India: CASR Condemns the Cancellation of Police Permit for the Public Meeting on Human Rights Day
Hereby we publish a statement we have received by mail:
Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) Condemns the Cancellation of Police Permit for the Public Meeting on Human Rights Day!
Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) had called for a Protest cum Public Meeting on 10th December 2023 at Jantar Mantar on the occasion of Human Rights Day for which a police permit was filed on 28th November 2023, which has been rejected at 9.30 pm on 9th December with less than 24 hours notice. Cancellation of this event at such short notice ona Saturday ensures that one cannot contest this violation of democratic rights in courts before the envisaged protest/program’s time lapses. In the name of a blanket concern of “law & order/security,” governments cannot suppress democratic discussion and dissent of the people of country.
India is a party to United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Geneva Convention. Human Rights Day 2023 marks the 76th anniversary of this document which envisions the democratic rights of various peoples and nations across the world, yet discourse on this day about human and democratic rights in India is being curtailed. This is becoming a concerning practice, with CASR’s past programme on 15th March 2023 on “Media Blackout in Kashmir” at Gandhi Peace Foundation also being cancelled. The practice became that programme venues were coerced into rejecting permissions for events on democratic rights, while in the past the government rejected all such outdoor programmes too. This is an alarming development which is cornering all democratically minded people out of public spaces and attempting to curtail all such discourse. To engage in such a practice on the occasion of Human Rights Day itself is a sheer mockery of the Indian people’s democratic rights and India’s international law claims.
CASR not only condemns this development but calls upon all democratically-minded, justice conscious, peace loving people to continue the protest tomorrow, 10th December 2023 at 1pm at Jantar Mantar and demonstrate in large numbers against curtailment of human and democratic rights.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST STATE REPRESSION (CASR)
Constituents: (AIRSO, AISA, AISF, APCR, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, bsCEM, CEM, CRPP, CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telengana, Fraternity, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Jan Shakti, Progressive Lawyers Association, Mazdoor Adhikar Sanghthan, Mazdoor Patrika, Morcha Patrika, NAPM, Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajvadi Jan Parishad, Samajvadi Lok Manch, Bahujan Samajvadi Manch, SFI, United Agianst Hate, United Peace Alliance, WSS, Y4S)
