Urgent Appeal for action on behalf of Indian HRD Mr P.V. Rajagopal
URGENT APPEAL – 09/05/12
India: Human
Rights Defender Mr P.V. Rajagopal and His Organisation Branded As Supporting
Maoist Rebels
On 21
April 2012, Indian authorities ordered the deportation of ten French citizens
who were accused of illegally working with the organisation Ekta Parishad
(Unity Forum) and falsely accused Gandhian activist Mr P.V. Rajagopal of
supporting Maoist rebels.
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copy the enclosed letter and send it to the address provided.
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Target
adresses:
President
Pratibha Patil
Office of the President
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi 110 004
India
Office of the President
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi 110 004
India
Your
Excellency,
I would like
to draw your attention to human rights defender P.V. Rajagopal and
the branding of his human rights organisation Ekta Parishad as supporting
Maoist rebels.
On 21 April
2012, Indian authorities ordered the deportation of ten French citizens who
were accused of illegally working with the organisation Ekta Parishad (Unity
Forum) and falsely accused human rights defender and Gandhian activist Mr P.V.
Rajagopal, leader and founding member of Ekta Parishad, of supporting Maoist
rebels. P.V. Rajagopal is Vice-Chairman of the Gandhi Peace Foundation in New
Delhi. He founded Ekta Parishad in 1991, a non-violent grassroots human rights
organisation dedicated to restoring land and water rights to local communities
in India.
The French
citizens, four men and six women, are land reform activists who came to India
to meet P.V. Rajagopal. They were detained on 21 April 2012 in a densely
forested area of Bihar where Ekta Parishad had organised a meeting with the
visitors and local farmers. Police officers in the area alleged that the French
citizens violated their tourist visas by working for the organisation and that
Ekta Parishad supports the cause of Maoist rebels. Police also alleged that
they were not informed about the French citizens' stay in Nawada and Jamui,
despite Ekta Parishad having reportedly provided the police with a copy of the
visitors' passports and visas upon arrival.
P.V.
Rajagopal vehemently denies the accusations, stating that Ekta Parishad works
to protect the land and water rights of the disadvantaged and has never
supported the cause of Maoist rebels. P.V. Rajagopal has been on a fast since
21 April 2012 as a form of protest against the arrests, deportations and
accusations of Maoist rebel support. The regional governments in Chhattisgarh and
Madhya Pradesh have previously accused Ekta Parishad of being a Maoist
organisation.
I express
its concern at the false accusations of Maoist rebel support directed at human
rights defender P.V. Rajagopal, the organisation Ekta Parishad, and about the deportation
of foreign land reform activists. I believe that these activities are an
attempt to prevent P.V. Rajagopal from carrying out his legitimate and peaceful
human rights work, in particular the restoration of land and water rights to
communities in India.
I urge the
authorities in India to:
1. Carry out
an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the false allegations
of Maoist rebel support made by the police against human rights defender P.V.
Rajagopal and Ekta Parishad, with a view to publishing the findings and
bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international
standards;
2. Take
measures to ensure that government and police officials, or other public
figures, refrain from making false statements and allegations stigmatising the
legitimate and peaceful human rights work of P.V. Rajagopal;
3. Guarantee
in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in India are able to carry
out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free
of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.
Yours
sincerely,
NAME
........................................
ADDRESS
.........................................
ADDRESS
.........................................
Thank you
for taking action on behalf of Mr P.V. Rajagopal.
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