From: "Joe Athialy" < joe@...>

Urgent Inquiry Needed Into Nandigram Violence


(New Delhi, January 15 2008): The West Bengal state
government should immediately create an independent
and impartial inquiry into serious acts of violence in
Nandigram since early 2007, Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch said today.



The state government should prosecute those
responsible for human rights abuses and examine both
the social-political origins of the violence and the
failure of state authorities to provide effective
protection to the community.



A fact-finding team—comprised of Justice (Retd) S.N.
Bhargava, former Chief Justice, High Court of Sikkim;
Vrinda Grover, advocate; Meenakshi Ganguly, senior
South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch; and Mukul
Sharma, director of Amnesty International India
—visited Nandigram and Kolkata from 28 to 30 November.
The team travelled to affected villages, relief
camps, and met with the victims of the violence in
Nandigram, as well as government officials and rights
activists.



"It was obvious during our visit to Nandigram that
state authorities had not acted in an impartial
manner," said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior South Asia
researcher with Human Rights Watch. "The political
nature of this violence, involving the ruling party of
West Bengal , means there must be an independent
inquiry to prevent impunity for the perpetrators."



Throughout 2007, tensions over control of land in
Nandigram led to a series of violent incidents between
supporters of the ruling Communist Party of
India-Marxist (CPI-M) and farmers belonging to the
Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC). Protesting
villagers blockaded the Nandigram area to oppose a
government plan to acquire land for industry. Instead
of responding appropriately to violations of the law
by protesters, the authorities appeared to treat the
protest as a challenge to the CPI-M and used excessive
force against the protestors. BUPC members were also
responsible for acts of violence. At least 25 people
were killed, hundreds injured and thousands displaced
from their homes.



In November, CPI-M supporters and armed thugs forcibly
ended the blockade. In retribution for the protest,
they attacked villagers supporting the BUPC, burned
down their homes, threatened further violence if
villagers went to the authorities, and humiliated them
by compelling them to join CPI-M rallies. The state
administration removed police posts before CPI-M
supporters advanced into the area, strongly suggesting
governmental complicity in the abuses.



Villagers in affected areas reported to the
fact-finding team that CPI-M supporters frequently
subjected women to violent attacks, including rape and
beatings, as well as to threats and harassment. There
is no evidence that the police have sought to arrest
those named in police complaints. Victims,
particularly women who risk social censure by
reporting rape, remained vulnerable to threats and
further attacks from perpetrators who roam free.



"The tragedy of the reported rapes at Nandigram has
been compounded by the failure of the police to
seriously investigate these cases, keeping the victims
at grave risk," said Ganguly.



Based on the team's findings, Amnesty International
has produced a report titled, " Urgent need to address
large scale human rights abuses during Nandigram
"recapture.'" The report concludes that the inaction
of the West Bengal state government, including tacit
acceptance of the violent operations of the armed
supporters of the CPI-M, resulted in serious human
rights abuses, including unlawful killings,
abductions, sexual assault of women and forced
eviction and displacement of thousands of people in
2007.



It is disturbing that the West Bengal authorities
failed to prevent the violence at Nandigram and failed
to arrest the perpetrators," said Mukul Sharma,
director of Amnesty International, India, "Weeks after
peace had supposedly been restored, we learned that
the perpetrators were still roaming free, celebrating
their victory by threatening and beating up local
residents."



The impunity enjoyed by those perpetrating abuses in
Nandigram since the violence began in early 2007
fuelled the widespread abuses committed later in the
year. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee, contributed to the violence in November
by saying that the protesters had been "paid back in
the same coin," a comment which he retracted three
weeks later, admitting the events were a "political
and administrative failure."



Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that
access to justice for the victims of the violence went
beyond the successful prosecution of those
responsible. The West Bengal government has an
obligation to protect the rights of all those
displaced by ensuring they can safely return to their
homes and places of habitual residence and providing
restitution for all damage suffered. Women who
suffered abuse must receive proper protection and an
effective remedy.



"The authorities must show clear political will to end
the climate of violence in Nandigram," Sharma said.
"For lasting peace, all those responsible for the
violence must be prosecuted and the victims must
receive redress."



For quotes / interviews:

Justice S N Bhargava: 94-140-44461

Vrinda Grover: 98-108-06181

Meenakshi Ganguly: 98-200-36032

Mukul Sharma: 98-108-01919



Urgent Need to Address Large Scale Human Rights Abuse
During Nandigram "Recapture"
Report

Amnesty International India

AI Index: ASA 20/001/2008



January 15 2008



AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: ASA 20/001/2008

15 January 2008



Urgent need to address large scale human rights abuses
during Nandigram "recapture"



Amnesty International is concerned at reports that a
range of serious human rights abuses, including
unlawful killings, abductions, sexual assault of women
and forced eviction and displacement of thousands of
persons, have been carried out at Nandigram in East
Medinipore District in the eastern Indian state of
West Bengal. This report focuses on recent abuses, in
the context of violence in late October and November
2007, which were reportedly carried out by armed
supporters of the Communist Party of India-Marxist
(CPI-M), which leads the ruling Left Front coalition
in the state.



The organisation is also concerned that these abuses
took place in the face of inaction by or acquiescence
of the Government of West Bengal which to date has
also failed to order an independent inquiry into the
November 2007 violence.





1. Background



Throughout 2007, Nandigram has experienced violence as
CPI-M supporters and farmers belonging to the Bhumi
Uchched Pratirodh Committee (Anti-displacement front,
BUPC) clashed with each other in attempting to gain
control over parts of the area.



On 28 December 2006 , authorities at the neighbouring
port town of Haldia circulated a notice announcing
plans to set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at
Nandigram under the Government of India's
Petro-Chemical Petroleum Investment Region (PCPIR)
scheme. [1] The project, envisaged as a chemical hub,
reportedly required at least 4,000 hectares of land
for the proposed SEZ, which was to be jointly
developed by the state-owned Industrial Development
Corporation and the Indonesia-based Salim group of
companies. The land is owned by local farmers.



