People’s Watch here has appealed to the Tamil Nadu government not to scuttle the spirit of genuine human rights organisations in the State in the name of police crackdown against certain bogus entities.
It also expressed displeasure with the amended Societies Registration Act which prohibits the use of the words — human rights — while registering an organisation.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, People’s Watch executive director Henri Tiphagne said the police should not unilaterally act in the guise of taking action against organisations functioning on the pretext of protecting human rights. “In the last two weeks, 140 FIRs have been filed against human rights organisations in 15 districts of the State. The police may say that they are acting pursuant to the Madras High Court order which asked for a report on the steps taken to eradicate bogus organisations. They can act against fake entities but what we object is indiscriminate crackdown on all human rights organisations.”
Mr. Tiphagne said that he was also pained over the ban on use of the term human rights in an organisation’s name at a time when the United Nations was promoting human rights education everywhere. “Some organisations may have connivance with local police and act as kangaroo courts. But that tacit understanding should not mar the reputation of organisations like us which have been well recognised for protecting fundamental human rights of many individuals in several cases,” he observed.
Making a plea for permitting use of human rights in the organisation’s name at the time of registration, he said when teachers, doctors and lawyers floated organisations using the name of their profession, the same yardstick could be applied for human rights forums. “The government and the police are misinterpreting court order. Human right is a value and it cannot be banned. We agree that bogus entities are there and some people are cheating. But instead of taking action against them, how can you totally ban,” Mr. Tiphagne asked.
He feared that the police and public prosecutor were providing wrong information to the High Court by filing FIRs.
“In the last two weeks, 140 FIRs have been filed against human rights bodies in 15 districts”
