Our Appeal To Free Dr. Binayak Sen
2009 APPEAL TO FREE DR. BINAYAK SEN IN SOLIDARITY WITH RAIPUR SATYAGRAHA
The Appeal | Endorsing Organizations | References
ARCHIVAL: 2008 Appeal
To: Dr. Raman Singh
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
Chief Minister Niwas
Raipur, Chhattisgarh
Respected Chief Minister Singh:
We, members of an international coalition of peace and justice groups, are writing to you to express our solidarity with the ongoing Satyagraha in Raipur(1), and urge you to release Dr. Binayak Sen immediately. Starting from March 16th, 2009, every Monday, batches of 50-100 people are going to Raipur Jail to demand the release Dr. Binayak Sen.
Supporters in other cities around the world are holding solidarity actions during this period. We fully support this Civil Disobedience movement which has been launched by individuals and organizations in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King to protest the unjust and illegal imprisonment of Dr. Binayak Sen under false and unproven charges, and the repeated denial of his bail application.
Our Demands
We, the undersigned, extend our fullest support to the Satyagraha in Raipur
and demand that the government of Chhattisgarh take immediate steps to:
1. Release Dr. Binayak Sen and stop harassing other human rights defenders
2. Repeal the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005(2)
(CSPSA), and restore civil liberties for all citizens
3. Disband Salwa Judum, the state-sponsored militia whose involvement in large-scale
arson and killings have been indisputably documented, and provide full compensation
and justice for all its victims
1. Release Dr. Binayak Sen:
Dr. Binayak Sen, the 2008 Jonathan Mann awardee for Health and Human Rights(3),
a physician-for-the-poor, public health professional and civil liberties and
development activist has now been behind bars for 22 months on false charges
of abetting activities of an armed underground movement(4).
Dr. Binayak Sen is the national Vice President of People’s Union for
Civil Liberties, one of the oldest civil liberties organizations in the country,
and has been a trenchant critic of the state’s lop-sided policies which
advance corporate interests over those of its poorest inhabitants, the indigenous
people of Chhattisgarh.
Even though the state has been unable to produce any evidence against him(5), Dr. Binayak Sen’s pleas for bail have been repeatedly refused by judicial institutions at all levels in the country. The best traditions of justice and precedents set by Indian courts demand that ‘bail should be the rule and jail the exception’. Bail is normally denied only to those accused that are likely to run away, repeat the crime, or tamper with evidence. None of these conditions apply in the case of Dr. Binayak Sen(6). He was arrested when he voluntarily went to the police on 14 May 2007 after learning they were looking for him. Bail cannot be used as a punitive measure; rather, it is an inherent civil right in democracy, and is an essential part of the Indian criminal justice system.
In the days and months following his incarceration, Dr. Binayak Sen has received
tremendous support from within India and outside. Twenty two Nobel Laureates
have signed a letter in his support(7). International
and national media, through news stories and editorials, have consistently
pointed to the unjustified nature of Dr. Binayak Sen’s imprisonment(8).
The current Satyagraha represents the public’s indignation and frustration
with the responses of the Indian legal system and executive.
2. Repeal CSPSA (2005):
The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA), under which Dr.
Binayak Sen has been arrested, allows the state to bypass many routine forms
of due process through the law’s unreasonably broad definition of unlawful
activity, and acceptance of vague and unreliable evidence, all in the name
of national security. Indeed, the definitions of "illegal", "unlawful,"
and the so-called "support" given to organizations engaged in illegal
activities, are all so vague that any group or individual potentially targeted(9).
The unclear provisions of this law have been used unfairly by the State to
silence government critics such as Dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG(10)
, a film maker and PUCL activist, and Journalist Sai Reddy(11)
(and many others). Therefore, we demand that draconian laws which have been
used unfairly to harass human rights activists be immediately repealed.
3. Disband Salwa Judum:
Salwa Judum, the State-sponsored militia set up in 2005, ostensibly to counter
Maoist-led violence, has been responsible for killings, looting, rapes as well as forced
eviction from
their homes to camps with inhuman conditions of more than 1,00,000 indigenous
people . Many human rights groups and independent citizen's groups such as
the Asian
Center for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, People’s Union for Civil
Liberties, and
the Indian National Human Rights Commission have documented in detail ongoing
atrocities by Salwa Judum.
Dr. Sen has been a critic of the Salwa Judum and was involved (along with
other
activists) in the exposure of atrocities carried out by the militia(12).
We believe that Dr. Sen is being victimized for his human rights work, and
for his opposition to harmful governmental policies and interventions in tribal
areas. As the report about the situation of human rights defenders submitted
in March 2008 by Ms. Hina Jilani, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
of the U.N., noted: “Concern was expressed that the arrest and detention
of Dr. Sen were directly related to his activities in defending the rights
of the indigenous communities in Chhattisgarh state, and to his open criticism
of the Salwa Judum.(14)” Human Rights groups,
such as the Vanavasi Chetna Ashram which is supporting the victims of Salwa
Judum, are also being targeted(15). We condemn the state
government for arming private militias and abetting terror, and demand that
Salwa Judum be immediately disbanded.
