Operation >has led to and is causing enormous violations of Human Rights of the >Adivasis in terms of all kinds of excesses by the security forces. A >large number of testimonies before the Tribunal provided a sampling of >the kinds of Human Rights abuses taking place: Arbitrary picking up of >Adivasis and their torture; Arbitrary arrests of Adivasis as well as >of those who to highlight the abuses by the security forces on false >and trumped up charges; people even being killed in fake encounters or >in custody. These abuses are only serving drive more Adivasis to pick >up Guns and join the Maoists. > >The Jury noted that the security forces involved in the abuses are >hardly ever brought to justice and enjoy almost complete impunity. >Unfortunately Jharkhand has not set up a State Human Rights >Commissions or even Police Complaints Authority as directed by the >Supreme Court in their judgment on Police Reforms. The Courts too >which are supposed to examine allegations of torture, fake encounters >and malafide arrests on false charges, have abdicated their >responsibility with the result that innocents continue to rot in jails >for years altogether and the guilty police officers are not punished, >even when it is found that they have tortured people, killed them in >fake encounters or arrested them on fabricated evidence. The Supreme >Court's judgement on Arrests, torture and the NHRC's guidelines on >encounter killings are being wantonly flouted and no one is being held >accountable. > >The Jury therefore recommends that: > >The Government must address the underlying causes of Tribal alienation >by ensuring that PESA Act is strictly complied with and that there is >no involuntary acquisition of Tribal land without the consent of the >Gram sabhas. The Adivasis must be given the effective right to decide >the kind of development which should take place in their areas. > >All MOUs entered into by the government which involve the acquisition >of Tribal land must immediately be made public and put on hold. > >Operation Greenhunt be withdrawn in a phase but rapid withdrawl of >Para Military forces from Jharkhand. > >The government must make a full and complete disclosure of those >killed by the security forces in Operation Greenhunt and those who >have killed detained and arrested under the UAPA. > >The police and the Security forces must be made effectively >accountable for their human rights abuses by: >(i) Setting up a State Human Rights Commission in a transparent and >credible manner which should be armed with adequate powers; >(ii) Setting up Police Complaints authorities as directed bye the Supreme Court; >(iii) The NHRCs guidelines regarding encounters, especially an >investigation by an independent police agency and a Magisterial >Enquiry must be strictly followed and the District SSP and DGP of the >State be made jointly liable for non compliance; >(iv) The courts get each complaint of torture and arrest on false and >fabricated charges seriously examined. > >1. The SC & ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act 1989 be diligently >applied against security officers committing such abuses on Tribals. >The State Human Rights Commission be charged with monitoring it. > >2. A High Level Commission be set up to investigate some of the most >egregious cases of Encounter killings, torture and killing in police >custody and also of arrests on false and fabricated charges. > >3. Government of India should ratify UN convention on Torture and >enact a law in tune with the spirit of convention > >4. UN code of conduct for law Enforcement Officials, including >prosecutors, Lawyers and Judges should be compulsorily observed. > >5. UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms should be >adopted and enforced > >6. UN Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice >should be adopted and enforced. > >7. The international convention on Civil and Political Rights ratified >by Government of India includes prohibition of torture, and obligates >the state to hold detainees in officially recognized places of >detention with names in registers accessible to all concerned. > >8. Government of India should issue a standing invitation to Precial >Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, including: >(i) Working group on Arbitrary Detention >(ii) Working group on Enforced & Involuntary Disappearances >(iii) Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executers >(iv) Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or >degrading treatment or punishment >(v)Most importantly special Rapporteur on the situation of human >rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. > >9. Compensation and other things for killing or torture or illegal >arrest must be paid as committed by the Govt. > >10. The Government should come with a white paper as to the >expenditure made in police vis-à-vis result thereof. > >Signed by: > >Justice Vikramaditya Prasad (Retd. Judge, Jharkhand High Court) >Mr. K.S. Subramanian (IPS and former DGP, Tripura) >Mr. C.S. Jha (former CMD, ECIL) >Mr. Prashant Bhushan (Lawyer and Covenor, Campaign for Judicial Accountability) >_______________________________________________ > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights 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/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
