[Reader-list] "Final" Interim Report on Citizens' Visit to Nandigram

[Sujata & Samantak]

Dear All,
As mentioned in my earlier post, here's the "Final" Interim Report.

One member of this list asked, "Was it interim report, where all the
balancing acts were incomplete, so have to be given finishing touches by the
spin doctors of media?"

In fact it wasn't. The report had been prepared by friends, who asked me to
write to all those I'd sent the report to telling them that some more
information would be included in the "final" interim report.
Since you have both versions of the interim report, you can judge for
yourself whether it has been subjected to "spin" or not.

Thank you.
Samantak

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Trina Banerjee < trina.banerjee at gmail.com>
Date: 30 Nov 2007 12:11
Subject: Final Interim Report :)
Dear All,

Here's the *FINAL Interim Report* (sounds mighty strange, I realise, but
there it is) about our Nandigram visit on the 24rth.I apologize for the
delay and the confusion. Do delete the earlier version and take this as our
Interim Report. If you have already sent the last version out, as I know
some of you have: do take the trouble to send this version out too.

If any of you would like to see photos from our visit, write to me
personally...I have some, I'll send them over. We've tried to avoid
photographing people we've interviewed for safety reasons, but you will get
a general idea of the way things look in Nandigram.

We wish to take this citizens' initiative forward with further visits,
especially with students and teachers...so if you have any ideas/thoughts
you'd like to share urgently, do write in to me (along with a note to say
whether I have the permission to share those thoughts/ideas/plans with other
people who are/wish to be part of the initiative).

Lots of love

Trina.




- -- 
Trina Nileena Banerjee
Doctoral Fellow
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences
Calcutta.

*Final Interim Report of an Independent Citizens' Team from Kolkata *

*on the Current State of Affairs in Nandigram*

*30 November 2007*



As a result of an initiative instituted by women's groups, women's
organizations and individuals, an eleven-member women's team of concerned
citizens from Kolkata comprising teachers, social activists, researchers and
students visited Nandigram on 24 November 2007. Concerned about the repeated
disruption of peace in the region, the members decided to visit the affected
areas and talk to the local people, with the objectives of showing
solidarity with the survivors of violence, documenting people's needs in the
current circumstances, and drawing up recommendations based on their
understanding of the situation.

The people who constituted this team were Kavita Panjabi, Anuradha Kapoor,
Rajashri Dasgupta, Saswati Ghosh, Shyamoli Das, Swapna Banerjee, Trina
Nileena Banerjee, Shuktara Lal, Sushmita Sinha, Shubhasree Bhattacharya and
Sourinee Mirdha.

On arrival in Nandigram at the Relief Camp at Brij Mohan Tiwari Shiksha
Niketan, the team split into two groups. One talked to the people in the
Relief Camp, the other to a woman who had been sexually assaulted and the
injured in Nandigram Hospital.  One group then proceeded to the villages of
Sonachura and Garchakraberia, also stopping at the Bhangaberia Bridge where
the CRPF is stationed; the other half of the team went to the village of
Daudpur.

This interim report comprises the general findings and recommendations of
all the members of the team that visited Nandigram on the 24th of November.
The specific testimonies and individual stories will be included in the
final report.

* *

*PRIMARY FINDINGS:** *

1)       Overall there is a reign of terror; the people are marked by deep
fear, disillusionment and depression. Since January, Nandigram has been
marked by the violence of the State in tandem with the ruling CPI(M), and
the retaliatory attacks by the
BUPC[1]<#116921e9aeba257e_1169218d5a46c521__ftn1>.
The massive attack of the state on the BUPC procession in March 14th, 2007,
clearly violated all democratic norms and involved armed police,
para-military forces, as well as armed party cadres, including rampant
shooting and widespread sexual abuse of women. Subsequently, in numerous
villages post March 14, there were reports that many CPI(M) supporters were
forced to flee to relief camps in Khejuri and that their homes were
ransacked and looted by BUPC supporters. There has been continued violence
since on both sides. However, the build up in the area of the CPI(M)
militia, the *Harmad Bahini*, the brutal firing by CPI(M) cadres on November
6, 2007 of BUPC members in Satengabari, Ranichak, Bhangabera and Sonachura,
and the torching of nine villages including Simulkunda and Satengabari,
followed by the attack on November 10, 2007 at Maheshpur village in
Nandigram, when armed CPI(M) cadres fired bullets indiscriminately at a
peace rally organised by BUPC with the police taking no steps to intervene,
all demonstrate the scale and might of the violence exercised by the ruling
CPI(M), with the full support of the State.

