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Amnesty
Demands Justice In Gujarat
By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, April 4 (IslamOnline) - During his first visit to the riot-torn
state of Gujarat, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee assured the riot
victims that they will be taken care of by the government and that
refugee camps will go on as long as needed. He said he was
"ashamed" at what had happened in Gujarat and the fact that
many people "had become refugees in their own country".
Vajpayee
said that the refugee camps will continue as long as required and the
government will take proper care to rehabilitate the victims. The
widows, orphans and destitutes should get special care from the
government, he added.
While
riot victims clapped for Vajpayee, they shouted slogans against Chief
Minister Narendra Modi who accompanied the prime minister to the
camps. This was Modi's first visit to the camps although he lives in
the same city. Agitated riot victims shouted "Modi Hai Hai"
(down with Modi) as the Prime Minister completed his address.
Survivors
of Naroda-Patia and Naroda Gam massacres openly abused Modi and the
Gujarat police right in front of Vajpayee as the chief minister stood
by his side staring into vacant space. The victims were allowed a
brief tete-a-tete with the Prime Minister, where they alleged the
state government’s direct involvement in the riots.
Husainabano Azgarkhan Pathan gave a graphic description to the Prime
Minister of how men with swords hacked her brother on his bed, then
poured acid on him and burnt him alive.
They
demanded that the Prime Minister should take the report of the
National Human Rights Commision (NHRC) seriously and instruct the
Gujarat government to implement its recommendations in letter and
spirit. The Prime Minister's response to all this was a long speech
which effectively said: Put the past behind, we’ll help you rebuild.
At
the end of his day-long visit Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
announced a comprehensive relief package for the victims of the
Gujarat riots. The Prime Minister announced that the next of kin of
the nearly 820 persons killed in the Gujarat riots will be paid Rs
0.15 million compensation each. The permanently disabled victims will
be given Rs 50,000, while partially disabled persons will be given Rs
20,000.
Despite the high profile visit, violence continued unabated in the
state. One person was killed and three others injured in police firing
in Modasa town of Sabarkantha district on Thursday even as Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was touring riot-affected areas of
Gujarat. Five other persons were injured in acid attacks in the town
which sparked off the violence. The incident happened in the afternoon
near the main bus stand in the communally sensitive North Gujarat
town, which has witnessed several violent incidents in recent weeks.
Curfew was imposed in Modasa to control the situation after the
violence rocked the town around 2 pm in the afternoon. Reports said a
truck was set ablaze on Malpur road.
Barely
a day before the Prime Minister's visit to Gujarat, at least six
people were burnt alive in different areas of the state. A youth was
burnt alive in the communally sensitive Shahpur locality in the city
on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier, five persons were burnt to death in
Ahmedabad district late on Tuesday night. Another man died in Umbhrat
town in police firing. Day curfew has been re-imposed in many parts of
old Ahmedabad city following eruption of violence. The dead included
two women.
The
total official death toll in the violence which began on February 27
with the Godhra train attack has now reached about 815. There are
still no signs of a let-up in the violence despite claims by Chief
Minister Narendra Modi that he had controlled the situation in
"72 hours."
In
a related development, Amnesty International has called upon Gujarat's
Modi government to bring the culprits to justice. In a report strongly
critical of the Gujarat administration, Amnesty International has
cautioned that the Narendra Modi government’s failure to arrest and
prosecute those guilty of heinous crimes in the state could lead to
further violence.
The absence of the authorities, the inadequacy of food, shelter and
medical help, have been detailed as has the lack of security to
survivors. Amnesty refers to reports of attacks on camps as well as on
survivors attempting to return to their homes.The report also
documents clearly the systematic and discriminatory violence targeted
against Muslims and the discriminatory approach in providing relief
subsequently.
Amnesty drew attention to the forthcoming gram panchayat (village
council) elections on April 7 and the fact that the displaced will not
be able to exercise their right to vote in the absence of documents of
identity and confinement in refugee camps.
Setting out restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees
of non-repetition as benchmarks, the Amnesty report concluded by
saying that until the government of Gujarat shows a clear political
will to move in this direction, brutal human rights violations are
likely to continue. 
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