Upping the ante, Tamil rights groups and activists are planning to approach the Singapore government against the Andhra Pradesh government to lodge a strong protest against the recent encounter killings of 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu in the Seshachalam forests. Thirty per cent of Singapore's populace comprises Tamilians and the rights groups see this as an opportunity to make the incident a global issue.
The rights groups will pressure the Singapore government to stop the flow of funds and projects to AP.
“We will also bring the matter to the notice of the United Nations in the next two weeks. We want the UN to pressure Singapore to send a strong message to AP that extra-judicial killings cannot be tolerated,“ said C Arun Raj of National Legal Right Protection Council.
Singapore is a key partner in building chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's dream capital in the Guntur-Vijayawada region in 30,000 acres at an estimated cost of Rs one lakh crore. Singapore, which holds a 50% stake in the joint venture, is drawing up the master plan to develop the capital city .
Rights bodies are collecting material evidence against the AP Task Force.
“We will fight for the poor coolies till justice is delivered. We will gather all photographic evidence and other graphic details and submit them to the Singapore government,“ said K P Senthil Raja, a human rights activist of Dharmapuri.
Welcoming the initiative, Henri Tiphagne of People's Watch said that they will leave no stone unturned to protect the interests of Tamilian woodcutters.
“Our first priority is to help the families of the poor coolies recover from the shock,“ he said.
A fact-finding team led by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation, which recently visited the encounter sites, is planning to send detailed reports to the AP and TN governments and the Centre.
“We will soon take a decision on sending the report to Singapore government,“ said K Saravanan of People's Union for Civil Liberties.
The encounter which took place on April 7 has sparked off widespread outrage in Tamil Nadu and led to an uneasy calm in the border districts of AP.
Hindu Makkal Katchi made threat calls to actress Trisha for sharing dais with Chandrababu Naidu at an audio release function of actor Balakrishna's latest film in Hyderabad.
Asserting that the AP government has bungled on the matter, a senior TDP leader said that continuing arrests of TN woodcutters and labourers would harm ties not only with the TN government but with Singapore as well.
“The encounter has been an intelligence and administration failure. Post-encounter, sympathy for Tamil labourers has grown further,“ the TDP leader said, adding that people from Nellore and Chittoor districts are wary of travelling to Tamil Nadu even now, fearing revenge attacks on Telugus.
Meanwhile, senior AP officials are worried over the latest developments. If Singapore does seek clarifications on the encounter, it would add to the woes of Naidu who has already been cornered by sections against the land pooling, say sources in the secretariat.
Despite several attempts, municipal administration minister P Narayana, who heads the advisory committee on the new capital, was unavailable for his reaction.
Source: TimesOfIndia