2)       The people of Nandigram are now living in terror of the CPI(M)
which has now taken over most of the Nandigram villages and is out to
extract vengeance on the BUPC and its supporters. Criminals who have killed,
sexually assaulted and injured people continue to threaten the population of
the villages. Many who had tried to return to their villages but had to come
back to the Relief Camp spoke of bombs and firing that they heard even on
the 23rd night when they had tried to return to their homes. And the
night-time threats, especially against women, also continue. Across all the
villages, people testified to the complete loss of political freedom – they
are being forced to pledge their allegiance to one particular party or the
other, and they talked angrily about their right to decide which party they
wanted to support.  The people in the camp, as well as the majority in the
villages, have lost all confidence in the government, administration and
police.

3)       At the Relief Camp at Brij Mohan Tiwari Shiksha Niketan in
Nandigram town, villagers testified to rampant firing, brutal killing and
large-scale threats by the cadres of the CPI(M), the ruling party,  across
the villages of Gokulnagar, Kalicharanpur, Adhikaripara, Simulkunda and
Satengabari. About 20-25,000 people have left their homes according to
people in the camps. Of them, 3000 to 3500 people had been living in this
camp approximately 1500 of whom were still there on 24th November. The
People's Health doctors working in the Relief Camp said they had not
received any complaints of sexual or physical assault, but mainly children's
health related complaints, like cough, fever, diarrhoea. However, many
people in the camps carried scars of deep bullet injuries on their faces,
stomachs and legs and women told us about a woman who had been gang raped in
Satengabari by 6-7 men, who is now in Tamluk hospital. Both her daughters,
one about 17, one younger, were abducted. They are still missing. Further,
hundreds of women who had fled Kalicharanpur, Adhikaripara, Simulkunda and
Satengabari in fear of sexual assault were still in the Nandigram camp. They
testified that not only had their homes been looted and burnt down, in
villages like Satengabari they had also been severely threatened by CPI(M)
cadres, who came around saying "We'll come back at night – light your lamps
and wait for us with open doors. Send your men away, we'll come back to you
at night."  "How can we stay in a place under such threats?" the women
asked. Women of these villages are still living in fear of being sexually
abused, and young girls have been sent to relatives' homes elsewhere. The
fear and insecurity of the villagers – especially the women at the Nandigram
camp – has been so high that they have refused to go back to their villages
till the CRPF is posted there to ensure their safety and protect them from
the violent vengeance of the *Harmad Bahini* comprising CPI(M) cadres.

4)       Extensive physical abuse and sexual abuse of women, ranging from
rape and forcing of rods into women's vaginas, to rampant sexual harassment,
as well as abduction of girls has been reported since March this year,  but
not much has been done to provide relief to the women, or to initiate
investigation against and punish the perpetrators. Such violence against
women continues, accompanied by terrifying threats, and there is no evidence
of any steps having been taken to curb either.

5)       Some of the people who had participated in the unarmed march to
Maheshpur on 10th November were arrested and locked up for three days in the
school building. The women were subjected to repeated sexual harassment
by male CPI(M) cadres who claimed the women were Maoists.

6)       In villages such as Garchakraberia, where the CRPF has already been
posted, normal life and activity seem to have returned; however, there is
simmering tension and fear under the facade of peace. At night, when CRPF
personnel go off vigil, assailants begin their attacks again; so people have
been forced to flee their homes at night and take shelter elsewhere from
fear of reprisal. Villagers claim this is a forced calm and are terrified of
what may happen when the CRPF is withdrawn.

7)       Some residents of Sonachura also expressed their anger and
frustration at the TMC leaders of the BUPC for keeping their own women safe
at home, while forcing other women in the villages to join the BUPC marches
and threatening to beat and burn down the homes of all who refused. Many
people in Sonachura were also scared of admitting to the violence they have
faced from the CPI(M), claiming that they had been threatened into silence.

8)       The situation in Daudpur is still very tense and the administration
should take immediate measures to address this. There is resentment and
anger brewing among the villagers. People openly accuse each other of
violence while questioning the authority and corruption of particular CPI(M)
leaders. Some villagers also claimed that the BUPC forced people to
volunteer to stand as night guards against the armed attacks from
CPI(M)'s *Harmad
Bahini* after 28 October.

9)       Villagers testified that the police are playing a partisan role.
BUPC members returning to their villages were being arrested, some on false
charges. Others are being levied exorbitant "fines" to "compensate for the
damages done to the CPI(M) families in the last 11 months." Complaints about
the atrocities of the CPI(M) followers were either not registered, or the
accused were released after being arrested, without any of the legal
procedures being followed.

10)   The senior police officer at the Relief Camp refused to comment on
most of our questions. He i) hinted at pressure from some political parties
ii) implied that work was being made "difficult" due to "interference" iii)
said peace is returning to the villages, but the situation is "still
difficult".

