In a new twist to the controversy over forest clearance for Polavaram dam in Andhra Pradesh, 52 village bodies of the state have sought cancellation of environment clearance which failed to seek villagers¡¦ consent for the construction of the Dam. Andhra Pradesh government claimed that the Forest Rights Act 2006 was not applicable and no forest rights needed to be settled in the areas to be submerged. The claim has raised strong protest from villagers from 52 gram sabhas (village meetings) in Khamman, East Godavari and West Godavari districts.

On 24 November 2010 the Central government has asked state governments of Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh to find a mutually agreeable solution to the Polavaram Dam issue which was in the process of hearing in the Supreme Court.

State principal secretary (irrigation) Shailendra Kumar Joshi said that the Polavaram project benefited not only Andhra Pradesh but also neighbouring states, like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, adding that "The project works are in progress and about Rs 3,303 crores (approximately US$ 734 million) of expenditure has so far been incurred".

Joshi explained that construction of the Dam was carried out only in the areas which had received environmental clearance in 2005, but not in Orissa and Chhattisgarh states; hence, there was no violation of any provisions under Environment Impact Assess Notification or Environment (Protection) Act. Contrary to Joshi¡¦s explanation, Adivasis in the other affected states have been displaced in the name of environmental clearance. Therefore, public hearing is inevitable for rehabilitation of the victims. Although Joshi has sought the Ministry of Environment and Forest to arrange a public hearings by engaging other agency at the earliest possible opportunity, there is a need to monitor whether the procedure were taking place property.

To remind the government to protect constitutionally-guaranteed rights of tribal people in Scheduled Areas and to prevent further displacement for the Polvaram Dam Project, ACPP issued UA091204(9) in December 2009.

Sources: The Hindu, Times of India, the Indian Express, indiareport.com.

The predicament of religious minorities in Pakistan continues. Although different departments of the Pakistani Government expressed awareness of the misuse of the Blasphemy Laws, apparently under pressure from civil society inside and outside the country, no effective moves were done.

After meeting with Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury (please refer to the last UA Updates), President Asif Ali Zardari met Pope Benedict XVI in early October, where he again promised to eliminate the discriminatory Laws. However, no proposal repealing the Blasphemy Laws has been introduced in the parliament, except for some initiatives by private members, including some Muslims. Only the government of Punjab Province talked about abolishing the Laws, but the plan fell through right away.

With the same pursuit of common good for all, after the Gorja attacks, some Muslims discussed about the incident and denounced the anti-Christian attacks in public. At the international level, civil society helped spread the news about the religious conflicts in Pakistan so as to sustain pressure on the government.

Fr. Bernardo Cervellera, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) and the person-in-charge of AsiaNews, reminded that the United States and Europe cannot end the war in Afghanistan merely by military approach, as the conflict also involves cultural problem of the relationship between Islam and modernity and the relationship of Islam with other religions. “A reconciled Pakistan could have a beneficial influence on the nearby Afghanistan,” he remarked.

In support of local groups appealing for the repeal of Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan, UA090813(7) was issued in August 2009.

Source:
AsiaNews

The carnage in Gojra, Pakistan, has intensified the opposition to the Blasphemy Laws and all the policies with discrimination based on religion.

The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) has launched a signature campaign to revoke the Blasphemy Laws immediately after the sequential violence broke out in Gojra since 30 July 2009. The statement about the campaign, prepared by Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha of Lahore and Mr. Peter Jacob, the Chairperson and the Executive Secretary of NCJP, respectively, pointed out that, “successive governments have failed to take a serious notice of the misuse of the law; the procedural amendments to registration of cases have failed too.”

Regarding the response of the Pakistani government, Mr. Shehbaz Bhat, the Federal Minister of Minority Affairs, indicated the Bill concerning the protection of religious minorities would be tabled in National Assembly on 17 August 2009. He said the draft of the Bill would be finalized after consultation with all the political parties, representatives of minorities, Islamic scholars and other stakeholders. He added that discriminatory laws against minorities during President General Zia’s regime would be amended through the Bill and the proposed Bill would also promote inter-faith harmony and strengthen national unity. Meanwhile, on 13 August 2009, Punjab government has constituted a twelve-member committee to monitor the rehabilitation work in Gojra. However, the move of repealing the Blasphemy Laws keeps getting resistance from some religious parties; for example, on 18 September 2009, they called a protest to condemn the demand of Punjab Governor, Salmaan Taseer, to repeal the Blasphemy Laws.

To mark a positive response from the Government, the recent statement of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan, should be noted. During his meeting with the Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, on 18 September, Mr. Zardari said that the Government was conscious of the misuse of the Blasphemy Laws by extremists and the Pakistan People’s Party government was committed to promoting interfaith harmony. Pakistan had pioneered a resolution in the United Nations (UN) calling for interfaith harmony. The Government has decided to establish an interfaith centre, he added. He also assured the Archbishop that the culprits would be brought to justice.

So far, out of 41 accused in the Korian attacks, two withdrew their bail applications while Anti-Terrorism Court turned down 39 applications for release on bail in August, but recently 18 more accused were released on bail on the occasion of the Eid Ul Fitr (a Muslim festival). For the Gojra attacks, cases have been registered against 17 known and 783 unknown people on charges including killing, attempt to kill and terrorism following violent incidents there.

Religious minorities in Pakistan are still living in tension and fear. UA090813(7) was issued in August 2009 to support local efforts to repeal the Blasphemy Laws which serves as convenient excuse to attack the religious minorities. ACPP has been concerned about growing religious intolerance in the country since 2000. (Please refer to the previous Urgent Appeals: UA980505(3), UA000525(8), UA001103(16), UA010905(9), SUA010113(1), SUA010802(3) and UA051007(6))

Sources:
National Commission of Justice and Peace, Pakistan, Mirror Update, the News, the Daily Times