The BUPC had been formed to protest against forced
eviction and displacement of local inhabitants, mostly
farmers, as a result of this project. It consisted of
activists owing allegiance to several political
parties including the Trinamool Congress (TMC),
Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), Congress(I) and former supporters
of the CPI-M.



A range of abuses including unlawful killings, forced
evictions, excessive use of force by police,
widespread violence against women, as well as failure
of the authorities to provide protection to the
victims, denial of access and information to the media
and human rights organisations, harassment of human
rights defenders and the continuing denial of justice
to the victims have been reported from Nandigram
during the year. The scale of such abuses recently
intensified when violence broke out towards the end of
October between supporters of the ruling CPI-M, and
supporters of the BUPC.



In January and March 2007, at least 25 people, mostly
local residents, were killed and more than 100 injured
and at least 20 women sexually assaulted by armed
supporters of the ruling CPI-M, after 1,500 people,
mostly CPI-M supporters, were forcibly displaced from
their homes as the BUPC set up barricades to prevent
access to some of the disputed land. On 14 March, 14
people were reportedly shot dead by police and over
150 injured in violent confrontations between police,
supporters of the CPI-M and BUPC supporters protesting
against their displacement due to the proposed
industrial project. After this, the Government of West
Bengal announced that the industrial project would be
relocated. However the BUPC continued its blockade as
it doubted that the Government of West Bengal would in
fact relocate the project.

Protests continued in Nandigram with the demands for
justice and compensation to the victims of the 14
March firing being added to the existing demands.



Various Indian activists and human rights
organisations have reported that a wide range of human
rights abuses occurred during this period. [2] Amnesty
International has repeatedly expressed its concerns
about the excessive use of force by the police, called
for full consultation with those living in the area
about the proposed development and called for
investigations into the abuses. [3]



During the latest outbreak of violence in Nandigram
beginning on 6 November 2007, at least 15 people were
reportedly killed, 100 injured and hundreds of people
were displaced as groups of armed supporters of the
CPI-M commenced an operation to "recapture" the area.
Media and human rights organisations reported large
scale violence initiated by armed CPI-M supporters,
and alleged inaction by the state's law enforcement
agencies who, according to the reports, failed to take
steps to protect local inhabitants.

Reports stated that armed CPI-M supporters rode their
motorcycles into the area on 6 November, attacking
local residents with guns and home-made bombs and
fighting with BUPC supporters. On 12 November, two
units of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF) were deployed in some of the areas in which
violence had occurred, reportedly only after CPI-M
supporters had stopped blocking their route.
Subsequently five more units of the CRPF were
deployed. In the meantime, for over five days CPI-M
supporters had reportedly established control of the
area, forcibly evicting and displacing scores of
people and attacking BUPC supporters and other local
residents while looting and burning down houses and
destroying property. During this period, the media and
human rights organisations were excluded from the
majority of these areas as CPI-M supporters blocked
the main highways.

On 9 November, the Governor of the State,
Gopalakrishna Gandhi, described the situation in
Nandigram as a "civil war" and stated that the "armed
recapture is unlawful and unacceptable." [4] India's
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought a
report from the Government of West Bengal on the
violence and a six-member NHRC investigative team,
which visited the area on 15-19 November, is expected
to submit a report in the next few weeks. Meanwhile,
the NHRC chairperson Justice Rajendra Babu has stated,
in a reply to CPI-M members of the Indian parliament
that it was incontrovertible that human rights abuses
on a mass scale took place at Nandigram. [5]

Reports from survivors, eyewitnesses, and relief
workers alleged that months of discussions had taken
place in the town of Khejuri between CPI-M supporters
on their plans to "recapture" Nandigram. CPI-M
supporters, armed with weapons, had reportedly been
mobilized from other parts of West Bengal and
neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Bihar. [6] Both
the state administration and the police reportedly
took little action to protect the local communities
during the violence, and in some cases were alleged to
have participated in attacks. The reports also stated
that CPI-M supporters were involved in searching
villages, detaining and interrogating persons
suspected to be close to the BUPC and seizing weapons.




Amnesty International also learnt that hundreds of
residents including women and children who managed to
flee the violence were housed in two camps at
Nandigram. A week after the violence, media and human
rights organisations, which had limited access to
these camps, reported that the camps were largely
self-managed with very limited official assistance,
and those in the camps did not have secure access to
even minimum essential levels of food, water, shelter,
sanitation, and health services. Relief materials had
been provided mainly by human rights and humanitarian
organisations. Medical teams from non-governmental
organisations were able to reach the camps only after
four attempts were blocked by CPI-M supporters.



Following this, during 28-30 November 2007, Amnesty
International India took part in a research visit to
Nandigram and Kolkata, the delegation comprising also
a former high court chief justice, a senior lawyer and
a researcher from Human Rights Watch. The delegation
travelled to interior villages and relief camps, and
met with the victims of the violence, relevant
officials and others. This report sets out Amnesty
International's concerns arising out of the findings
of the visit



2. Preliminary Findings



a. Failure to protect local communities:



At Bhoota Mar in Gorchakraberia in Nandigram, the
delegation members were informed by relatives of CPI-M
supporters that, on 28 October 2007, BUPC supporters
had vandalized their residences. The police said they
had little access to interior villages as blockades
had been erected by the BUPC. However, the delegation
was informed by officials that there were sufficiently
early reports from intelligence officials and local
police that armed supporters of the CPI-M were
gathering around Nandigram. [7] This was also admitted
by the District Superintendent of Police Satya Prakash
Panda who informed the delegation that the police had
information that "arms and people were being mobilized
in the region." [8] The risk of confrontation between
BUPC and CPI-M supporters intensified towards 30
October, but the only remaining police posted at
Nandigram were withdrawn without any reasons being
given. District Superintendent of Police Satya Prakash
Panda told the delegation members that orders to
withdraw the remaining police came from his superiors
in Kolkata. [9] However, it was not until 12 November
2007 that CRPF personnel were deployed to Nandigram.



