[Reader-list] "Free, Free Binayak Sen!" -- Report on U.S. Actions in Solidarity with the Raipur Satyagraha

Mon Mar 30 07:50:28 IST 2009

---------- Forwarded message --------
[Thanks to all those who participated in Friday's solidarity action with the
Raipur Satyagraha.  Below is a report on the actions held in three different
cities in the US.  Please forward to other groups.]
http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/03/free-free-binayak-sen-report-on-us-protests/
**
*"Free, Free Binayak Sen!"  *
*50 international groups organize support in the USA for the Raipur
Satyagraha **in India*
*Simultaneous protests held in 3 US cities*

* <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_464m5zkcc6_b>San Francisco, CA,
New York, NY and Washington DC, 28 March, 2009:* Verve and vigor marked the
simultaneous protests held at the Indian embassy and consulates in
Washington DC, New York City and San Francisco on March 27th, demanding the
immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen, an end to the repressive Chhattisgarh
Special People's Security Act (CSPSA) and disbanding of the state-sponsored
militia, Salwa Judum.  Activists from Association for India's Development
(AID), Friends of South Asia (FOSA), South Asia Solidarity Initiative
(SASI), International League of People's Struggles, students and faculty
from local universities participated in these protests, coinciding with the
*Raipur Satyagraha* <http://www.raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com/>*, *the
ongoing mass civil disobedience action in the city of Raipur where Dr. Sen
is incarcerated.  Over 50 groups from the US, UK and Canada have written to
the Chhattisgarh government and offered their support  to the Raipur
Satyagraha, and nearly 600 individual faxes have also been sent to the
Chhattisgarh government from around the world.
 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_42cjjj7tgq_b&writelyrefresh=1>The
22-month long, unjustifiable detention of Dr. Binayak
Sen<http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/bsen.htm>has become a
rallying point for human rights and peace and justice groups in
India and internationally.  A pediatrician by training who chose to work
with the marginalized and malnourished people in remote villages of
Chhattisgarh in central India, Dr. Binayak Sen has been recognized for his
contributions to public health and human rights with the Paul Harrison
award<http://home.cmcvellore.ac.in/NewsLine/PAUL%20HARRISON%20AWARD%202004%20-%20Citation.pdf>by
his alma mater, the Christian Medical College, Vellore, the R.R.
Keithan gold medal<http://www.esocialsciences.com/News/NewsDetails.asp?Newsid=330&newstype=1>from
the Indian Academy of Social Sciences, and the Jonathan
Mann Award <http://www.globalhealth.org/news/article/9833> by the Global
Health Council in Washington DC.  As Vice-president of People's Union for
Civil Liberties <http://www.pucl.org/> (PUCL), Dr Binayak Sen was
instrumental in bringing to light the excesses of the Chhattisgarh
government's security apparatus, notably the Salwa Judum, a state-sponsored
militia which has wreaked havoc in the villages of south Bastar district.
Activists and intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, George
Galloway, Mahashweta Devi, over 135 faculty members and 22 nobel laureates
from around the world have joined in urging the Indian government to free
Dr. Binayak Sen and stop the harassment of human rights activists.
   <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_42cjjj7tgq_b&writelyrefresh=1>
 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_47ck73hxgk_b>Anu Mandavilli,
with Friends
of South Asia <http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/> (FOSA), reminded the
protestors in San Francisco, that the one-year long trial of Dr. Sen, which
included testimonies from over 50 government witnesses, has not produced a
shred of evidence or a single witness who could corroborate the Government's
claim that Dr. Sen engaged in seditious activities.  "Yet, the courts have
denied Dr. Sen's bail application three times.  It is interesting to note
that men from Shri Ram Sene, who beat up women in Mangalore pubs in front of
cameras, were released on bail within 6 hours.  Whereas Dr. Sen, with an
impeccable 25-year record of public service, and no evidence against him,
has been in jail for 22 months now."

 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_47ck73hxgk_b>Angana Chatterji,
associate professor, California Institute of Integral Studies, cited the
harassment of other human rights defenders in Orissa and Kashmir, stating
that Dr. Sen's case represents an alarming trend where the Indian state is
using draconian laws to silence those who oppose state repression. Indeed,
Dr. Sen is only the most prominent among numerous human rights defenders and
public intellectuals who languish in Indian jails because they dared to
speak truth to power.

