[Onthebarricades] Land grab and land rights protests, January 2009
global resistance roundup
onthebarricades at lists.resist.ca
Mon Nov 2 17:12:07 PST 2009
* SOUTH AFRICA: Marathon disrupted over land grab
* INDIA: Protest against land grab for tiger reserve
* TRINIDAD: Informal traders demand places in market
* NAMIBIA: Protest at plans for reserve on diamond site
* MANIPUR: Vehicles smashed in bandh against airport expansion
* INDIA: Bandh in Hotwar over land grab for sports arena
* INDIA: Karnataka - Protest against "encroachment" on island
* UGANDA: Protest over compensation for university land
* INDIA: Orissa - POSCO protests continue
* INDIA: Protest over housing allocation corruption
* INDIA: Kerala - Protest for compensation for container port evictees
* INDIA: Tamil Nadu - Roads blocked in protest against anti-squatter drive
* INDIA: Chhattisgarh - Tata Steel land grab protested
* INDIA: Delhi - Flat allottees demand immediate provision
* INDIA: Tamil Nadu - Protest against road widening scheme, impact on stores
* INDIA: Kerala - Villagers protest against land grab for rail site
* INDIA: Kerala - Rehoused slum dwellers protest lack of facilities in flats
* INDIA: Karnataka - Farmer suicide in protest at land grab
* INDIA: Kerala - Protest against survey for land grab
* INDIA: Tamil Nadu - Protest against airport expansion
* INDONESIA: Protest against hotel building
* INDONESIA: Sumatra - Villagers demand release of farmers in land dispute
* UK: Squatters take over London mansions
* SCOTLAND: Campaigners protest over empty homes
* US: Florida - Eco-protesters demand swamp be opened to public
* INDIA: Tamil Nadu - Protest over railway land grab
* INDIA: Karnataka - Protest for facilities for poor
* US: New Orleans - Police used to smash diocese vigil over church closure
* UK: Man vows 10-year protest for park
* US: Rhode Island - Rally against foreclosures
* AUSTRALIA: Student squatters evicted, protest on footpath
* US: Arizona - Residents protest subway relocation
* US: Providence - Tent camp created to demand homes for homeless people
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Crime%20And%20Courts&set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090119070920264C524671
Dusi protest quelled by police
January 19 2009 at 07:47AM
By Yusuf Moola
Members of the Qadi clan tried to stage a protest during the Dusi Canoe
Marathon, despite eThekwini municipal authorities denying them permission.
Metro and South African police stopped members of the clan at the Inanda
Dam crossing on Saturday.
O'Brien Gcabashe, spokesperson for the Qadi families who were forcibly
removed in 1986 to make way for the Inanda Dam, said that after the
rejection of the application for a permit to hold a large protest, the
police had repressed a small group of protesters.
He said there had been fewer than 15 protesters - complying with the
Gatherings Act - but the group had been stopped about 1km away from the dam.
"We were on the Hillcrest road at 7.30am when roughly 50 police officers
in 15 vehicles stopped us.
"The police did not listen to us and we were told that we would be
arrested if we demonstrated on the road, showed our signs or danced -
all of which are permitted in our constitution."
Gcabashe said the protesters were detained on the side of the road until
10am when the canoeists had left Inanda Dam.
"Our intention was simply to draw the public's attention to illustrate
that the land below the water originally belonged to us. We wanted the
canoeists and media and citizens to know of our plight."
http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=18484
Protesters vow to disrupt Dusi race
14 Jan 2009
Bheki Mbanjwa
Despite assurances from Dusi Canoe Marathon organisers that there will
be no disruptions to the race, the members of the disgruntled Qadi
communities have vowed to continue with their planned protest, which
they hope, will achieve the contrary.
These protests are planned to coincide with the race and to disrupt it
so as to draw attention to the plight of some 317 families who were, in
1986, displaced from the land to make way for the construction of Inanda
dam.
O’Brien Gcabashe, the leader of the disgruntled and dispossessed
families, said that even if they are refused permission to protest they
will continue with their planned protests. “We applied for permission
[to stage the protest] out of courtesy. You cannot really expect us to
ask for permission to convene for whatever reason on our rightful land,”
he said.