The withdrawal of the state police and the delay
before CPRF personnel were deployed left a period of
two weeks in which the CPI-M and the BUPC engaged in
armed confrontations attempting to assert control over
the area. There appears to have been a controversy as
to the reasons for the delay in deploying the CRPF. On
13 November, the state Chief Minister, Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee, alleged that it was the Union
Government which had caused the delay. [10] He said he
had requested their deployment on 27 October but that
several days later the Union Government informed him
that the CRPF personnel could not be sent to Nandigram
at that time as it was necessary to send them to other
states where state assembly polls were to be held in
December (Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh). On 5
November, the day before the armed CPI-M supporters
arrived in Nandigram, the state Home Secretary P R Roy
said he was not aware when the CRPF forces would be
despatched there. [11] However, the Union Minister of
State for Home Affairs, Sriprakash Jaiswal, said on 16
November that there was no delay in the deployment of
CRPF in Nandigram. [12]



The Government of West Bengal had already been
excluded from several areas in Nandigram by BUPC
barricades and armed CPI-M supporters, and the
withdrawal of the state police meant that between the
end of October and 11 November there was no
significant official security presence in the area.
Displaced persons in relief camps and eyewitnesses
informed the delegation that during this period CPI-M
supporters had closed in on several villages including
Sonachura, Adhikaripara, Satengbari and Gokulnagar
which had been barricaded by the BUPC. In these
villages, residences of BUPC leaders were looted and
burnt down by CPI-M supporters. By 11 November, the
entire area had been "recaptured" by the CPI-M
supporters, resulting in the forced eviction and
displacement of hundreds of persons including women
and children. During this period, the media (apart
from one reporter from the daily Dainik Statesman who
chose to stay with the local population) was prevented
from entering the villages by CPI-M supporters. On 12
November, a team of social activists from Kolkata was
able to start visiting some of the areas in Nandigram.
Its report gives a graphic account of the difficulties
encountered by that team and the media during the
visits. [13]



From the above accounts, it is clear that the recent
violence in Nandigram took place against a backdrop of
inaction by the Government of West Bengal, including
tacit acceptance of the violent operations of the
armed supporters of the CPI-M. The state has a
responsibility to protect the human rights of everyone
within its jurisdiction, and accordingly to uphold law
and order. This would include, where necessary,
measures by law enforcement agencies such as taking
appropriate action to end the blockade by the BUPC.
But the manner in which the state authorities have
acted, and in particular their failure to take action
to prevent abuses by armed supporters of the CPI-M,
suggests that they were not acting in an impartial
manner. No arrests were carried out prior to the
violence despite the flow of intelligence information
that arms were being mobilised in the region; no
search operations were carried out. No arrests were
carried out during the period of the violence, and
West Bengal Director-General of Police, Anup Bhushan
Vohra has stated that since the police only had access
the nearby town of Khejuri, where it was likely that
only CPI-M supporters would have been arrested, no
arrests had been ordered as "it would have been seen
as partisan." [14]



Many local residents were caught up in the violence
and, in the absence of sufficient protection from
state law enforcement agencies, had to flee their
homes and take refuge with relatives or in relief
camps. The delegation found evidence to demonstrate
that both the state administration and the police
appeared to have taken little action or responsibility
to exercise due diligence in preventing, stopping and
punishing human rights abuses and to protect the local
communities during the violence.



b. Victims of violence:



The numbers as well as the identities of persons
killed and missing from Nandigram during this period
remain unknown. Officials gave the delegation a list
of five persons who died during the violence, but
local authorities stated to the delegation that at
least 42 people were reported missing from the days of
the November 2007 violence, many of whom were presumed
to have been killed. BUPC activists informed the
delegation that an unknown number of persons,
including BUPC supporters, had gone missing; some of
whom might have gone into hiding fearing attack by
CPI-M supporters. The BUPC stated in addition that
complaints made to the police about missing persons
had not been properly registered.



On 5 December, a grave with the remains of five
half-burnt bodies was discovered at Bamanchok village
near Khejuri. [15]. Investigating agencies were trying
to establish whether, as claimed by the CPI-M, the
five persons were CPI-M supporters, including four
from Gokulnagar near Nandigram and one from Belda, 50
km from Nandigram, who were killed in a bomb blast on
28 October. [16] Conflicting information received from
local residents by the Association for the Protection
of Democratic Rights (APDR), however, alleged that
they had been killed while making bombs at Sherkhan
Chak [17].



On 8 December, human remains were recovered from the
Talpati canal in Bhangabera near Nandigram. [18] On 12
December, another body with two bullet holes was found
in a field at Maheshpur. Shyamali Pramanick, a woman
from the area, was reported to have claimed that the
deceased was her husband, Harun Pramanik, a BUPC
supporter who had been missing since 7 November. [19]
On 14 December, two more local women, Sumitra Mirda
and Annapurna Mondol, arrived at the Tamluk hospital
to lay claim to the body. They said their husbands had
been missing since 7 November. [20]



c. Violence against women

The delegation interviewed several women who had been
subjected to violence including rape, beating, threats
and harassment. In addition, testimony concerning
numerous incidents of violence against women has been
gathered by several fact-finding teams investigating
events that occurred in March as well as November.
Anuradha Talwar, an activist who was part of the first
fact-finding team which reached Nandigram on 16
November, in a deposition submitted to the delegation,
said in Satangabari village alone, local residents
informed them that at least seven women had been
raped. [21] In one case, a woman said that she was
beaten and her four-month-old son was snatched and
flung on the floor. Another woman said that though she
was pregnant, she was beaten until she bled. [22]



The delegation questioned officials of the Government
of West Bengal and the state police about their
efforts to investigate and prosecute violence against
women. They found that very few incidents had been
reported to the police and there were contradictory
accounts from the different police forces as to
exactly how many complaints of rape had been filed.



