What do you say about India the 'so called worlds largest democracy', when it denies the right to freedom to people she calls its own. All goa want is to be given the chance to express their feelings. Other parties in other conflict have accepted this. If Goa does decide to become independence let them do so. If they decide to stay with India, let that be, but that is hardly going to be so, as the whole issue is about HOW MUCH DESTRUCTION GOANS CAN TOLERATE. Can any one blame them after what India has and are doing there? Can India chains the human spirit. I do not think so. Can it delay events, sure but at a cost, DESTRUCTION OF GOA? Goans are peace loving people. Most of the world is now free except some pockets of slavery/occupation here and there. I appeal to all FREEDOM loving people of the world to HELP LIBERATE GOA.
India
Human rights defenders persecuted for challenging injustice
People who stand up for human rights in India are being subjected to threats,
harassment, false criminal cases and in some cases torture, ill-treatment,
"disappearances" and even political killings, Amnesty International said
today in a new report on human rights defenders (Persecuted for challenging
injustice. Human rights defenders in India ).
The Indian authorities are failing to protect human rights defenders
or prevent these human rights abuses. In some cases they are
directly responsible for the abuses while in others state agencies,
particularly police under political influence, connive or acquiesce in the
attacks.
"Human rights activists often pay a high price for their courage
and commitment,"Amnesty International said. "The death of an activist in
Gujarat six days ago after he was detained and reportedly beaten by
police highlights the urgent need for the Indian authorities to protect
human rights defenders".
Colonel Save, an activist with the Kinara Bachao Samiti [Save the
Coast Committee], which has protested the construction of a port in the
coastal zone of Gujarat, was arrested in his home in the early hours of 20
April 2000. He was taken to the local police station, where fellow detainees
say he was hit repeatedly by police before being placed in a crowded
cell, despite pleadings that he had a heart condition. Colonel Save
subsequently suffered a brain haemorrhage and died in hospital in Mumbai.
Excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies against
peaceful protesters is just one concern highlighted by Amnesty International
in its report. The report also documents the monitoring of their activities
by the state, and restrictions on their freedom of opinion and expression.
False criminal cases are frequently filed against individuals as a means
of harassment by politicians, powerful landowners and businessmen, as well
as the state.
Although the rights of vulnerable groups including dalits, adivasis,
and members of religious minorities are protected in law, attacks on
activists defending the rights of these communities demonstrate their
continuing vulnerability and the urgent need for the Indian government to
take practical steps to protect their rights.
Women who campaign for human rights in India also face discrimination
fromtheir own families, in the wider community, in the criminal justice
system and from the authorities.
Human rights activists in areas of internal armed conflict are killed
and "disappeared", often accused of belonging to the armed opposition. Those
who have tried to address human rights abuses by either side of the
conflict, including journalists, have themselves been targeted by both
security forces and armed opposition groups.
At a recent workshop held in New Delhi to discuss how to protect and
support human rights defenders, a series of recommendations was endorsed to
put to the government, to armed opposition groups and to economic actors,
calling on them in the first instance to support and respect the role of
human rights defenders.
On Wednesday the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva passed a
resolution calling for a special representative to promote and protect human
rights defenders.
Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton
Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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