The Human Rights Actions Network
www.derechos.org/human-rights/actions/
ACTION REQUEST
Case IND 010999
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your intervention in the
following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed of the use of
violence by the police leading to the death by drowning of 17 people in
the Tiruneveli district, State of Tamil Nadu, India.
According to People's Watch Tamil Nadu, member of the OMCT
network, on 7 June 1999, workers of Manjolai Tea Estate gathered in
front of the District Collector's office at Tiruneveli to protest against their
working conditions. Subsequently, 652 participants were arrested and
detained at Tiruchi Central Jail. They were released on 27 July 1999.
Before their release, on 23 July 1999, a multiparty rally was organised,
demanding the release of these workers and an appropriate solution to
the dispute. According to the information, the police used tear gas and
opened fire on the crowd. To protect themselves, people jumped in the
river, and those trying to come out were beaten by the police and pushed
back into the river. Subsequently, on 27 July 1999, 17 bodies were
reported to have been retrieved from the river.
Some of the leading women who managed to come out of the river were
taken to the Police Station, where they were beaten, stripped naked and
harassed before being released late in the evening of the 23th of July.
Actions requested
Please write to the Indian authorities urging them to
i. guarantee an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the
aforementioned incidents, identify those responsible, bring
them to trial, and apply the penal, civil, and/or administrative
sanctions provided by law;
ii. provide immediate and adequate reparation to the families of the
dead people and to the women above-reported as well as free
and adequate medical care;
iii. take all adequate measures to guarantee the non-repetition of these
human rights violations;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental
freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national
laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Mr. K. R. Narayanan, President of India, Office of the President,
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, India.
Fax+ 91 11 301 7290.
Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block, New
Delhi 110 001, India.
Fax+ 91 11 301 5750.
Minister of Defence, Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110
001, India.
Fax+ 91 11 301 5403.
Geneva, 1 September 1999
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