CRPF Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) Alok Raj stated
that five cases of rape were registered at Nandigram
including three after the November violence. [23] As
against this, the Officer-in-Charge, Nandigram police
station said only two complaints of rape had been
filed in the area. [24]



The Chief Secretary of West Bengal told the delegation
that the authorities were taking the allegations of
rape very seriously: " The accused generally belong to
either political party. We have taken the cases of the
women away from the local police. These cases are now
being enquired by the Criminal Investigation
Department of the State Police (CID)." [25]



However, the delegation is concerned that these words
have not so far been translated into action. In each
of the cases given by the CRPF, some of the
perpetrators were named. [26] Yet, none of these names
figured among the list of persons arrested so far. A
number of local residents informed the delegation that
the offenders were operating with impunity, taunting
the people, forcing them to shout slogans in support
of CPI-M, or attend CPI-M party meetings



Accounts of both officials and villagers relating to
violence against women agreed that the victims were
either relatives or sympathisers of BUPC, and named
the perpetrators as groups of armed supporters of the
CPI-M.



The delegation was told that at least seven women from
Nandigram have been admitted to the Government
Hospital at Tamluk.. Two of them had been shot at,
four were beaten and one was raped. Several others
were admitted to hospitals closer to Nandigram.



The delegation met two women [27] who both said they
had been raped by several persons during the violence
in November. Among the rapists were men whom they knew
and could recognize. Although they had named these men
when they made their complaints, three weeks later,
the police had not made any arrests. The women said
they were too frightened to return home.



One of them, Akhreja Bibi, was still at the Tamluk
hospital. She said that several men burst into her
home in the middle of the night on 8 November. "I
tried to run away but they caught me and beat me up.
They raped my daughters in front of me and then they
raped me." Akhreja Bibi's daughters, Ansura, 16, and
Mansura, 14, are still among those missing from
Nandigram. When the delegation asked about them at the
Nandigram police station, the Officer-in-Charge said
there was news that the girls had joined a circus at
Howrah, Kolkata. [28]



The delegation also met Niyoti Patra, a BUPC
supporter, who said she was also raped by several
persons; she said she could not return home. "I know
those men. They came to my house and asked me to join
a meeting," she said. "When I refused they came inside
and abused me. Then they raped me. There were three
men. They were my neighbours. I am frightened. I have
named them in my police report. Now they will punish
me again." She has since been staying at the Nandigram
school relief camp.



Roshomoi Das Adhikari, a woman in her 80s and mother
of a prominent BUPC leader, Swadesh Das Adhikari, was
beaten with rifle butts by three persons she could
recognise as "CPI-M people". She said she was alone at
home on 7 November. Her son and most of the villagers
had already fled from the area. Three men burst into
her house and started throwing things around. "I ran
out into the courtyard shouting for help. Two men with
big guns were standing there. They started beating and
kicking me. They tore at my sari, slapped me, pulled
my hair and cursed me. Meanwhile, the others had set
fire to my house. As they left they threatened me and
told me that they would kill my son. I just lay there
bleeding." [29] She also was able to name the CPI-M
supporters.



Another woman, wife of a prominent BUPC member, said
her home had been looted and burnt. Living in a relief
camp, she said that when she returned to harvest the
paddy, CPI-M supporters shouted abuses and threatened
sexual violence. She was still in Nandigram school
relief camp when the delegation met her, terrified
because the district administration wanted to shut the
camp and send her home. "I cannot describe the
language they used. They told me, 'The CRPF will
leave. Then we will come find you. We will chop off
your head and kill your husband'." [30]



Several women who returned to their homes after the
end of this period of violence, said that threats of
sexual violence were made against them if they did not
support the CPI-M. One woman said that she was forced
to attend a party rally on 28 November because she was
warned that she would otherwise be stripped in public
and then raped along with her daughters. [31] Mahamaya
Das Adhikari said that she went back to her village on
26 November but had to return to the camp a day later
because her parents were threatened by CPI-M
supporters. They were told that either their daughter
had to publicly pledge her support to the CPI-M or not
bother to return. [32]



Threats of violence have continued even after those
who were displaced returned to their villages. CPI-M
supporters are in "effective control" of most of the
villages in Nandigram, and in some areas, particularly
former BUPC strongholds like Satengbari, they have
reportedly threatened women saying "We'll come back at
night – light your lamps and wait for us with open
doors. Send your men away, we'll come back to you at
night." [33]



From the above accounts, it appears that there has
been a deliberate pattern of gender based violence
directed against women residents of Nandigram who were
left behind as local male residents fled the advancing
CPI-M supporters. The violence was directed against
those women who were at the forefront of the protest
against forced eviction and were unwilling to give up
their homes and lands. Also, the delegation was
informed by local residents that many women had
refused to file police reports as they were still
afraid of the consequences if they filed complaints
with the police and were also unwilling to risk social
censure associated with rape.



3. Key areas of concern





a. Due diligence:



Immediately after the violence, the Government of West
Bengal defended the violence by the armed supporters
of the CPI-M, and blamed the BUPC for the blockade and
the subsequent violence. In media briefings Chief
Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee claimed that the
protesters had been "paid back in the same coin" and
that his party was both "legally and morally correct"
to "recapture" Nandigram, [34] a comment which he
apparently retracted three weeks later while admitting
that the Nandigram events amounted to a "political and
administrative failure." [35] Later, on 26 December
2007, he visited Nandigram to express regret for the
violence, according to reports. [36]



East Medinipore District Magistrate Anoop Kumar
Agrawal informed the delegation members that, after
the written notification for withdrawal of the SEZ
notice was issued to him on 19 March 2007, he had held
meetings with the BUPC and the other parties to
resolve the issue; however, by this time, the BUPC
appeared to have lost confidence in the
administration. [37] As a BUPC activist, Sudhin
Bijoli, put it "The Chief Minister may have said that
he would not force us to leave, but he was saying so
many things and there was nothing in writing. How
could we trust him?" [38]



West Bengal Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb told the
delegation that "we could not create an atmosphere of
confidence … We failed to persuade the people to allow
the police to enter. They saw the police as partisan
and against them." [39]



Amnesty International is concerned by officials'
apparent readiness to accept this lack of confidence
in the police and by the failure of the state
authorities to take proactive steps to rectify it. The
manner in which the Government of West Bengal failed
to take positive action to address the issue suggests
that the government was acquiescent in the human
rights abuses by the armed supporters of the CPI-M
during the November violence.



