A Memorandum to the Governor of Assam, Janaki Ballabh Patnaik
We are writing to you as a team that recently visited Karbi Anglong district to inquire into a series of targeted attacks and the retaliatory violence that followed. We are concerned that perpetrators of violence have not been identified, far less brought to book. This allows for rumour to flourish and for mutual suspicions to mount. A deepening estrangement between Karbi Anglong’s main tribal communities could be the outcome. That would be a situation in which the multiple armed groups that operate in the district and the wider region with agendas that remain unclear, could considerably advance their projects of terror and extortion.
We urge you to intervene by advising the Assam state government and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council to ensure accountability for the violence and adequate compensation for the victim-survivors and every opportunity for them to reconstruct their lives and livelihoods.
We have found from our interactions with a number of administrators, civil society organisations and individuals displaced in the recent violence, that the current trouble in Karbi Anglong began with a number of minor incidents that were clearly identified by responsible citizens as potential flashpoints for future trouble. Despite a number of entreaties to check the alarming spiral of hostile rhetoric and actions, the local administration remained quiescent.
The tension probably has its genesis in rival claims from the Karbi and Rengma Naga tribal communities for greater autonomy than currently available under the Sixth Schedule to the Indian Constitution. We have been told that in the absence of fair mediation between these competing demands, a number of armed groups have sprung up which claim to represent these communities, but are seen by civil society and political organisations to be actively impeding their pursuit of collective demands. Thus, a number of minor incidents occurring over the recent past, particularly since June last year, have created a larger conflagration in late-December 2013 and early-January 2014 resulting in the death of six people of the Rengma Naga community and nine of the Karbi.
Our inquiries have revealed that these killings have been random and brutal, but with a clear racial motivation. The shooting and burning of elderly women of the Rengma Naga community, the burning of their homes and the destruction of their orange orchards and betelnut trees, together with what seem to have been retaliatory killings of Karbi youth who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, show that the alienation between the communities has reached alarming levels.
We believe that there are ways of mediating between the competing demands of the Rengma Naga and Karbi communities – and indeed, all other tribal groupings in Karbi Anglong – without providing any room for unresolved claims to spill over into violence. This would require a comprehensive policy to be worked out within a consistent framework of principles, to ensure every ethnic group a proper place of dignity, full access to their traditional resources and every opportunity to pursue avenues for growth and development.
We have concluded from our inquiries that many of the demands of these ethnic groups have been manipulated for expedient gain by mainstream political forces. Indeed, we believe that the armed groups that claim to be working for the cause of these ethnic groups may themselves be playthings in the hands of larger political forces.
Security officials and Deputy Commissioner during interactions with us have informed that militant groups on both sides have been securing easy access to both home-made and professional arms. We urge you to ensure vigilance of arms procurement, and extortion.
We would also urge you to advise the police force in Karbi Anglong to show greater sensitivity to the demands made by civil society leaders for protection and security, when they have reason to apprehend a breach of peace. In the recent incidents, we have been told that civil society organisations from both sides made a number of representations to the civil and police administration in the district, yet found them somewhat unresponsive.
We have found that well-meaning mediation between the warring groups by civil society organisations based in the area has often been undermined by the intrusion of wider political interests. This manner of intervention from the state and national level groups is generally motivated by resource exploitation interests. We believe that involvement of state and national-level interests should be premised on the decree that they will do no harm. Only by giving local groups the autonomy and the space to negotiate their differences and determine the resource use pattern that would best serve their collective interests, would then wider peace be ensured. In terms of immediate action, we would urge you to advise the Assam state government and Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council to ensure quick rehabilitation of the several thousand people who have been displaced by the recent violence, mostly from the Bokajan sub-division.
We found from our visit to one of the camps for the displaced that pregnant women and infants are in need of specialised medical care. There is in fact, a particular need to assess the needs of women and children in the camp and to provide among other things, for special treatment for the injured and the disabled. Trauma counselling, confidence building and reconciliation procedures need to be conducted in the camps, preferably on the initiative of civil society organisations from both the communities.
Some of the killings show cruel intent. These need to be referred to local and state level human rights watchdogs for investigation in accordance with applicable national and international standards.
Places visited by the team:
1) Shantipur Relief Camp-Borpathar Primary School. 15th January 2014
2) Chokihola Police Station 15th January 2014
3) Karbi Anglong Peace Forum 16th January
4) Meeting With DC and DY S.P. and visit to Shantipur Relief Camp 17th January
Request for intervention from His Excellency:
1. Orders for an independent judicial enquiry and public hearings of displaced/affected population.
2. Immediate separation of Judiciary from the Executive
3. Directions to legal services authority to assist each displaced family and produce a detailed report.
4. Direction for immediate construction of roads, provision of electricity, water, medical services in the affected areas.