11)   While language is proving to be a barrier for the CRPF in dealing with
the volatile situation here, there are apparent efforts to restore peace,
including red-flag processions etc. But the atmosphere outside the temporary
'protection' of the Relief Camp is of extreme terror. In spite of all
apparent efforts and assurance on the part of the authorities, this terror
is persistent.

12)   There is a tremendous breakdown of trust. The villages of Nandigram
are zones of pregnant silence today – they are zones of seething fear,
terror, suspicion and threat. Common people are suffering and living in fear
and their tragedy is heightened because of the partisan role played by the
police

* *

*RECOMMENDATIONS:*

1.       Non-partisan, just and effective action on the part of the State is
the most basic and critical factor for restoring peace in Nandigram. The
government must strengthen administrative structures and ensure impartial
and immediate action on the part of the administration to instill confidence
in the people and normalize the situation in Nandigram.  Conditions must be
created for people to renew their daily social and economic activities
without fear and apprehension of reprisal.

2.       The violence in Nandigram must be stopped. i) All arms in the
possession of the entire population of all the villages of Nandigram must be
confiscated. ii) The area must be rid of all outside cadres. iii) All
criminals, irrespective of political affiliation must be arrested
immediately and tried; and iv) effective vigilance should be set in place
against all those indulging in retaliatory and revengeful acts that will
derail the peace process.

3.       We demand responsible action now from all the political
partiestoo. They must stop exploiting the situation, abstain from
violence, and
play a constructive role in bringing peace back to Nandigram.

4.       Rape and sexual assault have clearly become dominant weapons of war
in the crossfire between vested political interests in Nandigram.  i) Urgent
measures must be taken by the administration and the police to stop this
immediately. ii) Perpetrators have been resorting to sexual assault on women
to intimidate, humiliate and subjugate the opposition, while the opposition
has been using incidents of rape to discredit the perpetrators, not to seek
justice for the women affected. We demand a complete and immediate stop to
such practices and to all threats of sexual violence too.

5.       The administration should also ensure that all rape cases are
registered, thoroughly investigated, and followed up. Cases where women have
been brutally assaulted should also receive the attention they merit and
should not be brushed aside merely because the case was not one of rape.
Sexual assault is a serious offence and must be dealt with as such. All victims
of sexual assault must be provided immediate medical treatment and their
privacy respected and dignity upheld.

6.       Both men, and large numbers of women, especially those subject to
sexual assault and/or rape, are now severely traumatized and have sunk into
visibly deep depression or shock. The government should set up a counselling
cell in Nandigram or authorize an NGO to do so for the purpose of trauma
alleviation.

7.       Those who are suffering from the latest violence, as well as those
who have been injured earlier in the year, cannot afford the
medicationrequired. Many cannot work as they could earlier. On both
counts, their
livelihood is adversely affected. Compensation to the injured and raped, and
to the families of the dead should be made available on an urgent
footing. Women
and children have been the worst sufferers of the violence; attention should
be paid to their special needs, and efforts made to restore their dignity
and confidence in the process of rehabilitation. The SDO/BDO should ensure
that the grant promised to repair houses must be distributed without any
partisan preference.

8.       The presence of the CRPF can ensure only a temporary and forced
calm. This is no solution to the reign of terror. The state must set in
place peacemaking efforts, and involve all political parties and people's
organisations in the region to renew the democratic process and enable
citizens to reclaim the lost democratic space for a lasting and just peace
in the area.  People's political rights must be ensured. Democracy does not
mean the rule of the majority, but ensuring the rights and respect of the
minority and those holding opposing political opinions and beliefs too.
Concerted efforts have to be made, across all political differences, to
control the spate of vengeance, and rebuild the confidence of the people
of Nandigram who are living with violence as well as the fear of violence on
a day to day basis.

__________________________

- ------------------------------

[1] <#116921e9aeba257e_1169218d5a46c521__ftnref1> The Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh
Committee (BUPC) is a committee formed by people across the villages of
Nandigram in January 2007, to represent the people's movement against the
complete absence of democratic processes in the state's move to acquire land
for setting up an SEZ. While the state has subsequently announced a
withdrawal of its plans to build an SEZ here, the people of Nandigram have
no faith in this declaration as they have received no official document to
that effect as yet. Nandigram had been a predominantly CPI(M) area till the
beginning of this year. The BUPC membership cut across all political parties
and included supporters of the ruling CPI(M), the TMC, the BJP, and the
SUCI, and the people adopted a black flag as symbol of the BUPC to emphasize
its independence as a  committee  beyond any particular party affiliation.
Across the year the TMC has gained force in Nandigram and taken over the
BUPC leadership.