Amnesty International opposes human rights abuses
whoever commits them and regardless of the cause
espoused by the perpetrators. States have a
responsibility to respect the human rights of all
individuals within their jurisdiction – that is, not
to commit human rights violations or to permit their
officials to do so. They also have a responsibility to
exercise due diligence to protect all individuals
within their jurisdiction against human rights abuses
by non-state actors by ensuring the maintenance of
public order and security by state law enforcement
agents authorised to do so and acting in compliance
with international human rights standards on law
enforcement, and by preventing, stopping and punishing
human rights abuses by non-state actors.



Amnesty International is concerned that in this
instance the state authorities have not fulfilled
their responsibility to exercise due diligence to
protect human rights. The recent failure to ensure an
effective police presence to maintain law and order
permitted, or even encouraged organized groups of
armed supporters of the ruling party to step in to
quell the protests by the BUPC, instead of the state
exercising its responsibility to deal with them
lawfully by effective, impartial and proportionate law
enforcement measures. Amnesty International is also
concerned that that state has not taken adequate
measures to ensure that the population whose
livelihood will be affected by the development of the
SEZ is protected against forced eviction, by being
ensured their rights to information, adequate
consultation, and just and adequate reparation
including resettlement in adequate alternative
accommodation.





b. Justice for the victims:



In Nandigram, there has been a general failure on the
part of the authorities to ensure progress in
investigations into earlier violence in January and
March 2007. It is to be noted that no departmental or
disciplinary action has been initiated against any
administrative or police official for despite loss of
life and property in the area. The Kolkata High Court,
on response appeal filed by the APDR, the Paschimbanga
Khet Mazdoor Samity (PBKMS) and other organisations,
ordered an investigation by the CBI into the violent
confrontations of 14 March when police used excessive
force and fired on demonstrators. The CBI's
preliminary report named at least ten CPI-M supporters
– who were later released by the state police – as
accused persons. The Government of West Bengal
obtained a stay on this investigation. However
investigations were finally re-instated on 16 November
and the CBI commenced its investigations into the 14
March violence on the basis of its preliminary report
of 24 March. The CBI, which submitted an interim
report to the Kolkata High Court on 17 December, has
been directed by the High Court to file its final
report by 15 February 2008. [40] As per interim
report, the CBI is reported to have filed four new
cases against several CPI-M supporters, including a
case of sexual assault, bringing the total number of
cases against the CPI-M supporters to seven. [41] Even
as the CBI was also inquiring into the allegation
whether the state police was aware that the CPI-M
supporters fired, along with them, on the protestors,
the Government of West Bengal has successfully
obtained a stay, from the Supreme Court of India, on
the filing of charges against state police officials
found responsible for the 14 March police firing.
[42].



Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb informed the delegation
that the Government of West Bengal had allocated funds
for compensation of the victims of the 14 March
violence as per the Kolkata high court order and that
this was being distributed. However, the District
Magistrate informed the delegation that he had
received no formal notification nor had funds been
released for disbursement. [43] On 31 December 2007,
the compensation amounts were finally paid to 13 of
the 14 victims of the 14 March police firing,
according to reports. [44]



The Kolkata High Court, in a judgment delivered on 16
November described the police firing on demonstrators
on 14 March as unconstitutional and illegal.



Amnesty International believes that the general
impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of human rights
abuses in Nandigram since January 2007 was a key
contributing factor to the widespread abuses committed
there since 6 November.



The CRPF was finally deployed on 12 November, and
although this brought an end to overt violence,
threats and intimidation continued, putting at risk
the lives and safety of the local inhabitants. There
has been very little sign of effort to arrest
perpetrators, who have allegedly been threatening BUPC
supporters against filing complaints, demanding their
attendance at CPI-M party meetings and suggesting that
they admit to looting and burning their own homes.
[45]



CRPF DIG Alok Raj expressed to the delegation his view
that the state police force personnel did not appear
to be interested in arresting the perpetrators and
were interfering in the CRPF's operations. The CRPF
was given a list of 180 people against whom there are
registered cases of murder. But those arrested by the
CRPF have all been released by the state police. Alok
Raj said, on 21 November, he had sent an official
notice to the Government of West Bengal, stating that
a complete list of persons wanted in connection with
offences in Nandigram was yet to be submitted by the
state police and that if those arrested by the CRPF
were subsequently released by the state police, it
"will not allow normalcy to return in the area." [46]



Amnesty International, while noting that the
Government of West Bengal has ordered inquiries as a
result of the unearthing of bodies at Nandigram this
month, points out that the Government has not so far
taken any steps to establish the whereabouts of all
those who have been missing from Nandigram since 6
November.



The Constitution of India clearly provides, in Article
32, for constitutional remedies when fundamental
rights appear to have been violated, as in the case of
the abuses committed during the violence in Nandigram.




Under international human rights standards states have
a responsibility to take apporopriate legislative,
administrative and other measures to prevent
violations and, where they occur, to investigate them
effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially and
where appropriate to take action against those alleged
to be responsible. They should also ensure that
victims have equal and effective access to justice,
and provide them with effective remedies, including
full and effective reparation. Reparation should
include restitution, compensation for economically
assessable damage, rehabilitation, satisfaction –
including public acknowledgement of the facts and
sanctions against those responsible – and guarantees
of non-repetition. [47]



In particular, the obligation of states to conduct
prompt, thorough, effective and impartial
investigations into killings and other human rights
abuses is also provided in international human rights
law, including Article 2(3) of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by
India in 1979. In its General Comment on Article 2 the
Human Rights Committee, the expert body charged with
overseeing the implementation of this Covenant, has
stated, among other things:



"There may be circumstances in which a failure to
ensure Covenant rights as required by article 2 would
give rise to violations by States Parties of those
rights, as a result of States Parties' permitting or
failing to take appropriate measures or to exercise
due diligence to prevent, punish, investigate or
redress the harm caused by such acts by private
persons or entities. States are reminded of the
interrelationship between the positive obligations
imposed under article 2 and the need to provide
effective remedies in the event of breach under
article 2, paragraph 3 ." [48]



Amnesty International urges the West Bengal
authorities to ensure that the CBI investigations into
the 14 March demonstration are not obstructed any
further, and that all incidents of human rights abuses
in the context of the violence since early 2007 are
thoroughly investigated and the suspected perpetrators
brought to justice.



