Dear friends: With firm resolve to do what needs to be done, in solidarity with you in your own struggles, and with expectant hope to receive your support and encouragement, we send to you a report on the Public Forum we organized on July 20, focussing on the Genocide that took place in Gujarat India.
Thanking you, Hari Sharma Feb. 24, 2002 ********** Press and Public Release The Genocide in Gujarat will not be forgotten The Perpetrators of Crimes Against Humanity Must be Brought to Justice At the end of a 3-hour long Public Forum, over one hundred people in attendance unanimously approved a resolution demanding that the perpetrators of the genocidal massacres in Gujarat on Feb. 28, 2002 and after, including the functionaries of the State who colluded in these crimes, be brought to justice within the legal framework of India. But given the past record of judicial processes in India, can there be the confidence that the mass murderers, rapists, and arsonists of Gujarat would ever meet the justice they deserve? Those who organized the massacres of Sikhs in 1984, or of Muslims in 1993, or committed many other such atrocities, are still to be punished. Already the first Gujarat verdict came out on July 13, in which all nine people arrested for setting shops on fire were set free, for inadequate evidence provided by the police. Given this background, the Forum further resolved unanimously to join hands with other organizations and people around the world to explore all avenues in order to bring to justice the Gujarat Genocide perpetrators, under the International Humanitarian Law, including the criminal courts in Belgium. It was further resolved to approach the International Human Rights Commission of the United Nations to recognize the large-scale violation of people's human rights and to urgently intervene with appropriate action. The Government of Canada must be lobbied, including individual members of Parliament, to provide support for bringing to justice all parties responsible for the crimes against Humanity committed in Gujarat. Organized by South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), the Public Forum was held on July 20, at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. The Moderator of the Forum was Mr. Harinder Mahil, former Chief Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of the province. The afternoon Forum began with the showing of Gauhar Raza's powerful film, "Evil Stalks the Land". It brought the reality of the Gujarat carnage close to home, to people's sensibilities. The Forum had seven panelists: Mrs. Nishrin Hussain (daughter of the slain former MP of Gujarat, Mr. Ehsan Jaffri), and her husband Prof. Najid Hussain of the University of Delaware; Dr. Radhika Desai of the University of Victoria, Dr. Ishtiaz Ahmed of the University of Stockholm, Mr. Abu Ansari, a concerned Muslim from India, Prof. Mordecai Briemberg of Douglas College, and of Canada-Palestine Network, and Dr. Laurie King-Irani of the University of Victoria. Nishrin Hussain's voice and words showed a tremendous courage in not only expressing her personal grief, but doing so with a calm and heart-rendering sobriety. It was not the personal loss that came through, but the loss of the Gujarati society as she had known it. The cool and dispassionate analysis Najib Hussain gave of the Gujarat carnage, and the manner it was building up, made it clear that the unfortunate Godhra train incident might have only triggered the pogrom, that would have happened anyway under some other excuse. The Hindutava forces were making the plans of this ethnic cleansing for a long time, as a part of their fascistic agenda. Based on many years of research in the growth of the Hindutava ideology in India as a whole, and particularly in her own home state of Gujarat, Dr. Radhika Desai provided a succinct analysis of the political economy, as it has evolved over the last many years, and has provided the fertile ground for the massive ideological and political growth of Hindutava. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed provided the larger South Asian context for viewing the Gujarat Genocide, and the implications it is likely to have on peace in the sub-continent, especially on India-Pakistan relations. Prof. Mordecai Briemberg gave a historical and global overview of Genocides and Crimes against Humanity, giving many examples, and especially talking about the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people. Finally, Dr. Laurie King-Irani discussed the many avenues that could be explored to bring to trial the perpetrators of crimes, under the International Humanitarian Law; focussing on genocides and other crimes against humanity. She described the recent developments in Belgium, where it is possible to file a case even if the crimes took place in any part of the world. Summing up after the panelists' comments and presenting formal resolutions before the house, SANSAD president Dr. Hari Sharma said that the large-scale massacre of the Muslim people that began on