The After a long time, on 29th December 2005, the city of
Kolkata was witness to a lively procession in support of the long-standing
demand for the release of political prisoners who are still languishing
in the different jails of West Bengal. These include top Maoist
leaders like PB member Com. Sushil Roy (Barun, Shome), CC member
Com. Patit Pawan Haldar (Tapas) and SC member Com Chandi Sarkar.
The procession started from College Square, went to Sealdah, crossed
the fly-over, and then took S.N.Banerjee Road to reach Esplanade
East. The total number of people who joined totalled something above
1500. It was impressive not because of the total number of people,
but because of its composition. In fact, people from different strands
of life and organizations—those who had never joined or were not
called upon to join the Bandi Mukti Committee earlier, came to the
fore to raise their democratic voice in support of the release of
those who sacrificed a lot either to bring about a better social
order or to improve the condition of the people of their nationalities.
Besides various Naxalite organizations, National Alliance for Peoples’
Movement, APDR, RYL,AISA, which normally join such efforts, a large
number of new organizations also joined hands. The Madrasa Students’
Union, Hawker Sangram Committee, Gana Unnayan O Jana-Adhikar Sabgram
Samiti, Nepali Jana-Adhikar Suraksha Samiti(Bharat), Anagrasar Muslim
Samaj and others. People came from different districts including
North Bengal.
First the memorandum to be submitted to the governor of West Bengal
was read out in its original English version and then rendered into
Bengali. The speakers from the new organizations were mainly invited
to speak and they highlighted the different forms of state terrorism
that are being resorted to by the West Bengal police force. Those
who sat on the dais were members of the prisoners’ families. A team
of 5 members went to Raj Bhawan to talk to the governor and hand
over the memorandum. Such a movement created enthusiasm among the
people who crowded on both sides of the streets as the procession
passed by with participants shouting slogans. One could expect civil
rights movements of different types in the days to come. The BMC
circulated copies of the Memorandum among the media-persons. We
have got a copy of it and are reproducing it, as that would give
our readers some idea of what type of state terrorism is being pursued
in WB under the ‘more developed’ left-front government.
Besides this we also produce a copy of the PUCL (People’s Union
of Civil Liberties) Report on the incarceration and inhuman treatment
meted out to political prisoners. Ironically all such atrocities
is not going on in merely the BJP/Congresss-ruled states, but under
the so-called left front government led by the CPM. These two reports
bring out glaringly the extent of the brutalities being perpetuated
by the CPM, with little difference from what is going on in the
rest of the country. In Some cases it is even more widespread due
to the CPM using its wide cadre base as a mafia force and for setting
up an extensive police-informer network:
Memorandum of the Bandi Mukti Committee submitted to the Governor
of West Bengal on 29 December 2005:
It is a matter of deep concern to us that for the last four years
and more, the Government of West Bengal has been pursuing a policy
of ruthless state repression against their political opponents such
as the ‘Maoists’, ‘Kamtapuris’, SIMI activists and others and arrested
and tortured about two thousand and five hundred people, most of
whom are poor villagers, on the charge of their supposed association
with those parties. It is pertinent to point out that none of the
organizations such as the CPI(Maoist), KPP, KLO and SIMI is banned
in West Bengal. The recent arrests and incarceration of 59 Greater
Coochbehar activists have only added to the long list of political
prisoners. The government has targeted particularly the CPI(M-L)
PW and the MCC—now called CPI(Maoist) for marginalization and elimination
from the political map of West Bengal, as has been made amply clear
by the chief-cum-home minister in his budget speeches of 2001, 2003
and 2005—and in his speeches made from time to time on numerous
occasions.
What is of grave concern to civil society is that in order to achieve
that ‘objective’, the government has given the widest possible power
to police and para-military forces to arrest, intimidate, implicate
anybody, thereby encouraging the policy of impunity to delinquent
police personnel and arrogantly brushing aside all criticism against
the repressive policy. The government has been attacking the political
and organizations and, as a result, poor villagers have been facing
severest repression for the last few years, even leading to deaths
due to starvation in certain areas of West Medinipur.
That the police forces of West Bengal are showing no respect for
the law of the land and are trampling underfoot all constitutional
and democratic norms …………
Our Demands
1. All forms of police repression and brutality should be stopped.
2. All cases against prisoners, arrested on political grounds—whether
released on bail or still in jail—should be withdrawn, and they
should be released immediately and unconditionally.
3. The status of political prisoner should be granted to all political
prisoners, irrespective of their political beliefs and activities.
4. Adequate compensation should be given to the families of Bisadu
Barman and Chitta Roy, who were killed in police firing on 20 September
2005 during the Greater Coochbehar movement and that the state should
look after the education of their children.
5. BMC representatives should be allowed to meet the political prisoners
in all the prisons of WB.
Chhotan Das
Convenor, BMC,
Kolkata, 29 December 2005.
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