Gcabashe said he has received requests for a meeting from stakeholders
in the Inanda dam including Umgeni Water and uMsinsi nature reserve.
But he said only one thing can avert the planned protests. “We will only
put our plans on hold if these stakeholders and the Dusi organisers can
assure us that they will assist us with our legal fees as we want to
take the government to court over the non-payment of compensation due to
us.”
He continued: “We want monetary assistance from them as they continue to
make profits from the land that was taken from us. We believe no one
should continue making profits while the displaced families suffer.”
Gcabashe explained that taking government to court is a last bid by the
Qadi families in their protracted struggle to get monetary compensation
for their land from the government.
Although about R5,6 million in compensation was paid by the Land Affairs
Department, the money never reached the rightful and intended
recipients. Instead of being paid into a trust for the 317 families the
funds were allocated to the late Inkosi M’zunjani Ngcobo.
Ngcobo reportedly refused to allocate the funds to the displaced
families claiming that they were intended for the whole tribe and not
just for the 317 families.
Numerous attempts by Gcabashe to recover the funds have all proved
fruitless. He has even appeared before the provincial legislature’s
Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) where he presented the
case of the displaced families.
“We feel that we have exhausted all other avenues this is why we will be
staging the protest on Saturday and will take the matter to court if we
feel we are not making any progress,” he said yesterday.
He said that the protests will take the form of a prayer gathering on
the banks of Inanda Dam and on the road leading from the dam, in the
hope that this will disrupt the Dusi.
According to Dusi organisers, they have received confirmation from the
Ethekwini Municipality and the SAPS that the land claim protest set to
take place around the Inanda dam area will not affect the Dusi.
bmbanjwa at witnbess.co.za
http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=614456
Resolutions passed during massive protest against illegal tiger project
Posted: 2009/01/01
From: Submitted
Makkal Vazhvurimai Padukappu Iyakkam
(People's Livelihood Rights Protection Movement)
On 30.12.2008 in Gudalur, at a mass rally and public meeting with more
than one lakh participants held in condemnation of the illegal tiger
reserve scheme in Mudumalai and the illegal actions of the Forest
Department, the following resolutions were passed and are hereby being
sent to the Central and State governments.
About 4 lakh adivasis, small farmers, estate workers and people of many
other communities live in the Gudalur area. They have built residences
on the cultivated lands in their possession, and are living on their
income from agriculture on these lands. These lands, which once belonged
to the descendants of the Nilambur Kovilagam in Kerala, were taken over
by the Tamil Nadu government in 1969 through the zamindari abolition law
(Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act,
1969 – Act 24/69).
The large estates cultivating this land on lease challenged this Act in
court. The case continued in the Supreme Court for 28 years before it
was dismissed on August 18th, 1999 (CA No. 8367 – 75 of 1977). The Court
directed the Tamil Nadu government to settle the land problem on these
lands within a specified time. But till date the Tamil Nadu government
did not take any decision on this matter. The people who live on the
cultivated lands taken over by the government lost the rights they had
had. In particular, they are denied all basic facilities like
electricity connections, registration of their lands, the right to
construct houses, drinking water, educational facilities, hospitals,
roads, etc., and as a result today have become impoverished and
destitute people. Government agencies claim that these development works
are illegal.
For more than forty years, the Forest Department has been inflicting
illegal harassment on the people of the area. Destruction of cultivated
crops without warning, demolition of houses, looting of property and
goods, extortion of money through threats, arresting and jailing people
on false charges and similar atrocities have been continuously
perpetrated by the Forest Department. For many years the people of this
area organized many protests against these actions by the Forest
Department. Martyrs have given up their lives in protest, unable to
stand the atrocities of the Department.
For the past forty years, the people have demanded pattas for their
lands; this has yet to be accepted. In this situation, the Forest
Department has sought to take away their remaining livelihood resources
by illegally notifying a ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’ through GO Ms 145.
Similarly, the Department is making more and more efforts to seize even
patta lands in the name of an “Elephant Corridor.”
A situation has now come about where people's livelihood rights are
threatened in the name of supposedly protecting the tiger, in violation
of the “Wild Life (Protection) Amendment 2006” and the “Forest Rights
Recognition Act 2006.”
