[asia-apec 1745] Fw: Palijo & hundreds of men & women arrested in Sindh-Pakistan

[Maq Ras]

----- Original Message -----
From: Fayaz Aziz <rbathyd at usa.net>
To: <wsc-network at egroups.com>; <GOSEA-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL>
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 8:43 PM

            More than 600 environmentalists, civil society activists and 
political workers, men and women of Awami Tahreek (Peoples Movement) 
including AT President, PONM’s Central Leader and Supreme Court’s Lawyer 
Rasool Bux Palijo were rounded up by more than 15 hundred policemen and 
rangers of four districts, between Kheber and Matyari at the main National 
Highway of Sindh Pakistan today in a bid to foil Awami Tahreek’s Bhit 
Shah-Karachi Long March for the protection of Indus Ecology and against the 
acute water shortage, district govt plan and unemployment.  All the 
prisoners have been kept in Hatri, Sekhat and Cant Police Lockups and no one 
has been allowed to meet the 71-year-old renowned leader and women prisoners 
who have infants and suckling babies with them.

        Those who have been arrested include Sindhiani Tahreek (SINDHI 
WOMEN’s MOVEMENT) leaders: Suraj Halepoto, Pirah Khaskheli, Shahida, Sajida 
Bhano, Hamida Nizamani, Fatima Bagrani, Salma Bagrani, Afsana Nizamani, 
Bhori Menghwar, Maryam Rind, Bakhtawar Halepoto, Zahida Shaikh and others 
and Awami Tahreek’s leaders Sartaj Chandio, Wishnoo Mal, Hakim Zangejo, 
Piral Bhano, Anwar Rind, Choith Ram, Ali Mir Shah, Mustafa Chandio, Bilawal 
Lashari, Mashooque Chandio, Munawar Jatoi, Didar Kandhro, Ashraf Palijo, 
Rahman Dahri, Kishor Kumar Kolhi, Poorho Mal, Kesroo Mal, Jamal Leghari, 
Faizal Jakhrani, Sadiq Bagrani and others.

        For the last several weeks there is no water for irrigation in Sindh 
and agriculture, aquatic life, mangrove forests, Indus Dolphins, fishermen, 
lower Indus ecology and livelihood of millions of people have been destroyed 
due to the water-stealing by the ruling Punjab Province of Pakistan. This is 
an unprecedented situation in the history of the Indus river where for 
centuries the river was used as a  natural source for social and agriculture 
needs.

        The law enforcing authorities in the command of SSPs, Deputy 
Commissioner Hyderabad and several Majors of Rangers blocked the roads and 
asked the protesters to get into the trucks, but the emotional crowd of 
thousands refused and continued chanting slogans against the government for 
destroying the agriculture and economy of Sindh, on which police first tried 
to baton-charge the activists but thousands of AT supporters and villagers 
of adjacent villages gathered at Anwar Kot where Awami Tahreek chief himself 
raised slogans, “Darya Je Khatir Jhero Aaa” “Jijal Jey Khatir Jhero Aa” (We 
will fight for our river, we will fight for our motherland) and advanced 
towards Matyari and Hyderabad. Then more than 1500 Policemen and rangers 
ferociously surrounded them and forcibly put them in dozens of Police 
vehicles and busses. Once again Mr. Rasul Bux Palijo tried to stand and 
address the crowd but policemen compelled him to sit in the van.  At that 
time when the photographer of Daily Tameer Sindh tried to take photos of 
police brutality with the women of Sindhiani Tahreek and small children the 
DSP Police Head Quarter Qayoom viciously attacked the photographer and 
grabbed his camera.  Due to extraordinary deployment of the rangers and 
police force, Karachi Peshawar National  Highway was giving a look of an 
enemy area put under the curfew, which badly affected the routine traffic.

        After the arrest of hundreds of activists the angry crowd retaliated 
with stones and blocked the road. Police again rounded up more than 30 
workers from the scene and took them to different police stations. The hide 
and seek between police and Awami Tahreek supporters continued for the rest 
of the
day. , When AT leaders tried to hold a press conference in Qasimabad the 
Palijo House in Prince Town was encircled by the Police and till now several 
Mobile Trucks of Police are deployed in Prince Town.

        Talking to a group of journalists Awami Tahreek leaders Mohammad 
Khan Bhurgri, Dr. Gulzar Jumani, Siraj Siyal, Syed Alam Shah, Gul Hasan 
Kirano, Noor Nabi Rahoojo, Dr. Aziz Talpur, Rafi Leghari, Hasan Pasayo  
termed the police act as barbarism and violation of human rights, as people 
of Sindh province had every right to protest against the hand made water 
shortage. They condemned the police and rangers attitude towards Mr. Palijo, 
ladies and infants, they said when the party workers tried to provide 
medicines to 71 years old Heart Patient Mr. Palijo in overcrowded Police 
Lockup, the SSP fiercely refused to allow them.

        The Awami Tahreek leaders have called for hunger strikes in all the 
districts of Sindh from tomorrow and onwards and said that such tyrannies of 
Punjab and establishment could not compel the people of Sindh to give up 
their protest campaign because water is a matter of life and death for them.
                                        -------------------------------
Friends, we request you to join us in urging Pakistani Government, to 
release the renowned intellectual and civil society activist Mr. Rasul Bux 
Palijo and hundreds of women workers and peasants and to allow the discharge 
of water in Indus. The simple, action you can take in solidarity with the 
people of Indus valley: Please email your protest to the following:

CE at pak.gov.pk, omar at sungi.sdnpk.undp.org, irn-wcd at netvista.net,
wsc-network at yahoogroups.com, sindhorg at yahoogroups.com, kawish12 at yahoo.com, 
ibrat at hyd.compol.com, helpasia at yahoogroups.com, nab at apollo.net.pk, 
worldsindhi at yahoogroups.com, nrb at apollo.net.pk, amnestyis at amnesty.org, 
editor at jang.com.pk , sindhu at hyd.compol.com, koshish at yahoo.com,  
editor at nawaiwaqt.com.pk, President at WhiteHouse.GOV, cnn at cnn.com, 
newsroom at dawn.com, editor at dawn.com, info at frontierpost.com.pk, 
nation at brain.net.pk


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