In addition, Amnesty International urges the
Government of West Bengal to urgently set up an
independent and impartial inquiry into the violence at
Nandigram since early 2007 including the violence
since 6 November. Such an inquiry should examine
broader issues than criminal responsibility, such as
systemic factors, procedural deficiences, contextual
factors leading to the violence, and accountability of
the state authorities for failures to provide
effective protection.

Such an inquiry should in particular include an
investigation into disappearances of persons, illegal
possession of weapons by all non-state actors at
Nandigram and an assessment of the impact and extent
of violence against women at Nandigram. [49] In view
of the fact that the Government of West Bengal and
different state agencies have been implicated in
responsibility for the abuses due to the manner in
which they dealt or failed to deal with the violence
at Nandigram, there is a need for the inquiry to be
carried out by an independent and impartial body . The
activities of law enforcement agencies during the
violence should also be one of the objects of the
inquiry. If the inquiry obtains information indicating
that identified individuals or officials may have been
responsible for committing, ordering, encouraging or
permitting human rights abuses, that information
should be passed to the relevant criminal
investigation or prosecution bodies. Provisions of
immunity should not be allowed to shield those named
as responsible for such acts of omission and
commission.



The findings of the inquiry should be promptly made
public.





c. Reparation and protection of the rights of all
internally displaced people (IDPs):


West Bengal Chief Secretary, Amit Kiran Deb, informed
the delegation that humanitarian assistance, including
the provision of rice, cash payments and medical care
was being provided by the authorities. In addition,
Rs. 7 million, as compensation to the victims of the 6
November violence, has been released from the Chief
Minister's Relief Fund [50] in order to compensate for
the loss of homes and other property in the violence.



At least two relief camps were functioning at
Nandigram for those displaced since violence began in
January 2007. However, neither of these camps were run
by the state nor has the state carried out a survey to
establish the extent of damage to property.



One relief camp (shivir) is located at the Brij Mohan
Tiwari Siksha Niketan in Nandigram Block-I town, and
at its height housed around 3,000 to 4,000 persons.
Following the violence since 6 November, a fresh
influx of local residents had arrived in the camp.
However, by 29 November the number of persons housed
in the camp had dwindled to around 250, the reason
being that a large number of displaced persons had
left the camp to stay with relatives and friends. [51]




The delegation found that the camp was being run on
limited resources by the Nandigram Bazaar Committee,
Bharat Sevashram, a non-governmental organisation
(NGO), and a few other NGOs which had supplied rice,
other essential food items and blankets. TMC leaders
also contributed relief materials to the camp. Medical
services are confined to the voluntary services of
local doctors.



The second camp was located at a high school at
Khejuri and was run by CPI-M party workers who provide
some essential services. Most of the villagers,
reportedly numbering 1,500, who supported CPI-M had
taken refuge in this camp in the wake of the BUPC
blockade in January 2007. Towards the end of December,
the camp was reported to be hosting around 750 people.
The delegation was able to interview several local
residents who returned home from this camp after the
November 2007 violence. [52]



Amnesty International is concerned that the Government
of West Bengal has not taken the necessary concrete
steps to ensure that all persons under its
jurisdiction are protected from forced eviction and
displacement, and that all those forcibly displaced
during the violence are ensured at the very least
minimum essential levels of food, shelter, water and
sanitation, health care and education, as well as
their right to voluntary return or resettlement, and
reintegration.



Amnesty International is concerned that not all those
displaced have access to essential services such as
adequate food, water, shelter, and medical services.



There is a similar need to ensure access to justice
and adequate reparations without discrimination for
all of those who were forcibly displaced as well as
those who suffered other human rights abuses.



The Government of West Bengal is responsible to ensure
the protection of all internally displaced persons
within its jurisdiction. This duty arises inter alia
from India's Constitution, which guarantees to
everyone in India the right to the protection of life
and personal liberty (Article 21) (which Indian courts
have consistently interpreted to include the right to
access the minimum essential levels of food, shelter,
and other requirements to live with dignity) and the
equality of all persons before the law (Article 14).



The duty of the state to protect the rights of all
IDPs is reflected in the UN Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement (the Guiding Principles) [53]
which clearly affirm, in Principle 3(1), that
"national authorities have the primary duty and
responsibility to provide protection and humanitarian
assistance to internally displaced persons within
their jurisdiction." The state also has a duty under
its international human rights obligations, including
under the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, to provide essential services to
all IDPs without discrimination. This is reflected in
article 18(2) of the Guiding Principles, which state
that:



"At the minimum, regardless of the circumstances, and
without discrimination, competent authorities shall
provide internally displaced persons with and ensure
safe access to:

(a) Essential food and potable water;

(b) Basic shelter and housing;

(c) Appropriate clothing; and

(d) Essential medical services and sanitation."



Amnesty International emphasises the right of all IDPs
to voluntary return to their homes or places of
habitual residence or resettlement, and reintegration
and restitution of their homes and other property, and
calls upon the Government of West Bengal to ensure a
safe and dignified environment for their return. The
organization believes that this will not be achieved
unless there is a clear political will on the part of
the authorities to put an end to the atmosphere of
violence in Nandigram. Amnesty International is
concerned that displaced persons who wish to return to
their homes will be unable or unwilling to return if
those responsible for human rights abuses against them
during the violence remain at large, sometimes in
positions of authority.



Amnesty International urges the Government of West
Bengal that all those responsible for human rights
abuses are brought promptly to justice, and to ensure
full reparations for victims including adequate
compensation delivered promptly and on a
non-discriminatory basis.