 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_43gwnvb6pk_b><http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_43gwnvb6pk_b>In
New York, activists gathered outside the Indian consulate to read Dr. Sen's
New Year Letter from jail, recite poems from around the world in support of
Dr. Sen, and sing songs of collective action.  Jinee Lokaneeta of the South
Asia Solidarity Initiative (SASI), and on the faculty at Drew University,
drew attention to the fact that notwithstanding the floundering case against
Dr. Sen, the government has recently produced an additional supplementary
chargesheet against him.  "By repeatedly denying Dr. Sen's bail application,
and purposefully prolonging a meaningless trial, the state is ensuring that
Dr. Sen stays in prison a long time, even if charges against him are never
proved."
 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_43gwnvb6pk_b>
Murli Natrajan, also of SASI and a faculty member at William Paterson
University, added, "The laws used by the state to arrest Dr. Sen are truly
draconian.  These are the latest in the tradition of other harsh laws, such
as MISA, TADA and POTA, each one of which had to be abandoned after being
declared unconstitutional by the highest judicial authorities, and after
gross misuse by the state's security apparatus became apparent."

 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_45fpt6n8fs_b>Somu Kumar,
with Association
for India's Development <http://www.aidindia.org/> (AID), and one of the
organizers of the protest at the Indian embassy in Washington DC,
highlighted that these protests are not limited to demanding the human
rights of just one inidividual, Dr. Binayak Sen, but are in opposition to a
system which criminalizes those who point out its shortcomings.  "At this
point, Dr. Sen is a symbol of many other ongoing struggles in
India--especially those of the *adivasis*, the indigenous inhabitants of the
mineral rich areas, who are resisting displacement by large mining
companies, and whose rights Dr. Sen was championing.  These protests are
also to demand consideration for the human rights of the *adivasis *of
Chhattisgarh, more than 100,000 of who are officially internally displaced
people due to the actions of the state-sponsored Salwa Judum."
 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_45fpt6n8fs_b><http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_45fpt6n8fs_b>
  <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_45fpt6n8fs_b><http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_44fgp6h9f8_b>
 <http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddp3w2ff_45fpt6n8fs_b>A letter signed by
more than 50 international peace and justice
groups<http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Chapters/Maryland/campaign/Binayak_Sen_Org_Endorsement.pdf>,
and a list of individuals who have faxed
letters<http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/03/send-a-free-fax-in-support-of-the-raipur-satyagraha-for-release-of-dr-binayak-sen/>to
the Chhattisgarh and central governments, were submitted to the Indian
consular staff at each city who have guaranteed their delivery to the desks
of the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, the President and Prime Minister of
India, and the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. Some
activists voiced their disappointment that the government of India had yet
to acknowledge any of their previous submissions made over the course of the
last year.  "In spite of sending several hundred faxes, multiple letters,
and individual emails to various officials, we have yet to hear back from a
single government official that our letters have been received and read,
leave alone considered," said Srividhya Venkataraman, with AID-Berkeley.
She added, "The Indian government has made it a priority to reach out to
NRIs. But if we, with multiple channels of communication available to us,
have such difficulty in getting our voice heard, how must the Indian
government respond to the concerns of an *adivasi *located in a remote
village in Bastar!"

Is anyone listening?
 ------------------------------
*For more information, see the following*:

·  Information on the Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen
is available here: http://raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com

·  More information on Dr. Binayak Sen and his case:

o For a detailed analysis of the state’s case against Dr. Sen, read the
3-part series in Indian Express by Vinay Sitapati:
http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/indian-express-series-on-binayak-sen/

o A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case is available here:
http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/timeline-of-events-in-the-strange-case-of-dr-binayak-sen/

o A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at
www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org   and
http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media.htm

·  On Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005:

o The text of the law and its analysis by People’s Union for Democratic
Rights can be found here:
http://cpjc.wordpress.com/chhattisgarh-special-public-security-act/

o A law and its victim, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Oct-Nov 2008
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2522/stories/20081107252212400.htm

o Caught between Naxals and police, Indian Express, June 11, 2008
http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080611/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-caught-between-naxals-and-police-aaaedd4_1.html

·  Fact-finding reports on Salwa Judum can be obtained from the website for
the Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh,
http://cpjc.wordpress.com/reports-by-fact-finding-teams-on-salwa-judum/

·  Letter to the Chhattisgarh government by over 50 international peace and
justice groups can be found here:
http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Chapters/Maryland/campaign/Binayak_Sen_Org_Endorsement.pdf

------------------------------
 *Photo Credits*: Pei Wu, Sangay Mishra, Somu Kumar and Balaji Narasimhan
*For more information*, contact:
Shalini Gera, mail at friendsofsouthasia.org
Murli Natrajan, mnatrajan at yahoo.com

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