[Reader-list] Fwd: WSS CONDEMNS POLICE ASSAULT ON PROTESTORS AT RAMLILA MAIDAN, DELHI (copy)

[Nagraj Adve]

Good statement by Women Against Sexual Violence and Stqte Repression.
Naga

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* **Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression strongly condemns the
midnight crackdown on thousands of people staging a ‘Satyagraha’ and hunger
strike at Ramlila Maidan with Baba Ramdev for demands related to corruption
and black money.*

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*We are astonished at Mr Manmohan Singh's defense of police action saying
that there was no alternative. The attack on the protesters was absolutely
unwarranted as the ‘satyagraha’ was neither causing any law and order
problems nor was it disrupting the peace of the city in any manner. *

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*We are not supporters of Baba Ramdev but clearly see the role of dissent in
upholding a democratic society. *

*We also condemn the secret parleys between the government and Baba Ramdev
as both parties are ready to compromise with each other and show no regard
for the genuine mounting anger that people are feeling towards corruption
and theft by those in power for personal and corporate gains. It is the
breakdown of these parleys which prompted the attack on innocent
satyagrahis.*

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*We also question BJP and Sangh Parivar's opposition to this act of
repression. It is selective and opportunistic; whenever it has suited BJP it
has deployed the same means to quash opposition and questioning. In
Chhattisgarh, most recently, it is proposing to ban People's Union for Civil
Liberties which has been an above board organization espousing the cause of
civil liberties since the dark days of emergency leave alone frequent
burning of villages, and violent attacks on the villagers. *

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*We wish to highlight that such attacks are an everyday occurrence in large
areas of Adivasi  and Dalit habitats where land is being grabbed to subserve
corporate greed. Except that they are more vicious and batons are replaced
by automatic rifles but unfortunately they do not make the headlines though
they have rendered millions homeless.*

Kalpana Mehta, Rinchin, Ranjana Padhi, Indira Chakravarthy, Sudha Bhardwaj,
Geeta Charusivam, Lena Ganesh, Uma Chandru, Madhuri Krishnaswami and Others

On Behalf of the WSS Network