NEW DELHI:
15th January, 2021, will mark hundred days of the Incarceration of 83 year old Father Stan Swamy, in Taloja Jail Mumbai. His arrest will go down in the annals of India’s dark history as one of the most brutal act’s of the State. A Jesuit priest, Father Stan, gave 35 years of his life working for the dignity and empowerment of the Adivasis of Jharkhand. It is sad to see that instead of a reward going his way, punishment has been meted out to him and jailed.
On the 15th more than a hundred groups are jointly organising an online programme in solidarity with Father Stan and demanding his immediate release along with the 15 others arrested in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case. A case where the Maharashtra police and the NIA with impunity have tried to stifle and silence democratic voices of dissent through false prosecutions and persecution of rights defenders. The demands that we will be raising are :
- Release immediately Fr Stan Swamy and the 15 others arrested in the BK case
- Arrest the real perpetrators of the violence that took place on the 1 January, 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon incidents.
- Repeal the UAPA
This is the first of the series of programmes in the run-up to 26 January 2021, our Republic Day, as a part of our collective campaign to emphasise the values enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution. The next two programmes will be held on the 20th of January, against the UAPA and on the 25th will see the release of a book on Sudha Bharadwaj.
On the 15th January evening, from 6 pm onwards, through cultural expressions and voices of colleagues and experts, the programme will share the life of Father Stan’s life’s journey and why the Indian State feared him. Amongst the speakers demanding his release are the UN special rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, who will join in from Geneva and speak live in the programme. Prof Virgina Xaxa a social scientist and Dorothy Fernandes from Forum for Justice and Peace apart from his colleagues Dayamani Barla, Aloka Kujur and Xaviers Dias in Jharkhand. Mihir Desai will present the legal update of the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case and who are the 15 arrestees in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case, will be shared.
The great Indian Dancer from Darpana, Mallika Sarabhai will perform and speak in solidarity with father Stan. Similarly, the Santhali dancers will perform a dance of lament among other expressions.
