Press Release: NEPA condemns Arunachal CM

Imphal, March 17, 2010

PR by NEPA (North East Peoples Alliance)

North East Peoples Alliance
Joint Statement

The Northeast Peoples Alliance, a conglomeration of solidarity groups from all over the Northeast, strongly condemns the statement of the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which appeared in the local media, that all those who oppose the construction of dams are to be considered as "anti- Arunachalees".

The statement is presumptuous and reeks of a communal agenda which will only destroy the atmosphere of democratic processes of engaging the civil society and the 'aam aadmi' for any program, whether on developmental or governance issues.

The declaration also assumes the fact that the common men and women in Arunachal Pradesh have a consensus opinion on this issue. We believe that any issue which has to go through a democratic process but does not do so naturally faces the scrutiny of the indigenous peoples of the land on whose area these dams are being proposed. The United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights (UNDRIP) clearly states that the right to a Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Indigenous peoples is a must for all 'developmental' activities to take place on their lands.

We are appalled that the very democratic space for dialogue and debate has not been upheld by someone as 'honourable' as the Chief Minister. The sense of autocracy that is exhibited in such irresponsible statements only goes to deny the fundamental rights of the people.

We also question the motives or the reasons behind the declaration of such a position by the honourable Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Without hearing out the voices of the people concerned over the unprecedented number of dams being proposed in the seismically sensitive zones of Arunachal Pradesh, as declared by many leading scientists of India, the swift decision to communalize peaceful approaches to resolving issues is deplorable and divisive in its intent.

We therefore seek a clarification from the Chief Minister as to why he has come to such an unhealthy conclusion over this issue and apologise to the indigenous peoples of the Northeast for this statement by retracting his statement.

Signed By:
1. Forum for Indigenous Peoples, Manipur
2. DICE Foundation, Nagaland
3. Citizens Concern for Dams and Development, Manipur
4. Rural Volunteers Centre, Assam
5. Borok Peoples' Human Rights Organisation, Tripura
6. Arunachal Citizen Rights, Arunachal
7. Action Committee Teesta, Sikkim
8. Singlung Human Rights Organization, Mizoram