Deaths
In Police Firing In Nandigram
By Amnesty International
15 March, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Amnesty International India is
concerned at reports that atleast fifteen people were killed in police
firing today in Nandigram which has been the scene of protests for the
last few months against possible displacement due to a new chemical
project in a proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Reports say that atleast
fifteen people (there are varying reports on the number of people killed)
were killed and over hundred people injured in police firing today in
Nandigram, Eastern Midnapore district, West Bengal where farmers have
been protesting an initiative by the West Bengal state government to
acquire land.
Amnesty International India
is concerned about excessive, disproportionate use of force by the police
forces, which have sought to enter the areas of ongoing protests in
Nandigram.
It may be recalled that,
in the first week of January, Nandigram was the scene of violent clashes
reportedly involving members of the local Krishjami Raksha Committee
(Save Farmland Committee) and persons linked to the Communist Party
of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads West Bengal's Left Front government
and is seeking to accelerate the development of industrial projects
in the state.
The protests were against
the West Bengal government's move to set up a Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) to be jointly developed as a chemical hub by the state-owned Industrial
Development Corporation and the Indonesia-based Salem group of companies.
Another SEZ promoted by the same group is also reportedly planned in
the Haldia area.
In this context, Amnesty
International India reiterates its demands that the Government of West
Bengal:
order an impartial and independent
inquiry into the excessive use of force at Nandigram now and the violence
in Nandigram in January, promptly make the findings public and prosecute
those accused of violence;
ensure that all state officials, including police personnel, who are
suspected of being responsible for human rights violations, including
excessive use of force, are prosecuted; ensure that activists and other
individuals engaged in peaceful protests in West Bengal are able to
do so without fear of violence, harassment or false accusation of involvement
in criminal activities.
Amnesty International India
believes that full consultations about the human rights impact of economic
decisions with those to be affected are vital means through which human
rights are safeguarded in the context of development. In this respect,
the organisation calls on the Government of West Bengal to:
announce and implement a consistent policy of full consultation with
local populations before any development which could affect their livelihood
can take place and ensure that, where populations are resettled, there
is just, adequate and culturally-sensitive rehabilitation, resettlement
and reparation for those affected.