Delegation of Internally Displaced meets NHRC. Election Commission and National Minority Commission

PRESS RELEASE
ARPIL 5, 2007

Delegation of Internally Displaced meets NHRC. Election Commission and National Minority Commission


A delegation of Internally Displaced persons from Gujarat met The Election Commission, NHRC and the National Minority Commission.

1. The delegation met the election commissioners Mr. SY Quraishi and Mr Naveen Chawla and the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat Shri Vinod Babbar. The delegation explained in detail the problems faced by the internally displaced in exercising their franchise since they were ordinarily residence of the displaced colonies and their original documents had been all destroyed during the Gujarat carnage 2002, hence they were unable to vote in the last state election and subsequent local body elections.

The commission was extremely forthcoming and promised to insure that each of the eligible voters would be registered and issued photo identity cards in their present residence after a special team does a door to door survey and requested the Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti (AVHRS) to provide a comprehensive list of the eligible voters. Mr Q and C instructed Mr Vinod Babbar to coordinate and insure implementation at the earliest.

2. The delegation met the newly appointed Chairperson of the NHRC Shri Ram Babu and apprised him of the present situation of the internally displaced as well as the ongoing human rights violations in Gujarat against the minorities. The AVHRS gave a charter of demands and requested the intervention of NHRC in ensuring the security of the minorities and appropriate rehabilitation as per earlier directives of NHRC. The chairperson assured the delegation that he would take it up on a top priority. Some members of the delegation gave their personal testimonies of the continued violence and discrimination by the state administration.

3. The delegation then met the chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities Shri Hamid Ansari and urged him to take forward the unfinished task of ensuring a special package for the internally displaced which the NCM has recommended in its report to the Prime Minister, which was demanded by the Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti and endorsed by an eminent jury including an NCM member on first February 1, 2007 at the Convention of internally displaced at Ahmedabad attended by 3500 internally displaced. Shri Ansari expressed concern at the ongoing discrimination against the minorities in Gujarat and assured the delegation that NCM will take up with appropriate authorities the demand of a special package for the internally displaced.


RELEASED BY:
Yusuf Shaikh, (Convenor, Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti, Gujarat) 09898990823. Gagan Sethi (Janvikas, Ahmedabad) 09824023209. Shabnam Hashmi (Anhad, Delhi) 9811807558. Farah Naqvi (Writer & Activist, Delhi) 9811105521