Researchers proved that, despite spending many crores on Project Tiger,
the scheme had failed to achieve its intended goals in terms of tiger
conservation. The Central government therefore amended the 1972 Wild
Life (Protection) Act through the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment 2006.
As per sections 38V(4) and 38V(5)(ii) of this law, henceforth the
declaration of “critical tiger habitats” requires the consent of the
village people of that area expressed through a gram sabha resolution.
Further, they should be decided on a scientific basis through a case by
case examination and a process of public consultation. The notification
of the critical tiger habitat can take place only after this is
complete. Without complying with these procedures and the requirements
of law, the Forest Department is illegally violating people's human
rights and trying to take away their livelihoods. In this situation, the
Forest Department's claims to have complied with the law by taking the
consent of some gram sabhas – without informing them of the situation –
is laughable.
The area within a five kilometer radius around the boundaries of the
illegal Critical Tiger Habitat is to be declared a buffer zone. The
lands of 67 villages in nine panchayats and town panchayats, including
the cultivated lands and patta lands of thousands of farmers, are
thereby being included in the Tiger Reserve. Moreover, many villages lie
within the Critical Tiger Habitat itself; these villages will have to be
relocated. Further, more than 30 secondary and higher secondary schools,
four hydroelectric projects, many tea factories and tea estates, and
many temples have thus been illegally included in the boundaries of the
Tiger Reserve.
Similarly, the Forest Department has announced that, in order ostensibly
to recover an elephant corridor, both patta lands and all other lands
will be taken over by the Department and the buildings on those lands
demolished. The news that the survey work for this has begun in
Masinagudi and many other areas in the district has hit the people
living in this area like a thunderbolt. There was no scientific
verification of whether or not the targeted areas actually are an
elephant corridor.
After living under Forest Department atrocities for forty years, the
people of the area are now living in fear that their livelihoods will be
further imperiled by the illegal tiger reserve, the elephant corridor
and similar projects. As a result, in the panchayats of Masinagudi,
Srimadurai, Thorappalli, Gudalur Nellakottai and Devarsholai, thousands
of people have joined mass rallies, public meetings, general strikes and
shutdowns in protest. In this situation, all political parties and
people's organisations have joined hands under the banner of the Makkal
Vazhvurimai Padukappu Iyakkam and called for a rally of one lakh people,
a public meeting, a shutdown of all shops and a general strike in the
town of Gudalur. This protest demands an end to the illegal actions of
the Forest Department and the withdrawal of GO 145. Further it calls
upon the government to withdraw the Tiger Reserve and to fully implement
the Forest Rights Recognition Act 2006 passed by Parliament. Further it
demands that action be taken against the forest officials who have
blocked development works. Criminal cases should be filed against these
officials under section 7 of the Forest Rights Recognition Act 2006.
Pattas should immediately be granted for the lands in Gudalur, Pandalur
and Ooty talukas that have been under cultivation for decades.
This rally and public meeting of one lakh people was joined by the
Hon'ble Minister for Khadi K. Ramachandran, Shri R. Prabhu, the Member
of Parliament from the Nilgiris, former Minister Thiru A. Millar, Thiru
K. Gopal, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Ooty, and Thiru
Soundarpandian, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Coonoor.
Through this rally and public meeting, the following demands are hereby
being passed as resolutions for immediate action by the authorities and
are being sent to the Central and State governments.
1. The notification of the Critical Tiger Habitat through G.O. Ms 145
was illegally done without the consent of the gram sabhas, without any
public consultation and in the absence of any scientific investigation.
It was therefore in violation of section 38V(5)(ii) and section 38(V)(4)
of the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment, 2006. This has produced a
situation where the rights of adivasis and forest dwellers will be
violated. Hence we demand that the Tamil Nadu government withdraw GO Ms
145 and desist from declaring this area a Tiger Reserve.
2. The Forest Rights Recognition Act of 2006, which recognises the
livelihood rights of the people and protects their traditional rights,
should be immediately implemented. Under this Act, the people of the
area have the right to use and protect all common and community
resources. In keeping with this, the Elephant Corridor, which is being
declared with no scientific basis or legal procedure, should be
withdrawn. Moreover, action should be taken under section 7 of the
Forest Rights Recognition Act against the Forest Department officials
who have violated this law. The illegal destruction of forest in
connivance with the Forest Department must be immediately stopped and
action taken against the responsible forest officials.