Endorsed by:
· Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, MIT
(www.alliancesouthasia.org)
· Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, San Francisco
(www.asata.org)
· A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism
- San Francisco (www.answersf.org)
· Association for India’s Development (www.aidindia.org)
· Association of South Asian Political Activists (ASAPA), Berkeley
(http://asapa.berkeley.edu)
· Asian Law Alliance (www.asianlawalliance.org)
· Birmingham Anti-SEZ Campaign, UK
· Boston Coalition for Justice in Bhopal (www.boston4bhopal.org)
· Boston Mobilization (www.bostonmobilization.org)
· Cambridge Free Binayak Sen Group, UK
· Campaign against Forced Displacement, UK (http://tinyurl.com/6mgnne)
· Campaign to Stop Funding Hate: CSFH (www.stopfundinghate.org)
· CMC Vellore Alumni Association - UK Branch
· Defenders of the Environment and Ecology of Panjab(DEEP),
UK
· Dharma Megha, East Lansing, Michigan
· Friends of South Asia: FOSA (www.friendsofsouthasia.org)
· Gadar Heritage Foundation, Fremont (http://gadar.homestead.com)
· Hillingdon Asian Women's Communication Service, UK
(www.hillingdonwomenscentre.org.uk)
· India Foundation, East Lansing, Michigan
· Indian Muslim Council, USA (www.imc-usa.org)
· Indian Progressive Study Group-L.A. (IPSG)
· Indian Workers Association (GB)
· India Relief and Education Fund, Fremont (http://iref.homestead.com)
· International Accountability Project (www.accountabilityproject.org)
· International League of People's Struggles, UK (www.ilps-web.com)
· International Coalition for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB)(www.bhopal.net)
· International Service Society, Okemos, Michigan
· International South Asia Forum: INSAF, NYC (www.insaf.net)
· Massachusetts Global Action (www.MassGlobalAction.org)
· Matahari: Eye of the Day (www.eyeoftheday.org)
· National Lawyers' Guild (www.nlg.org)
· Our Developing World (http://www.magiclink.net/~odw)
· Peace and Human Rights Trust: UK
· Peninsula Peace & Justice Center (www.peaceandjustice.org)
· Peoples Health Movement, USA (www.phmovement.org/cms)
· SAMAR
· San Jose Peace & Justice Center (www.sanjosepeace.org)
· Sanhati (www.sanhati.com)
· Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC)
(www.sacc.org.uk)
· Seva International, Okemos, Michigan
· Sikh American Heritage Organization
· South Asian Alliance, UK: (www.southasianalliance.org)
· South Asians for Progressive Action (SAPA), Boston
· South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD),
Canada
· South Asia Solidarity Group, UK: (www.southasiasolidarity.org)
· South Asian Progressive Action Collective, Chicago (www.sapac.org)
· South Asia Solidarity Group, UK (www.southasiasolidarity.org)
· South Asia Solidarity Initiative, New York (www.southasiasolidarity.org)
· Students for Bhopal (www.studentsforbhopal.org)
· The 1857 Committee (http://1857.org.uk)
· Vaishnava Center for Enlightenment, Okemos, Michigan
· Vedanta Society of East Lansing, Michigan
· Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF) (www.wslfweb.org)
· Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - San Jose
(http://www.wilpf.org/US_WILPF)
References:
1. Public call for joining the Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen, and other updates on the Raipur Satyagraha are available here: http://raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com
2. “CSPSA” is an English translation of the original Hindi name of the law which is “Chhattisgarh Jansuraksha Vishesh Adhiniyam”
3. Jailed Indian Doctor Wins 2008 Jonathan Mann Award, April 21 2008,
http://www.globalhealth.org/news/article/9833
4. 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
5. A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case is available here: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/timeline-ofevents-
in-the-strange-case-of-dr-binayak-sen/
6. Laws don’t affect his bail rights yet, Binayak Sen in jail for
19 months, Indian Express Jan 13, 2009
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/laws-dont-affect-his-bail-rights-yet-binayak-sen-in-jail-for-19-%20months/410061/0%20
7. Nobel laureates seek release of Binayak Sen, The Hindu, May 13,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/13/stories/2008051353981000.htm
8. A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at www.binayaksen.net, www.freebinayaksen.org and http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media2008.htm
9. For the text of the law and its analysis by People’s Union for
Democratic Rights, visit
http://cpjc.wordpress.com/chhattisgarh-special-public-security-act
10. A law and its victim, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Oct-Nov
2008
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2522/stories/20081107252212400.htm
11. 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-andpolice-aaaedd4_1.html
12. These and other 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-salwajudum
13. Amnesty International, 24 May 2007. India: Chattisgarh government detains
human rights defender, refuses to arrest police officials suspected of involvement
in unlawful killings of adivasis. Available at:
http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200132007?open&of=ENG-IND
14. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/7session/A-HRC-7-28-Add1.pdf
15. Harassment of VCA and other groups is documented at http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Humanrights/2007/chhttisgarh-resolutions.html
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