Wednesday, Feb 26, 2003
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Kerala
By Our Staff Reporter
He will also try to raise the issue before the Rajya Sabha, he said. Nr. Nayar, who was on a short visit to the State capital, was addressing a press conference here today. He had met the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, on Monday and held an hour-long discussion on the Muthanga incident, he said. The State Government had earlier in the week, resorted to police action in the sanctuary in Wayanad district, where a large number of tribal families led by the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha had forcibly entered, in protest against the Government's delay in allotting them land. Two persons, including a tribal and a police constable had been killed and many more injured in police firing. The use of force to evict tribals from forestland and the alleged police excesses had been widely condemned by the media and human rights activists. Disclosing the details of the discussion he had with the Chief Minister, he said that while Mr. Antony had not promised a judicial inquiry into the incident, he had agreed to set up some kind of machinery to look into the complaint of police excesses against the tribals. Mr. Nayar said that Mr. Antony, who has a very clean image, should have been more generous and open towards the tribals. In the aftermath of the Muthanga firing he should have gone about allaying the fears among the marginalised tribals. However, the Chief Minister had termed the tribals' protest as `an armed uprising against the Government, with the help of naxalites', Mr. Nayar said. Mr. Antony also said that he had been under pressure from the Centre to evict the tribals who had forcibly occupied the sanctuary, Mr. Nayar said. He said that tribals have since ages been living in the forests and that they cannot be alienated from their land. It was absolutely wrong to declare forests as protected land and evict tribals from the area. He pointed out that while the Chief Minister had made many promises to the tribals on giving them alternative land, he had not been able to expedite the process, which had led to the revolt. Mr. Antony had blamed the media for its `politicised reportage' of the Muthanga incident and had spoken about approaching the Press Council and the Editors' Guild, Mr. Nayar said. Mr. Nayar said that during his interaction with Antony had told him that he was `very, very upset' with the media. The media reports had put the number of dead anywhere from two to 20. There had been further speculation about many missing tribals and that many more could be dead inside the forest. Mr. Nayar said the Chief Minister had stuck to his stand that only two persons had been dead and that he had denied all reports that tribals were being victimised. Media persons pointed out that they had been prevented by the police from entering the sanctuary to cover the incident. However, Mr. Nayar felt that it was the duty of reporters to go beyond official briefing and said that the Government should have let the journalists do their job. When asked about the VHP's war cry on Ayodhya, he said that all parties were bound by the Supreme Court's ruling on the dispute. Religion was a private affair and when the State sought to make religion its agenda, it was only natural for the minorities to rise in revolt, he pointed out.
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