Govindan Kutty is released

I was released from prison today, Sunday 24th February, 2008………………

I was released from prison today around noon.

I thank the print and mass media in extending their support for my struggle in prison.

I thank the civil and democratic rights orgonisations, Kerala Working journalists union, Advocates P.A. Paura, Madhusudan in extending legal assistance, Arundati Roy, Girish Karnad, Maheshwata Devi in exposing my cause.

People’s March publication will be resumed as early as possible.

Normally police seize only the hard disks of any computer. In My case they seized the whole C.P.U., Monitor, Key Board, Mouse, Speakers everything. I have to buy everything as the seized items will be returned only after the closure of the case by court.

Normally police seize only the SIM card. In my case police seized the mobile itself.

That means I have to spend money for a computer and mobile.

The owners of the printing press which prints People’s March were threatened by police. They refuse to print People’s March. These are he problems before the People’s March. Even though People’s March is a Registered Newspaper registered under the Registrar of Newspapers for India.

Liberal financial assistance is the ned of the hour to resume People’s March publication.

P.Govindan kutty
Editor, People’s March

Press Release of JNUSU

Press Release
21.02.2008

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) appeals for solidarity with People’s Doctor Binayak Sen.
JNUSU organises a medical camp in solidarity with Binayak Sen’s missions and demands his release

As part of JNUSU’s continuous and prolonged efforts to ensure rights and facilities for contract and daily-wage workers on campus, JNUSU is organising a Medical Camp with the help of doctors and research scholars in the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, SSS, JNU.

This Medical Camp for the workers is being held in solidarity with the country wide efforts to ensure the release of PUCL Vice-President and Peoples’ Doctor, Dr. Binayak Sen who is presently incarcerated.

Dr. Binayak Sen used to be part of the faculty of CSMCH, and is known for his efforts in extending medical treatment to the poorest sections of society. Dr. Sen, a paediatrician and public health doctor and human rights activist, was arrested on May 14, 2007 in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. Sen was detained under provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2006 (CSPSA), and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967). He remains in police custody till date.

For the past 30 years, he has been promoting community rural health care centres in the country. He helped to set up the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha’s Shaheed Hospital, a pioneering health programme for the region. Sen and his organisation has been on the forefront of chronicling fake encounters, rapes, burning of villages, displacement of Adivasis and loss of their livelihoods. He has always stood against senseless killings and advocated for peaceful methods. Dr Sen’s arrest is clearly an attempt to intimidate human rights activists and democratic voices that have been speaking out against rights violations.

In response to JNUSU’s call for support, the JNU teaching community also extended their contribution and solidarity for the medical camp.

Sd/-

Sandeep Singh
President, JNUSU

Young Journalists League Statement

Following resolution was adopted at a meeting organized by the Young Journalists League at the Press Club of India on February 11, 2007:

We, the undersigned, condemn the arrest and persecution of journalists, in the name of cracking down on the ‘Left Wing Extremists’ or for their expose’ of scams or other corrupt practices, the ban imposed on Peoples March, as well as the sale of literature considered “unlawful” or proscribed by the authorities. We consider all these as placing curbs on our freedom of expression and an attack on our right to dissent.

Once the government declares any ideology or idea or political activity as “unlawful” andproscribes an organisation it transforms what is legitimate activity into “criminal” which subverts a fundamental precept of democracy that ‘ideas and issues should not be chained’. We, decline to accept that just because the Government, state and central, declare some ideas to be abhorrent, and gag their proponents, that we begin to regard these organizations, or individual’s associated with them, as untouchables and remain mute while their voices are silenced. For us politics of proscription is a throwback to the period of colonialism and Emergency when the authorities decided what people could read, write, think, express, organise themselves around or demand.

Our concern is that it is such undemocratic practices of the central or state government, which inspire and help the retrogressive elements in our society to use their muscle power to muzzle free expression and to promote their own brand of intolerance to browbeat journalists, burn books or persecute anyone who dares to dissent.

We consider it unacceptable to deny our own people the right to express, print and circulate their views and participate in public debates. It is incongruous, if not ironical, that our constitutional democracy can wage war against the ‘Left Wing Extremists’ but fears spoken or written words expressed by them or their sympathisers.

We reiterate that it is through the promotion and protection of ‘battle of ideas and ideologies’ that open politics become attractive.

Therefore, we urge the government to lift the ban impose on People’s March, drop charges and release Gobindan Kutty, Prashant Rahi, Praful Jha, A K Sengupta, Dharmendra Sriram Bhurle, Anil Mhamane and withdraw the case filed against Sunita and Vira Sathidar of Daanish Books.

We also demand prosecution of all those who have attacked journalists for writing fearlessly and have exposed various scams.

Kuldeep Nayar

Mahashweta Devi

Rajendra Yadav

Arundhati Roy

Vinod Mehta

Tarun Terjpal

Girish Karnad

Anand Swaroop Verma

Mahmood Farroqui

AK Arun

Amit Sengupta

Manager Pandey

Habib Tanveer,

Javed Naqvi

Praful Bidwai

Pankaj Bisht

Kavita Krishnan

Anil Chamadia

Pankaj Singh

ND Pancholi

Jaspal Singh Sidhu

Piyush Pant

Kalpana Mehta

Sharmila Purkayastha

Nagraj Adve

Preeti Chauhan

Rajendra Singh Negi

Mangalesh Dabral

Gautam Navlakha

Ajay Prakash

Abhishek Srivastava

Bhupen

Moses Kharbithai

Asish Gupta

Rakesh Kr Singh and 50 others

Those who want to add their name to the resolution can send their names to:

youngjournalistsleague@yahoo.com