NGOs demand severe action against attackers

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-10-15
PANAJI - Various NGOs on Tuesday came out and expressed their strong condemnation at the brutal assault on social activists, Mr Aires Rodrigues and historian, Mr Prajal Sakhardande last night.
The Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch has said that it sees this attack as an attempt to silence and subdue not only Mr Rodrigues and Mr Sakhardande, but also the rest of the Goan populace. It said that it is time for the state and official organs like the police to step up and bring the offenders to task and to enforce a social environment where peaceful and democratic protests can continue in security.
The Goa Bachao Andolan has condemned the alarming increase of attacks and intimidation of persons who have been protesting democratically.
In a statement, the secretary GBA, Ms Reboni Saha said: “We note with utter dismay the growing blatant nexus between law enforcers, legislators and illegal forces, as was clearly exposed in the recent attacks.”
It pointed out that the GBA stands by the true spirit of democracy, which entitles people with the right to speak out without fear of intimidation.
The GBA demanded that the perpetrators of these crimes be arrested and punished in order to bring back public confidence in their standing.
Another NGO, the Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony pointed out that when committed activists, who are raising important social issues, are attacked in such dastardly fashion, it augurs badly for democracy and human rights.
The members of the local unit of the Dhempe College of Arts and Science univocally denounced the cowardly and unwarranted attack on their colleague Mr Prajal Sakhardande.
Bailancho Saad also condemned the criminal assault and said that attacks on activists is an act of cowardice and in a democratic country there is no place for violence to address any issue and demanded that the guilty be brought to book immediately. Vision India described the incident as the tip of an iceberg.
In a press release, the Lok Shakti president, Dr Francisco Colaco said that the party demands immediate action to bring the culprits to book and have also demands an all party meeting immediately to take stock of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and to arrive at a consensus to restore the rule of law.
CICH convenors, Mr Ramesh Gauns and Ms Albertina Almeida have cautioned that unless “we act unitedly to ensure democratic governance, we will soon have a Chhattisgarh-type situation where law and order does not prevail, and civil liberties are routinely trampled upon, as seen in the case of Dr Binayak Sen.”
The Taleigao Bachao Abhiyan said that anti-social forces who are agitated by the democratic protests by citizens seek to unleash a culture of fear to subdue the citizens and throttle their voices. It demanded that the government institute a serious investigation into this incident and that not merely the executors of the assault be brought to book but the mastermind behind the act.
The People’s Movement for Civic Action (PMCA) appealed to the Home Minister to take severe action against all such anti-social elements so as to instil confidence in the citizens about their safety.
The Goa Heritage Action Group said that the heinous and cowardly physical attack on Mr Sakhardande is an assault on the concerned citizen in Goa and constitutes intimidation of our civil society.
The ECHOGOA condemned the brutal and cowardice attack and described it as an attempt to suppress the truth, an attack on ‘Niz Goyankar’.
The Human Right Monitoring Society (HURIMOS) said that this blatant act of violence against the two social activists reflected badly on the existing public security and crime management of the government.
The South Goa Advocates’ Association has also demanded that law enforcing authorities should take prompt and definite action against
the attackers.