Hotline Asia Urgent Appeals -- UA100121(1)

Action Requested || Sample Letter || Background
Please respond before 20 February 2010

Summary
Since 1992, Himanshu Kumar has been working for tribals in Chhattisgarh, especially Dantewada (a remote district in the south Bastar region of Chhattisgarh). Despite the conflicts in the area, Himanshu and other human rights workers continued their work, until the building of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram (VCA, a community center for development of Adivasis established by Himanshu) was brutally demolished by over 500 people of the police force on 17 May 2009. Himanshu was labelled as “Naxalite” (an informal name given to communist groups) when Salwa Judum campaign, in which civilians were armed as special police officers (SPOs) to combat Naxalites, was launched in 2005 and VCA was declared as an illegal organization in 2006.

Even now, the intimidation on human rights workers are still escalating and a significant number of workers have stopped their work because of harassment from the state. On 12 October 2009, a mob attacked Himanshu's makeshift home, thereafter, police made protection as an excuse to closely monitor all his activities. Himanshu's key assistant, Kopa Kunjam, was arrested on 10 December 2009, for a fabricated murder case, and it is imminent that Himanshu would also be charged with a false case soon. To escape from further harrassment , he has to disguise himself and his humanitarian work becomes more restricted.

Apart from human rights workers, tribals also suffer: the Salwa Judum evicted villagers from their homes and farmlands; then, the land would be sold to corporations. Along with displacement are gross human rights violations, such as torture, rape, massacre, etc. Moreover, the security for the displaced persons are not guaranteed.

On 3 January 2010, a tribal woman, Sodi Sambo, and Himanshu were detained by the police on their way to the hospital. Sodi was shot on the leg when the SPO's barged into her village, Goompad, on the Chhattisgarh-Andhra border on 1st October 2009. She also witnessed the murder of six other villagers by the security forces and SPOs. Most victims were those who could not run away, including an 18-month-old child who lost three fingers.

In the case of Sodi, the Superintendent of Police in Dantewada announced that nine Naxalites had been killed in Goompad village, without mentioning the atrocities against villagers. This is the illusion the outside world would have believed if Himanshu has not helped Sodi to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court. Sodi had reported this incident at the local public hearing and thus Himanshu could disseminate the atrocity to the outside world.

- safeguard the security of human rights workers working for tribals;
- stop displacement of tribals and ensure the rehabilitation and security of the displaced persons;
- take adequate actions to penalize perpetrators who have committed violence so as to ensure law and order; and
- disband Salwa Judum to end militarization of civilians as special police officers.

Sample Letter

Background
Exploitation of the Tribals
Having 30.2% literacy rate and 78.5% of total population being tribals, Dantewada is a major base of Naxalite violence. The underdevelopment and poverty in the district is preventable with its rich natural resources, such as the famous Bailadila mines; however, the tribals fail to enjoy the natural resources and security due to the Salwa Judum and the local government's negligence.

Salwa Judum campaign has made clampdown of Naxalite an excuse to exploit villagers, since its emergence in 2005. In the past 4 years, nearly 300,000 Adivasis in 700 villages in Chhattisgarh have been displaced. Around 50,000 Adivasis have migrated to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states. About 200,000 Adivasis are still hiding in the jungles of Chhattisgarh for survival. The vacated land, including Reserve Forest land, would be sold to estate and mining corporations, both local and foreign. Moreover, local government in Dantewada announced that villagers have to provide proof of land possession before 2005 to a five-member committee to get land ownership. Tribals are unlikely to provide the proof as thousands of them had abandoned their lands before Salwa Judum came.

Response of Activists
Himanshu Kumar, through his organization Vanvasi Chetna Ashram (VCA), started a “human shield” programme to help the displaced tribals to return to their lands and facilitate rehabilitation. “We reject the theory that every tribal is either a Naxal or part of Salwa Judum,” said Himanshu. “We are trying to tell the tribals about the Supreme Court order, and urge them to return and start farming.” Meanwhile, Himanshu worked for improving the situation in refugee camps, at the cost of confronting the police. “The tribals in these camps have become criminalised,” said Himanshu. “They have no source of income in the camps. They have no land, they cannot farm. Looting has become their only employment.” For villagers who stayed in their lands, VCA taught them how to hold corrupt officials accountable and how to file First Information Reports (FIRs), based on VCA's principle “to strengthen democracy at the roots”.

Despite living in this Naxalite-dominated zone for nearly two decades and getting threat to life and security, Kumar never felt the urgency to flee the district nor stop his work. Through VCA, tribals learnt about their entitlement of rights, such as rights to take participatory role in the development of their homelands, rigths to access to basic necessities. Intimidation on him intensified when he began to protest the abusive power of the police and Salwa Judum, filing at least 600 complaints of human rights violations committed by them. Himanshu has sent at least 1,000 complaints to the Superintendent of Police (SPs) in Dantewada, usually being rejected. One of the reasons is that the police did not dare to file FIRs against the Special Police Officers (SPOs) - as they are armed by the state through Salwa Judum campaign.

Suppression of Information
Along with the battle between the State and Naxalites, another issue has made the situation of human rights workers and tribals more vulnerable - state suppression of civil society and rights to freedom of expression, through government-controlled media.

Given the neglect of national media and the absence of a robust local press, human rights workers, such as Himanshu, were minorities who could disseminate the information of reality and bridge the rest of India to the remote jungles of Chhattisgarh.

The Chhattisgarh government is making great efforts to squash any space for dissents and democratic protest. Information of the district are not allowed to be spread outside; outsiders are prohibited from entering the district too. On 29 December 2009, independent fact-finding team led by Nandini Sundar, professor of sociology in Delhi University, and Ujjwal Kumar Singh, professor of political science, were refused by all hotels. They were unable to communicate freely with locals and their movements were curtailed under law and order restrictions.

Without human rights workers helping tribals to file complaints against criminals and disseminating information, the situation in the district has no way to reach the world outside. Now, the human rights workers are living under threat, therefore the district will be further isolated and the human rights violations will be more difficult to prevent.

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