Amnesty International also urges the Government of
West Bengal and the Government of India to ensure that
those returning home at Nandigram, irrespective of
their political affiliation, are able to return to
their homes or places of habitual residence or
resettlement, voluntarily and in safety and dignity.
They should also be guaranteed their right to
reintegration and restitution of their homes and other
property, and where this is not possible to adequate
compensation, In order for this to happen, there
should be the continued and effective deployment of
adequate CRPF personnel. [54]



4. Recommendations:



Amnesty International urges the Government of West
Bengal to:



Ensure that all incidents of human rights abuses in
the context of the violence since early 2007 are
thoroughly investigated and that the suspected
perpetrators, whether or not they are officials and
regardless of their political affiliation, are brought
promptly to justice:
Establish an independent and impartial inquiry into
all the violent incidents at Nandigram this year
including the violence since 6 November. Such an
inquiry should include an investigation into
disappearances of persons, illegal possession of
weapons by all non-state actors at Nandigram and an
assessment of the impact and extent of violence
against women at Nandigram. The findings of the
inquiry should be made public.:
Ensure that all those displaced have access, without
discrimination, to essential services such as adequate
food, water, shelter, and medical assistance:
Put in place a policy of adequate reparation,
including restitution, compensation and guarantees of
non-repetition.


Amnesty International urges the Government of West
Bengal and the Government of India to:



Ensure that those returning to their homes or places
of habitual residence in Nandigram, irrespective of
their political affiliation, are able to return to
their homes or places of habitual residence,
voluntarily and in safety and dignity. They should
also be guaranteed their right to reintegration and
restitution of their homes and other property, and
where this is not possible to adequate compensation
and resettlement. In order for this to happen, there
should be a continued and effective deployment of
adequate CRPF personnel:
Ensure that unlawful methods are not used, or allowed
to be used, to quell protests against forced eviction
or displacement and ensure that the human rights of
all those protesting against forced eviction or
displacement are fully protected;
Protect the rights of the affected communities to
information, consultation, participation, and freedom
from forced eviction (which requires ensuring their
rights to information, adequate consultation, and just
and adequate reparation, including resettlement in
adequate alternative accommodation.












--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Since 2005, India has been promoting SEZs across
the country. The policy of acquiring land for such
industrial projects in several states has sparked
protests from local communities fearing forced
displacement and threats to their sustainable
livelihood.





[2] Paschimbanga Khet Majoor Samity Report (PBKMS),
People's Uprising against Forced Land Acquisition: All
disquiet on the Nandigram front , 22-24 January 2007;
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights
(APDR), PBKMS and Manabidhikar Suraksha Mancha
(MASUM), Report of Investigation Into Nandigram Mass
Killings, 23 March 2007; Sramajibi Swastha Udyog,
People's Health and Janaswastha Swadikar Mancha,
Report of the Medical Team from Nandigram, 5 April
2007; Report of All India Independent Fact-finding
Team on Nandigram Massacre, 10 April 2007; All India
Citizens' Initiative, Report of the People's Tribunal
on Nandigram, 26-28 May 2007.

[3] Amnesty International public statements: India:
Deaths in West Bengal during protest against new
industrial project , AI Index: ASA 20/004/2007, 11
January 2007; India: Deaths in West Bengal due to
police firing during protests against new industrial
project, AI Index: ASA 20/008/2007, 15 March 2007;
Amnesty International public statement: India: Need
for effective investigations and prosecutions as
political violence continues in West Bengal, AI Index:
ASA 20/020/2007, 9 November 2007. .

[4] Press release of West Bengal Governor, Kolkata, 9
November 2007, cited in Time of India, 10 November
2007.

[5] NHRC Chairperson's reply to Members of the
Parliament on Nandigram, 21 November 2007.

[6] Profile of a hooded hunter, The Telegraph, 18
November 2007.

[7] Interview with East Medinipore District Magistrate
Anoop Kumar Agrawal, Tamluk, 29 November 2007;
Interview with Officer-in-Charge, Nandigram police
station, Sub-Inspector Champak Chowdhary, 29 November
2007.

[8] Interview with East Medinipore District
Superintendent of Police Satya Prakash Panda,
Nandigram, 29 November 2007.

[9] Interview with East Medinipore District
Superintendent of Police Satya Prakash Panda,
Nandigram, 29 November 2007.

[10] Buddhadeb accuses Centre of delaying CRPF
deployment, Times of India, 13 November 2007.

[11] Prime Minister concerned over violence in
Nandigram, Daily News and Analysis, 5 November 2007.

[12] Centre did not delay deployment of CRPF in
Nandigram, Dailyindia.com, 16 November, 2007.

[13] Report on Nandigram Events, Based on visit by
social activists and intellectuals, 8-15 November
2007, p. 2-4.

[14] Interview with West Bengal Director-General of
Police Anup Bhushan Vohra, Kolkata, 30 November 2007.

[15] Five half-burnt bodies found near Nandigram,
Times of India, 5 December 2007.

[16] CID to probe Nandigram graves, Times of India, 7
December 2007.

[17] Communication received from APDR, Kolkata, 8
November 2007.

[18] More bones found in Nandigram, Daily News and
Analysis, 8 December 2007.

[19] Body with bullet holes dug out: Wife of BUPC
supporter says shirt belonged to her husband, The
Telegraph , 13 December 2007.

[20] More claimants to the body from grave, The
Telegraph, 14 December 2007.

[21] Report on Nandigram events based on visit by
social activists and intellectuals, 8-15 November
2007, p. 12.

[22] Report on Nandigram Events, Based on visit by
social activists and intellectuals, 8-15 November
2007, p. 12.

[23] Interview with CRPF DIG Alok Raj, 29 November
2007.

[24] Interview with Officer-in-Charge, Nandigram
police station, Sub-Inspector Champak Chowdhary, 29
November 2007. Of the two victims, one is at the
Government Hospital at the District headquarters,
Tamluk, while the other is at a relief camp.

[25] Interview with West Bengal Chief Secretary Amit
Kiran Deb, 30 November 2007.

