Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – To do justice for Christian refugees in Orissa, displaced from the district of Khandamal, after the anti-Christian massacres of 2008: is what Rashtrapathi Bhavan, President of India says to a delegation of the Kandhamal "Committee for Peace and Justice" which includes priests, activists and survivors of the anti-Christian violence in 2008.
As reported to Fides by the Committee, the President received the delegation and ensured his support and assistance to the Committee.
The main issues reported by the delegation are the lack of adequate compensation; the absence of new livelihood opportunities such as work; the failure of the criminal justice system; the request to reopen cases that have been arbitrarily closed.
Christians who have fled their homes and their land, notes a statement sent to Fides, wish to return to their villages and the government of the State of Orissa should facilitate their return.
The Committee gave the President a Memorandum containing the main points of the issue. The text, sent to Fides, asks "urgent measures to be taken to ensure peace in Kandhamal district" and "justice to be done for the survivors of violence".
After seven years of Kandhamal communal violence, "the victims of Kandhamal are still seeking justice in all spheres, including legal and socio-economic issues and have been suffering from various constraints and psychological trauma".
The text mentions the "shoddy investigation by the police and also due to intimidation of the witnesses" and calls for a re-opening and a review of the processes conducted in a superficial way: Moreover "the anti-Christian violence was engineered, directed, instigated and operationalised by the fundamentalist outfits and groups backed by some political parties", inviting them to identify the perpetrators and accomplices who endorsed violence in the political sphere. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 14/09/2015)