February 28 could not be a spontaneous reaction to the Godhra train incident. It was systematic, coordinated, and planned well in advance. The entire carnage took place in the context of a prolonged build up of hatred toward Muslims and Christians, as well as the promotion of an ideology of an exclusive Hindu nation. The state apparatus under the BJP government was totally complicit in this massacre both through active facilitation and through refusal to defend the citizens. The government has continued to hamper relief, medical care and justice for the victims. The brutal killing of almost 2000 men, women and children, the special targeting of women for rapes and savage assaults, the turning of over a hundred thousand people into homeless and destitute refugees, the looting and burning of thousands of properties and businesses, and the destruction of over 200 Muslim mosques and shrines - all this amounts to nothing short of Genocide; and must be severely condemned. The Government of Gujarat, and its ideological allies in RSS, Bajrang Dal, and VHP are solely responsible for it. The Government of India must be held responsible for not immediately intervening, and for not forcing the Government of Gujarat to account for it. The Forum unanimously demanded that the Government of India bring to trial the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and members of his government, for their complicity in Genocide. North American affiliates of VHP, and its Hindutava ideology The SANSAD organizers of the Forum had approached the president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Vancouver, Mrs. Madhu Varshney, through a phone call followed with a letter, which stated in part: "I was very pleased to hear you say that the local VHP does not have any affiliation with the VHP in India, and that you yourself do not approve of the large scale massacres of Muslims that took place under the full patronage of the state machinery. You will notice from the write-up which is enclosed here that we do not condone the burning of the train bogey at Godhra, and clearly demand that culprits behind that crime must be found and punished under the rule of law. But this unfortunate event could not justify the organized pogrom that went on uninterrupted for full 72 hours in many parts of Gujarat. In our opinion, the VHP in India and its affiliates (RSS, the Bajrang Dal, etc.) are terrorizing the whole society, in their fascistic agenda of turning India into a Hindu Rashtra. What has been happening in Gujarat is clearly a part of this agenda. On behalf of the Board of Directors of SANSAD, I respectfully invite you to come to the Forum on July 20 and state the position of the local VHP in front of the audience." In a subsequent conversation over the phone Mrs. Varshney said that she had received the letter, and that she planned to attend the Forum, at least for a part of the time. But she did not come; nor did any explanation arrive. The Forum took note of the fact that vast sums of money was raised in North America by organizations like VHP or their affiliates and channeled to organizations in India that are committed to the formation of a Hindu nation, and are actively promoting hatred against religious minorities and organizing acts of violence and destruction. The Forum urged the Governments of USA and Canada to exercise vigilance regarding the flow of money from their respective countries to these organizations in India. Relief to the Victims of Genocide: The Forum noted that relief materials containing medical supplies, clothes, shoes and household items valued at $650,000.00 sent by the Ottawa-based charitable organization "Human Concern International" has been sitting at Kandla port in Gujarat since May 25, and not cleared by the bureaucrats under one excuse or the other. The Forum unanimously condemned this denial of relief to victims as aiding and abetting in the genocidal violence that took place, and urged the Government of Canada to take this matter up with the Government of India to facilitate the flow of desperately needed relief to victims. ******************** The Public Forum was co-sponsored by: The Department of Sociology and Anthropology of Simon Fraser University, the Centre for Research in Women Studies and Gender Relations, University of British Columbia, and the Student Societies of Simon Fraser University (Burnaby); Douglas College (New Westminster); and Kwantlen College (Surrey) And by the following community based organizations: * Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association of BC * East India Defense Committee * Thamil Cultural Society of BC *Guru Ravidas Sabha of BC * Punjabi Vichaar Manch * Commitee for Racial Justice * India Pakistan Friendship Society * Nepalis Abroad for a Just and Democratic Nepal -- Hari Sharma, Ph.D. president, SANSAD (South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy) ph: 604-420-2972 fax: 604-420-2970 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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