[26] The names of perpetrators in the five rape cases
given by CRPF DIG Alok Raj:

A. Case No 316/07 dated 22 November 2007 under
sections 448/363/361/380/325/354/506

Mir Aahsaan s/o Mir Masi Mir
Mir Barik s/o Abu Bakar
Mir Ilyass s/o Mir Kadir
Mir Kalu s/o Mir Akram
Mir Bachhu s/o Mir Akram
Maha Aditya Das s/o Sadanand Jha
Babun Dass s/o Nishikanta
Arubindo Mandal s/o Rishiesh
B. Case No 192/07/dated 11 November 2007 under IPC 376

Kallu s/o Ahsaan
Barrick s/o Abdul Rafe
Bachhu
C. Case No. 30/07 dated 4 March 2007 under sections
448/376 (2)

Sri Hari Samantra s/o Vijay Kalicharan
D. Case No 260/07 dated 17 November 2007 under
sections 376 (2)/506

Kalipara Ganadass s/o Sudarshan
Sagar Das s/o Lal Mohan
E. Case No 47/07/19 March 2007 under sections 147,
148, 149, 448, 323, 326, 376, 511 IPC

Badal Gara Das s/o Netri
Sunil Das s/o Kalachand
Sudarshan Gora Das s/o Netai
Gopal Garu Das s/o Sudarshan
Khorna Rai Das wife of Badal
Chargan Shil s/o of Srini Dash
[27] Except in two cases which were registered by the
police and whose names have been widely reported in
the Indian media, this report is withholding the
identity of rape victims.

[28] Interview with Officer-in-Charge, Nandigram
police station, Sub-Inspector Champak Chowdhary, 29
November 2007.

[29] Interview with Roshomoi Das Adhikary of
Adhikaripara, Gokulnagar, 29 November 2007.

[30] Interview with a victim in Nandigram, name
withheld, 28 November 2007.

[31] Interview with a victim in Nandigram relief camp,
name withheld, 28 November 2007.

[32] Interview with Mahamaya Das Adhikary of
Adhikaripara, Gokulnagar, at Nandigram relief camp, 28
November 2007.

[33] Interview with a victim at the Government
Hospital, Tamluk, 28 November 2007.

[34] Buddhadeb accuses Centre of delaying CRPF
deployment, Times of India, 13 November 2007.

[35] "I regret saying rivals paid back on the same
coin": Buddhadeb, Hindustan Times, 4 December 2007.

[36] This time Buddha goes to Nandigram to say sorry,
Indian Express, 27 December 2007. Later, according to
reports, the Chief Minister announced that the
Government of West Bengal has sent a fresh proposal to
relocate the project at Nayachar island, also near
Haldia and the BUPC has once again opposed it. See:
Bengal government sends proposal on PCPIR to Centre,
The Hindu, 4 January 2008 & BUPC to oppose chemical
hub at Nayachar, Economic Times, 7 January 2008.

[37] Interview with East Medinipore District
Magistrate Anoop Kumar Agrawal, Tamluk, 29 November
2007.

[38] Interview with Sudhin Bijoli, Nandigram, 28
November 2007.

[39] Interview with West Bengal Chief Secretary Amit
Kiran Deb, Kolkata, 30 November 2007.

[40] Nandigram: court directs CBI to file report by 15
February, The Hindu, 17 December 2007.

[41] Nandigram: CBI files four new cases, Times of
India, 19 December 2007.

[42] Nandigram: CBI restrained from filing cases
against police, The Hindu, 14 December 2007.

[43] Interview with West Bengal Chief Secretary Amit
Kiran Deb, Kolkata, 30 November 2007; Interview with
East Medinipore District Magistrate, Anoop Kumar
Agrawal, Tamluk, 29 November 2007.

[44] Compensation paid to Nandigram victims, Hindustan
Times, 31 December 2007.

[45] Interview with villagers, Adhikari pada, 29
November 2007.

[46] Interview with CRPF DIG Alok Raj, Khejuri, 29
November 2007.

[47] These principles are set out in numerous human
rights instruments as well as the Basic Principles and
Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for
Victims of Gross Violations of International Human
Rights Law and Serious Violations of International
Humanitarian Law , adopted by UN General Assembly
Resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005.

[48] Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 on
Article 2 of the Covenant: The Nature of the General
Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the
Covenant, UN Doc. CCPR/C/74/CRP.4/Rev.6, 21 April
2004, para. 8.

[49] Amnesty International is aware that a
consultation paper regarding the protection of the
rights of witnesses was drafted in 2004 by India's Law
Commission and subsequently submitted to the
Government of India. Despite this initiative, the
Government of India is yet to introduce a witness
protection scheme. Amnesty International fears that in
absence of a witness protection scheme and against a
context in which police are feared to have colluded
with CPI -M supporters in attacks against women in
Nandigram and where a fear of security and safety
remain, that victims and witnesses may refrain from
registering First Information Reports or from pursuing
cases through the criminal justice system.

[50] This contradicts what the East Medinipore
District Magistrate informed the delegation when it
met him on 28 November. He had said that no money has
been released; only an announcement for it has been
made to the media by the Chief Secretary.

[51] Delegation's visit to Brij Mohan Tiwari Siksha
Niketan relief camp in Nandigram, 28 November 2007.

[52] According to reports, West Bengal Home Secretary
P. R. Roy has stated that the camps at Nandigram were
empty and all the inmates had left them while
admitting that some of the inmates might have gone to
stay with their relatives. See All Inmates in
Nandigram relief camps have left: WB government, Times
of India, 3 January 2008.

[53] UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement,
UN Document E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, 11 February 1998.

[54] After the delegation's visit, Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was reported to have informed
the state assembly that the Government of West Bengal
was looking into complaints received from some CPI-M
supporters in Nandigram that they were harassed by the
CRPF. See: WB Government looking into CRPF excesses:
Buddhadeb, Times of India, 13 December 2007. Earlier,
state Home Secretary P. R. Roy stated that the CRPF
would remain in Nandigram till 12 February 2008. See:
CRPF to stay in Nandigram till February 12: Buddhadeb
government, Times of India, 12 December 2007.



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