Petition Tag - defenders

Those who are currently in power in Croatia,SDP government headed byZoran Milanovic,Ivo Josipovic the so called president have renounced Veljko Maric, they have not provided any protection for him, and his case has been put aside in a drawer, and they have left him at the mercy of Serbian antagonists, as if the man does not exist, it is obvious that Veljko Maric was sold to the Serbs !

The Serbian government headed by Tomislav Nikolić, who himself committed crimes in Croatia during the homeland war,has ignored requests for Veljko Maric to be transferred to Croatia.

Tihomir Purda was released because of strong protests, but someone is still in Serbian custody and no one is campaigning to free them. The Croatian government has not bothered to campaign to free Veljko Maric who is still in a Serbian prison. Which makes you think about Croatian government cooperation with the Chetniks and future arrests of Croatian defenders in the name of project the Western Balkans or EU.

Tihomir Purda je pušten radi snažnih protesta, ali netko je još u srpskom zatvoru i nitko se ne trudi izbaviti ga. Hrvatska vlada nije potrudila izbaviti Veljka Marića iz srpskog zatvora,što upoćuje o razmišljanju o suradnji vlade s četnicima na budućim uhićenjima hrvatskih branitelja u ime provedbe projekta Zapadni Balkan I EU! Zastrašiti i obnoviti Jugu!

Here is a letter hand written by Veljko Maric from his Serbian prison cell.

Ovdje je pismo rukom napisao Veljko Marić iz srpskog zatvora.

Link to letter = http://www.croradio.net/download/Maric_Veljko_pismo.pdf

(If you cannot view the letter then please contact the author of this petition.)

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"No one is going to give them their rights to live with dignity on a silver platter. They have to be extracted with force... We will have to strengthen ourselves to stop those who find it profitable to misuse authority and public funds. Perhaps the courts and the NGOs are the only solution", said Justice Venkatachaliah, former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India and former Chief Justice of India at a workshop on Human Rights of Marginalised and Tribal Communities.

This statement and the hope put in non-governmental organizations come as a surprise if one looks at the recent developments in different states of India. There are various non-governmental human rights organizations active India and many of them recently faced serious threats by the police and the political powers. Activists were arrested and false charges were filed.

Examples:
The most recent example is that of Subash Mohapatra, the director of the Forum for Fact-finding Documentation and Advocacy. He was arrested from the office of the Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission when submitting the reply asked by the Commission regarding a case of Dalit exploitation on July 17, 2007. Human Rights Commissions are meant to protect human rights and are not meant to be the site of its violation. False charges were filed under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Just a few days before his arrest, Amarnath Pandey, advocate and human rights defender from Chhattisgarh was charged with a false case on atrocities against the tribes (for whom he is providing legal service in courts). His life has been threatened many times by the police and he travels with a sign on the rear of his vehicle saying "Chhattisgarh Government may kill me in a fake encounter (extrajudicial killing)”.

Around the same date, on Saturday, 14 July 2007 Saroj Mohanty, poet and long-time activist with Prakrutik Sampad Surakhya Parishad (PSSP), which has been opposing the entry of large bauxite mining companies in Kashipur for over 15 years, has been arrested. Saroj was taken into custody at a railway station in Rayagada District. He is currently in judicial custody in Rayagada district jail. The charges against him are completely fabricated but serious. They include section 395 of the IPC (Dacoity), section 397 (Robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), and section 450 (House trespass with intention to commit offence that is punishable with imprisonment for life).

Brijesh Bilathare, advocate and human rights defender from Madhya Pradesh, had false charges filed against him on 6 June 2007 stating he was obstructing a public servant discharging his duty.

Dr. Binayak Sen, senior human rights activist, was arrested on May 14, 2007 by Chattisgarh police. He is General Secretary, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Chattisgarh and its national vice president. He was detained under the provisions of two highly controversial laws: The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004. The allegations are based on assumed connections with Maoist rebels.

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