3. People living in panchayats, town panchayats and townships in the
area have been illegally deprived of basic facilities like drinking
water, electricity, housing, roads, schools etc. by the Forest
Department, which has misused the name of the Supreme Court to this end.
The lack of these basic facilities has caused great hardship to the
people of this area. Therefore, the illegal restrictions placed by the
Forest Department should be withdrawn and basic facilities provided to
the people. Action should be taken by the government against the forest
officials responsible for the illegal restrictions on providing basic
facilities to the people.
4. As per the Forest Rights Recognition Act 2006, the government should
recognise that any project related to the forests of the community must
be implemented by the local gram sabha and village and further that the
people now have the power and the right to protect and conserve the forests.
5. Small farmers have been cultivating the lands under their possession
for decades and all such farmers should now immediately be granted
pattas for their lands. The Tamil Nadu government should issue the
necessary orders for this to be done.
All the political parties, people's organisations and panchayat
presidents gathered under the banner of the Makkal Vazhvurimai Padukappu
Iyakkam call upon the authorities in Gudalur to ensure that the Tamil
Nadu government recognises the above demands and immediately take
necessary actions required to address them.
All political parties, people's organisations and panchayat presidents
as undersigned
1. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
2. Indian National Congress
3. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)
4. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
5. Indian Union Muslim League
6. Communist Party of India
7. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK)
8. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)
9. Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK)
10. Dalit Panthers
11. Vivasayigal Thozhilargal Munnetra Sangham
12. Traders Union
13. Vehicle Drivers' Union
14. Mudumalai Pazhangudiyanar Nala Sangam (Mudumalai Adivasis Welfare
Association)
15. Panchayat presidents:
1. District panchayat (zilla parishad) president
2. District panchayat (zilla parishad) vice-president
3. Taluka panchayat (panchayat samiti) president
4. Township presidents
5. Town panchayat presidents
6. Panchayat presidents #
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business?id=161425001
Debe vendors to protest today
After being relocated...
Ariti Jankie South Bureau
Wednesday, January 14th 2009
Clothes and haberdashery vendors will lead a protest demonstration today
outside the Southern Wholesale Market, Debe, from 8 a.m.
The vendors are demanding space in the market where they had been
selling for years.
They said they were served notices to vacate the area yesterday.
One vendor said she depended on daily sales to support her family and
felt victimised by the National Agricultural Marketing and Development
Corporation (Namdevco). "We are barely surviving and now our livelihood
is being taken away," she said.
Namdevco's communications, public and stakeholder relations manager,
Asha Samaroo, confirmed the vendors were moved. She said clothes and
haberdashery vendors will be relocated to another part of the market
following the completion of improvement works.
"Namdevco has no intention of evicting any vendor-haberdashery or
otherwise. This relocation will be done on a phased basis during the
rationalisation process," she said.
"The southern wholesale market is the head office of Namdevco and it
stands to reason that we should start the improvement process at home,"
Samaroo said.
She said that the vendors were removed to clean up the "shanty-town"
look of the market and to bring it to its original intention as a
Farmers' Market for fresh fruits, vegetables and meats".
She said the Southern Wholesale Market was not a municipal market.
"It is a Namdevco Market to facilitate farmers," Samaroo said, adding
that haberdashery and clothes vendors occupied large segments of prime
location in the market, while a long list of farmers have applied for
space to sell produce and cannot be accommodated.
Samaroo said Namdevco was responsible for improving food safety and the
handling of food items. "It is our intention to bring all markets that
are under our control to international standards. We also have to
conform to health and safety regulations and, as such, all unauthorised
shabby-looking structures will be removed," she said.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200901300506.html
Namibia: Luderitz Residents to Protest Sperrgebiet National Park
Luqman Cloete
30 January 2009
PEOPLE at Luderitz plan to stage a demonstration today to protest
against the transformation of the Sperrgebiet diamond-mining area into a
national park.
