New Delhi: Labelling Supreme Court judgement
lambasting appointment of vigilante groups like Salwa Judum to
fight Maoists as historic, a group of civil society activists
on Monday demanded that the government focus on quick and sincere
implementation of the order instead of seeking its review.
"The SC has given a historic and landmark judgement. Its
implementation in letter and spirit will pave the way for a
meaningful dialogue with Maoists," Swami Agnivesh told
reporters.
"It is not an ideological judgement and if the Centre
raises questions on it, then this casts doubts on the
intentions of the government," he said.
The activists demanded that the government should
register cases against the SPOs who are guilty of human rights
violations and punish them so that others can be rehabilitated
into the society.
"Since 2008, the Court has been telling the government to
rehabilitate and compensate the victims of violence and file
cases against the accused but the government has done nothing
so far. They should be pulled up for contempt of court," said
Nandini Sundar, one of the petitioners in the case.
On the issue of rehabilitation of the SPOs, she suggested
that they could be properly trained and formally recruited
into the police force so that their accountability can be
established.
The activists also criticised the development policies of
the government and termed them as a form of "development
terrorism" that intends to relegate the tribal land and
mineral wealth to the "corporate mafia".
They further stressed on the need for respecting and
protecting the rights of tribals and demanded a peace
initiative through a dialogue process that brings the basic
problems of the tribals to the forefront.
The Supreme Court in its July 5 judgement had asked the
Centre and Chhattisgarh Governments to desist from arming
tribals in the name of SPOs, saying it was "unconstitutional".
The government, however has decided to move the Supreme Court
to seek a review of its judgement.
PTI
First Published: Monday, July 18, 2011, 23:12