An Amnesty International report alleges that the West Bengal government's inaction during the Nandigram unrest in 2007 resulted in serious human rights abuses, including unlawful killings, abductions, sexual assault of women, and the forced eviction and displacement of thousands of people

Citing a range of serious human rights violations amidst state complicity, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have demanded that the West Bengal government immediately institute an independent and impartial inquiry into the violence that's been taking place in Nandigram since early-2007.

“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,” the international human rights groups said in a press statement.

They underlined the need to examine broader issues such as systemic factors, procedural deficiencies, contextual factors leading to the violence, and accountability of the state authorities for failure to provide effective protection. The findings of the inquiry should be promptly made public, the statement said.

A fact-finding team comprising former Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court S N Bhargava, advocate Vrinda Grover, senior HRW South Asia researcher Meenakshi Ganguly, and Amnesty International India Director Mukul Sharma visited victims of the violence in affected villages and relief camps, as well as government officials and rights activists in Nandigram and Kolkata between November 28 and 30, 2007.

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 state government's inaction, including tacit acceptance of the violent operations of armed supporters of the ruling party, resulted in serious human rights abuses, including unlawful killings, abductions, sexual assault of women, and the forced eviction and displacement of thousands of people in 2007.

“It was obvious during our visit to Nandigram that state authorities had not acted in an impartial manner,” said Ganguly. “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.”

Villagers in affected areas reported to the fact-finding team that women were subjected to violent attacks, including rape and beatings, as well as to threats and harassment. And 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 the perpetrators.

“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.

From the many accounts recorded in the report, there appears to be a deliberate pattern of gender-based violence directed against the women residents of Nandigram. The violence was directed against those women who were at the forefront of the protest against forced evictions and were unwilling to give up their homes and lands.

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 local anti-displacement front, Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee ( BUPC).

In January and March 2007, protesting villagers blockaded the Nandigram area to oppose a government plan to acquire land for industry. Around 25 people were killed, hundreds injured, at least 20 women sexually assaulted and thousands displaced from their homes. T he state authorities took this up as a challenge and, o n March 14, the police fired on protestors resulting in 14 deaths and over 150 injured. BUPC members were also responsible for acts of violence.

The numbers as well as identities of persons killed and missing from Nandigram during this period remain unknown. Officials gave the team a list of five persons who died during the violence, but local authorities told the delegation that at least 42 people were reported missing in the November 2007 violence, many of whom are presumed dead.

The international human rights groups said that access to justice for 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 providing restitution for damage suffered.

Amnesty International is also concerned that the state has not taken adequate measures to ensure that the population, whose livelihoods will be affected by the setting up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the area, is protected against forced evictions by being assured of their rights to information, adequate consultation and just and adequate reparation, including resettlement.

Source: Amnesty International, January 2008
              Human Rights Watch, January 2008