The march, spearheaded by the Paradise Inhabitants Development
Association (PIDA), is set to start at the State Hospital at 13h00. The
protesters plan to hand over at a petition at the regional councillor's
office and Namdeb's Luderitz office. PIDA Chairman Jacobus Johannes Le
Hanie yesterday told The Namibian that residents are unhappy because
they were sidelined during negotiations to have the Sperrgebiet declared
a national park, although they were affected by the Sperrgebiet
ordinance. He said turning the once forbidden area into a park would not
benefit the local people because all prospective tourism gains have been
earmarked for "the elite". "We don't want Lüderitz to become another
ghost town," Le Hanie said. The Minister of Environment and Tourism,
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is expected to inaugurate the Sperrgebiet
National Park on February 6.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=30..200109.jan09
Five vehicles broken as indefinite Tidim road bandh begins
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, January 19 2009: WINDSHIELDS OF at least five vehicles, three
buses and two trucks, have been broken by the protestors as the
indefinite bandh along the Tidim road called by a JAC against the
expansion of Imphal Tulihal Airport commenced today.
This morning, bandh supporters took to the street at Utlou area on the
Tidim road and security forces also conducted search for the bandh
supporters who were involved in the stoning and breaking of the
windshields of the vehicles this morning.
The JAC has claimed that on the first day of the bandh, its volunteers
had broken windshields of at least five vehicles including three buses
and two trucks plying on the road violating the bandh.
They also threatened to intensify the bandh from tomorrow.
Medical and essential services and matters related with religion are
outside the purview of the bandh, said the JAC.
A statement of JAC also appealed to the people not to attend to the
offices located within the area covered by the JAC while stating that
the bandh will continue till there bring about an amicable solution with
the government.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=10..160109.jan09
Tiddim bandh against Airport expansion
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 15 2009: Taking strong exception against the continuing
land acquisition process for expansion of Imphal airport which is
contrary to the joint understanding between the CM, the Transport
Minister and the JAC Against the Acquisition of Land for Expansion and
Extension of Imphal Airport, the JAC has threatened to impose total
bandh along Tiddim road indefinitely from January 19 in case the Govt
fails to respond by January 18.A release issued by the JAC also noted
the fast shrinking agricultural land of the State due to the so called
development and modernisation projects.
The Govt's initiative to acquire 700 acres of land for Imphal airport
expansion includes a large tract of agricultural land.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=45020&typeid=1
NH-150 bandh indefinite, says JAC
The Imphal Free Press
IMPHAL, Jan 23: The JAC against Expansion and Extension of Imphal
Airport which began its indefinite bandh on the National Highway-150
passing through the Imphal airport from the 19th of this month has
reminded that the bandh is an indefinite one.
Over the last 4 to 5 days, the bandh has been successfully implemented
with very few vehicles on the road. The government`s armed personnel
have been keeping strict vigil and have been trying to thwart the call
of the people. Despite such difficulties, farmers, women groups and all
affected people from more than six villages have resolutely stood firm
in making their position clear on their demand, it said.
The JAC while condemning the use of government security forces against a
democratic movement of the people, requested the government to mend its
ways of dealing with affected people.
The JAC once again calls for a more democratic and transparent process
when large scale projects are brought in the state. The current airport
expansion move is nothing but the outdated top down approach where the
people (including the affected people) are supposed to remain as silent
spectators and suffer, it said.
Despite four days of continued bandhs the government has not acted on
the demand of the JAC. In view of this, the JAC has collectively decided
that all political parties, in particular the Congress and the allies of
the present government, will not be allowed to function in the Naoriya
constituency (project affected area), and all government and offices
related to airport (including Airport Authority of India) will no more
function in this area until an acceptable solution is arrived between
the JAC and the government.
The JAC also noted that if any of the offices or office functionaries
are found violating this call, fitting action would be taken up. The JAC
shall bear no responsibility for any unwanted happenings, it said
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=Snipp6..260109.jan09
Bandh suspended
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 25 2009: The ongoing indefinite Tiddim Road bandh called
by JAC against expansion of Tulihal Airport has been suspended until
next deliberation.
According to a press release of the JAC, the decision of suspension has
been made following assurance given by local MLA RK Anand of making an
arrangement to deliberate on the issue with CM, Transport Minister and
JAC representatives.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090120/jsp/northeast/story_10412515.jsp
Blockade over land
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Security personnel frisk commuters at Paona Bazar near Imphal on Monday.
