The civil rights advocacy group expresses solidarity with the victims
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The Association for Protection of Civil Rights, APCR, General Secretary Malik Motasim Khan has condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people have been killed including four farmers who were mowed down allegedly by the son of a Union minister.
In a statement, he said, “it not only the precious human lives which are lost but our democratic right to dissent has also been laid down on the deathbed.”
Last few years have seen an alarming rise in targeting of anyone who dares criticize or protest the government’s repressive laws and policies, he said. The trend started with the crackdown on Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protestors. Now new tactics are being deployed to quell the farmers movement against the controversial farm legislation, Malik Motasin added.
“When dissent is crushed with violence and power, the democratic space shrinks and the legitimate exercise of our fundamental rights like freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly are delegitimised and often criminalised. Human lives are reduced to numbers and mere monetary compensation is equated with justice,” he said.
APCR or Association for Protection of Civil Rights is a civil rights advocacy group dedicated to the protection and advancement of civil and human rights in India.
Malik Motasim welcomed the move of Chief Justice N.V Ramana who has taken suo moto cognizance of the Lakhimpur incident. “The intervention by the Supreme Court in the matter will pave the way for justice delivery in a fast, efficient and fair manner. We are hopeful of some good directions from the court in favour of the powerless,” he said.
Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) made the following demands from the Uttar Pradesh government:
A high-level judicial inquiry by a sitting High court judge under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
The accused named in the FIR should be arrested immediately for free and fair investigation.
Ajay Kumar Mishra should be immediately dismissed from his post of Union Minister of State for Home in the interest of an impartial investigation in the matter without any influence of his position and power.
Monetary compensation and government jobs for families who lost their family members in this violence and also proper treatment and care for the injured.
Government should ensure that the right to protest and dissent should be protected and not denied.
Repealing the oppressive farm laws and similar anti-people laws and policies.
APCR expresses its deep condolences and offers its complete solidarity and support to the bereaved families. We denounce and reject every form of violence in total and advocate and dream of a just, peaceful and violence-free society.