5. Direction for enquiry on the status of implementation of all centrally sponsored schemes like MNREGA, NRHM, BHARAT NIRMAN, PURA.
6. Immediate payment of compensation as provided in the guidelines from the state and central governments and compliance report.
Constitution Of The Team Members:
1. Sukumar Muralidharan: Freelance Journalist, Delhi
2. Dr. Doma T Bhutia: HRLN Advocate from Sikkim
3. Rosemary Dzuvichu: Associate Professor, Nagaland University, Coordinator HRLN, Nagaland
4. Asst Prof. Samhita
5. Zhevi Swu: Lawyer HRLN, Nagaland
6. Satya Sagar: Freelance Journalist, Delhi
7. Sanjai Sharma: Community Health Volunteer and Member HRLN, New Delhi
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Representation from the Fact Finding Team on recent Conflict in Karbi Anglong before the Chief Justice ofGauhati High Court
With all the humility the fact finding team constituted under the aegis of Human Rights Law Network to find out the ground situation about the recent ethnic conflicts in Karbi Anglong District.
HRLN is a nonprofit voluntary organisation which is a collective of lawyers and social activists dedicated to the use of the legal system to advance human rights in India and the sub-continent. HRLN collaborates with human rights groups, and grass-roots development and social movements to enforce the rights of poor marginalised people and to challenge oppression, exploitation and discrimination against any group or individual on the grounds of caste, gender, disability, age, religion, language, ethnic group, sexual orientation, and health, economic or social status. HRLN provides pro bono legal services, conducts public interest litigation, engages in advocacy, conducts legal awareness programmes, investigates violations, publishes 'know your rights' materials, and participates in campaign.
The Fact Finding Team is consists of Social Activist on Health Rights, Professor’s from Nagaland, TATA Institute of Social Science, Gauhati, lawyers and senior freelancer journalists from Delhi to find out the ground situation about the sad recent ethnic conflicts and its legal aspects in terms of protection of tribal people as contemplated in 6th Schedule of the Constitution. Brief Preliminary Findings are highlighted in bullet point for an immediate intervention by this Hon’ble Court under its discretionary powers to do justice to victim of both the ethnic tribes and adavasis who have suffered due to indifferent attitude and not taking prompt action on the part of the concerned authorities of the Government. Hence as per these brief preliminary findings following prompt interventions are needed:
1. That Judiciary is not separated from Executive and the Deputy Commissioner of Karbi Anglong shared the difficulties faced due to non separation, in particular during such conflict situation to tackle both law and order and as well as trial cases due to paucity of time.
2. Further the fact finding team observed that the Deputy Commissioner does not have the formal law background to deal with the legal aspects to understand process of trials which is a challenge in itself for delivery of equitable justice as per the criminal justice system or criminal jurisprudence.
3. Thus easy access to justice to the needy has completely failed and the fact finding team found out that victims are completely unaware of their basic fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India and as such the legal awareness programme has completely failed to reach them.
4. That the need of the hour is the Relief and Rehabilitation to the victims in order to facilitate the victim to return to their respective villages and the deployment of Police personnel till the situation does not become normal.
5. That urgent need of the hour is to have independent judicial inquiry to find out genesis which has led to the conflicts between tribes and therefore the need is to take necessary action as per law following the principles of rule of law.
6. That both the State Government and the District Autonomous Council have completely failed to implement the various centrally sponsored schemes like National Rural Health Mission, (NRHM), Prime Minister Gramin Sadak Yogzana (PMGY), MGNEREGA, etc.
7. That last but not the least the concerned authorities State Government completely failed to maintain law and order on time despite prior intimation to save the life and properties of the people. From the above facts and circumstances the fact finding team feels very strongly with all humbleness the urgency to bring these facts in the notice of the esteemed Hon’ble Chief Justice so as to prevent such incidents in future.
Members:
1. Sukumar Muralidharan: Freelance Journalist, Delhi
2. Dr. Doma T Bhutia: HRLN Advocate from Sikkim
3. Rosemary Dzuvichu: Associate Professor Nagaland University, Coordinator HRLN, Nagaland
4. Zhevi Swu: Lawyer HRLN, Nagaland
5. Satya sagar: Freelance Journalist, Delhi
6. Sanjay Sharma: Social Activist and Member HRLN, New Delhi
7. Samhita Barooah: Faculty, TISS Guwahati
