Support and express solidarity with the Political Prisoners who are on an Indefinite Hunger Strike

ICAWPI

Support and express solidarity with the Political Prisoners who are on an Indefinite Hunger Strike in Medinipur Central Jail from 10^th December(Human Rights Day) 2010

Nearly 150 political prisoners-mostly under trail--incarcerated in the Medinipur Central Jail-which the government calls 'Correctional Home'-will start hunger strike from 10^th December 2010 on the Human Rights Day for an indefinite period-true to the long tradition of hunger strikes organized by political prisoners in Medinipur as also other jails of West Bengal and outside in near and distant past. The prisoners include those arrested on the charge of having Maoist links, or becoming members of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) that spearheaded the Lalgarh movement from November 2008, or common villagers standing by the cause. Many of these prisoners have been languishing in jail for years together in abysmal conditions virtually without trial.

The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) express wholehearted support to the striking prisoners and urge all democratic forces throughout India and other parts of the world to raise their voice in support of their just demands.

The demands placed by the prisoners to the authorities are as follows:

1. The joint forces should be withdrawn and the 'Operation Green-hunt' stopped immediately and the government should sit for a dialogue with the PCAPA without delay.
2. Section 144 should be immediately withdrawn, and there should be unrestricted entry of all newspersons, intellectuals and other people.
3. Legal steps should be taken against the CPI(M) hermads.
4. Judicial enquiry should be initiated for the murder of all leaders, members and supporters of the People's Committee including Lalmohan Tudu, Sidhu and Umakanto Mahato, and offenders should be brought to book.
5. The cooked up charges against all the prisoners incarcerated in the jails of West Bengal on political grounds, including those arrested from Jungle Mahal should be withdrawn and the prisoners released unconditionally.
6. Repeal all draconian acts including the UAPA and the AFSPA.
7. Prisoners imprisoned on political grounds should be given the status of political prisoners and the government should have to bear the cost of maintaining their families.
8. Prisoners should be given opportunity to meet the members of their families and receive necessary articles from them in Medinipur court.
9. After arrest, no participant in a movement should be made to "disappear" illegally. Everyone should be produced in court within 24 hours.
10. Nobody should be 'shown arrested' by tagging in one false case after another.
11. Judicial enquiry should be initiated in all cases of rape including those in Sonamukhi and the offenders brought to book.
12. Old men and women in the Jungle Mahal should be given adequate old-age pension and widows given widow-pension, and all in this connection should be paid off immediately.
13. All surplus grain kept in the FCI go-downs should be immediately distributed among the poor people of Jungle Mahal, and not to be allowed to either to rot or be burnt.
14. Stop biased investigation into the Jnaneswari Express sabotage and initiate neutral investigation; a neutral investigation team should be formed with people from cross-sections of society and actual culprits should be punished.
15. Indian army in Kashmir should be immediately withdrawn. The hopes and aspirations of the people of the land should be honoured.
16. Persons involved in the destruction of Babri Masjid and subsequent riots should be given exemplary punishment.
17. Prisoners confined in the cells should be allowed to meet other prisoners. The illegal system that segregates one prisoner from another should be immediately stopped.
18. Those among the life-convict prisoners who have already passed 14 years of incarceration should be set free immediately.
19. Telephone service should be introduced inside jails and every prisoner be allowed to avail himself/herself of this opportunity.
20. Instead of every prisoner being forced to have his beard cut with one common razor, each prisoner should be allowed to have a separate arrangement of his own.
21. Arrangement should be made for the supply of water inside the cells for 24 hours and the inhuman custom of carrying water drums over shoulders should be stopped immediately.
22. Arrangement should be made for political prisoners to take political classes inside prisons. No political literature can be seized by the jail authority.
23. Political prisoners should be allowed to contact media persons outside and they should be allowed the right to have their political writings published in different newspapers.
24. Intellectuals coming to meet political prisoners should be allowed to have table interview with them.
25. The newly-proposed system of payment of daily wage@ Rs.100.00 to convicts should be implemented immediately; wages should not be kept due.
26. Prisoners seeking a copy each of West Bengal Correctional Services Act and the Jail Code should be provided one copy each.
27. Canteens should be introduced inside Medinipur Jail.
28. Political prisoners should be provided with all the daily newspapers at government expense.
29. Proper infrastructure for treatment in Medinipur Jail Hospital should be made and necessary machines installed.