Picture by Eastern Projections
Imphal, Jan. 19: Farmers and landowners protesting the government’s plan
to acquire land for expansion of Imphal airport today damaged four
vehicles on Imphal-Airport Road during a bandh imposed by them.
The expansion project will swallow paddy fields, fish farms and more
than 100 plots of household land, once the Okram Ibobi Singh government
has acquired 700 acres on the east, south and north of the airport,
located at Tulihal in Imphal West.
Once upgraded, the airport will have night landing facilities. As the
government began the acquisition procedure, the affected farmers, under
a joint action committee, began a series of agitation programmes.
They have already submitted their objections to the revenue department
and followed it up with bandh along the Imphal-Airport Road, a part of
the National Highway 150, which connects Imphal with Aizawl, from 5am today.
Though the government had deployed adequate police personnel on the
airport route, the protesters managed to damage four vehicles.
Besides the vandalism, the bandh did not have much of an impact.
“The government has not made a clear rehabilitation and compensation
package for the affected farmers and landowners. It is interested only
in acquiring the land. How can we make a living after they snatch our
land?” a farmer asked.
On April 1, too, the action committee had observed a bandh on the road
against expansion.
The bandh against the airport project came a day after farmers held a
sit-in at Chingarel Tejpur against the government’s plan to set up an
industrial growth centre by acquiring 215 hectares of prime agriculture
land in Imphal East.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090117/jsp/jharkhand/story_10402218.jsp
Hotwar bandh over Games eviction
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Ranchi, Jan. 16: The displaced villagers of Hotwar, where the mega
sports complex for the 34th National Games-Khelgaon is coming up, have
called a bandh on January 19.
The bandh would be enforced only in Hotwar.
At a meeting today, displaced villagers decided that they needed to
highlight their demands for jobs and other government benefits. They
also demanding recruitment of educated youths at the sports complex and
in the government offices as well.
“The government is yet to give us any jobs in exchange of our land.
After the bandh, we would again meet government officials and place our
demands. If we do not get any assurance, we may disrupt construction
work at the mega sports complex,” said Rajesh Kujur, a member of the
Visthapit Sangharsh Morcha.
The state government has acquired 148 acres of land from Khatanga,
Mahuatoli, Gadihotwar, Lalganj, Sugnu and Bakantoli. However, the land
acquired for animal husbandry purposes was transferred to sports
department for the construction of the sports complex.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/12/stories/2009011254410500.htm
Karnataka
Protest against ‘encroachment’
Karwar: Activists of Hindu Jagarana Vedike went on rampage in Kurmagad
island (Tortoise Island) near Karwar against the alleged “illegal”
encroachment of the island by a person from a Chikmagalur. The island is
situated about four km from Karwar and situated in the Arabian Sea. The
vedike alleged that a person from outside the district had manipulated
the land records and had illegally taken the island into his control
with help of some officials. The island is visited by thousands of the
Hindu devotees during the jatra day of Narasimha temple in the island
once in a year. — Correspondent
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/666903
Mbale residents protest poor land compensation Sunday, 4th January, 2009
Concerned residents of Nkoma in Mbale wave placards during a
demonstration last week
By Daniel Edyegu
RESIDENTS of Nkoma in Mbale municipality last week protested what they
called poor compensation by the Government.
In a peaceful demonstration, the residents said they offered 218 acres
of land to the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) years ago, on the
understanding that they would be adequately compensated.
They said, they were instead being given pea-nuts.
The residents said the university secretary, Waswa Masokoyi, was paying
out as little as sh28,000 to some beneficiaries.
“The constitution stipulates that land belongs to the people. We are not
refusing to vacate but the Government must adequately compensate us to
enable us buy land elsewhere,” Muhammed Balemya, a protester, said.
He said the university had given them six months to vacate or be evicted.
“I have lived on this land since 1978. I take care of eight
grand-children. I was paid only sh850,000 for one acre. Where will I get
land at that price to resettle?” said Rashid Nuru, a 68-year-old woman.
When asked to comment on the matter, Masokoyi referred The New Vision to
Jacob Oboth, the chairperson of the compensation committee.
Oboth’s phone, however, was switched off.
Tidala Oludala, the area LC3 councillor, said over 1,000 residents would
be rendered landless if the university effected the eviction without
addressing their needs.
