ACTION ALEERT: Eviction of sex workers in Goa, India. Please take immediate ac

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

The government of Goa has evicted thousands of people including sex

workers, conveniently circumventing the order of the Goa bench of the

Bombay High court in Baina, Goa. The idea is to `deport outsiders'

from the neighbouring states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra

Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Turned homeless in one morning

during the monsoon, the people (most of them women and children) are

now living on the roads braving the torrential rains without shelter,

food or medicine. Brutal police violence has been used during the

eviction. Now the threat and violence continues to force them to

leave the State of Goa. This deportation must STOP.

A brief background on the situation is attached below.

So far no compensation has been announced. However government

officials have been threatening people to go back to where they came

from, as they 'outsiders' - not from Goa. In their latest atrocity

the officials have threatened a group of Muslim fakirs taking shelter

in a municipality hall to take Rs. 5,000 and leave. Otherwise they

will be beaten to pulps.

Friends, write protest letters to the National Human Rights

Commission, National Commission for Women, Prime Minister of India,

chief ministers of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and

congress party president Gandhi to intervene in the matter and

asking for immediate justice and relief for the evicted people.

A sample letter and the email addresses of the mentioned authorities

are attached with this alert. The letter to the prime minister will

have to be sent through the prime ministers website. The link is

given with the ids. Also send a copy to the chief minister of Goa and

us.

Sample protest letter:

Dear Sir,

We are shocked by the inhuman eviction of people by the government of

Goa from Baina area in Goa on 14th of June 200. Carrying out the

brutal eviction the government has not only violated human rights of

thousands of people but it also has deliberately misinterpreted a

high court order.

Instead of offering any compensation, the evicted people are being

beaten up and arrested by police. The evicted people - majority from

the neighbouring states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharahtra -

are being asked to leave Goa and go back to their states as they are

not from Goa. Most of the evicted people, who are economically,

socially and politically marginalized, have been living in Goa for

more than 40 years and possess ration cards, identity cards,

electricity bills, municipal tax payment receipts and are valid

residents of the state of Goa.

Indian citizens have the right to live anywhere within the country

and earn their livelihood. We protest against this undemocratic and

unconstitutional action of the government of Goa and demand immediate

compensation and rehabilitation of the people in Goa.

We appeal to you for prompt intervention in the matter and restore

people's faith in the constitution of India. The government of Goa

has violated not only the spirit of the Indian Union that protects

and promotes its citizens but also all international human rights

standards that India adheres to. These arbitrary and undemocratic

human rights violations will be an inerasable stain on the face of

world's largest democracy and we as Indians will have to bow our

heads in shame in front of the international community.

Asking justice for all the people evicted from Baina.

In Solidarity

SANGRAM

___________

eMAIL CC TO:

soniagandhi@.... chiefminister@...,

cm@..., cmap@..., chairnhrc@..., member_secretary@ncw-

india.org, cmgoa@...

http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm

__________

Background:

At 7 am on 14 June 2004, as the monsoon unleashed its full force on

the state of Goa, residents of Baina woke to the sound of bulldozers

tearing through their neighbourhood, brutally and ruthlessly razing

their homes. In a matter of hours, hundreds of homes were bulldozed

and thousands of people, including a community of sex workers, lost

their homes and livelihood. In a gross violation of human rights,

they were intimidated, abused, beaten and arrested by the police.

Women and children were forcibly evicted and their homes demolished

before their eyes. Frightened, confused, without food or shelter, in

the middle of heavy rains, they had nowhere to go. The undisputed

basic human right to shelter has been willfully violated by the

government of Goa.

The demolition was done by the Goa government using massive police

force. As compensation, the people were asked to accept train or bus

tickets and return to their native places, although some of them had

been living in Goa for more than 40 years! At least two generations

of them have lived in Baina. They have children who were born in Goa

and are adults now. They possess birth certificates issued by the

Vasco municipal council.

Most of the evictees possess valid ration cards, house tax bills,

electricity bills and voter identity cards. They had voted in the

Assembly and Parliamentary elections in Goa. They have been dutifully

paying their taxes.

Though a fortnight has passed since the incident took place, the Goa

government has not yet announced any plans for the rehabilitation of

the evictees. The local authorities claim that residents of the area

primarily comprise immigrants, mostly from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and since they are non-

Goans, they should leave Goa and return to their respective states.

Please write to us for a full report on the eviction and a statement

from Rainbow Planet - a coalition working for the rights of sexuality

minorities, sex workers and people living with HIV/AIDS in India.

SANGRAM

E-mail: <san_meena@...>