However, the Mbale deputy resident district commissioner, Henry
Nalyanya, who is also a member of the compensation committee, said all
the 197 families received partial compensation in 1996.
“The ministry is clearing the balances. It is a done deal and there is
an agreement signed to that effect. The discontent is arising because
the compensation was done basing on the market value of land then,” said
Nalyanya.
“What they can do is to negotiate better terms with the Government, but
not to resist the order to move out.”
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/orissa-clears-mining-lease-for-posco-amidst-protest_100140968.html
Orissa clears mining lease for Posco amidst protest
January 11th, 2009 - 3:09 pm ICT by IANS -
Bhubaneswar, Jan 11 (IANS) Orissa Sunday said it has again recommended
South Korean steel major Posco, which is building a steel plant in the
state, for Khandadhar iron ore mines despite opposition from other
companies and locals.”We have recommended the name of Posco for
prospective licence of Khandadhar mines,” state steel and mines
secretary A.M.R. Dalwai told IANS.
The recommendation letter to the central government for mining of over
2,500 hectares was sent Friday, the official said.
The state government had earlier made similar recommendation, which was
challenged by many other companies for ignoring their applications.
The central government had directed the state to recommend name for the
licence after giving equal opportunities to other applicants.
The latest recommendation was made after the state government found
Posco meritorious among all the applicants, Dalwai said.
Saroj Mohapatra, a senior Posco official, said: “I am not aware of the
development. If the state has government recommended our name it is a
positive step.”
Posco plans to build a $12-billion steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district
in one of the largest foreign direct investments in India.
The world’s fourth largest steel maker signed a deal with the state
government in June 2005 to build the plant by 2016 near Paradeep port,
some 100 km from here.
The company had proposed to carry out mining in an area of about 6,000
hectares in iron ore rich Khandadhar hills range in the district of
Sundergarh, which is a major attraction among the state tourist for its
two waterfalls.
However, over 20,000 people from around 15 nearby villages have been
protesting, saying the project would take away their homes and livelihood.
Posco claims the plant would affect only 500 families but would create
thousands of jobs.
Jual Oram, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, said he will not
allow the company to mine Khandadhar.
“We will launch a massive protest,” said Oram, who is spearheading the
protest in the region against the proposed mining project.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=RSSFeed-India&id=7952382b-242a-4b7f-ab77-e8f6e9d4afe0&Headline=DDA+allottees+plan+protest+tomorrow
DDA allottees plan protest; scrap draw, say failed applicants
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, January 11, 2009
First Published: 16:04 IST(11/1/2009)
Last Updated: 16:09 IST(11/1/2009)
With DDA hinting at indefinite delay in handing over flats after the
controversy over its housing scheme, successful applicants will stage a
protest on Monday demanding early possession and justice to the
"genuine" candidates.
A large number of allottees of DDA Housing Scheme 2008, who argue that
they had applied through genuine papers, have appealed to the Union
Urban Development Ministry and the agency not to "penalise" them for the
acts of some persons who indulged in fraudulent activities.
The harried allottees have formed the 'DDA Housing Scheme 2008
Allottees' Association' to press their demand of timely handover of the
flats. They will stage a protest at the DDA headquarters here in support
of their demands. "Most allottees of this scheme are genuine. There may
be some bogus applicants among over 5,000 allottees. While we demand
stringent action against such crooks, we also demand DDA not to delay in
handing over flats to genuine candidates," association's coordinator
Suresh Kumar said. The allottees have opposed Union Minister of State
for Urban Development Ajay Makan's statement that the whole draw may be
scrapped if large scale irregularities were found. "If even one per cent
of the allottees have got the flats through fair means, cancellation
would mean violation of their natural rights," said Ghulam Nabi, a
successful applicant. However, the 'DDA Flat Applicants Association', a
body representing the unsuccessful candidates, have demanded immediate
cancellation of the draw and winding up of the DDA, which they allege
has become "synonymous to corruption.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010660550300.htm
Kerala - Kochi
Protest against delay in rehabilitation
Staff Reporter
KOCHI: Laha Gopalan, president of Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi and
leader of the Chengara protest, will inaugurate the public meeting to be
held on Tuesday at High Court junction to protests against the delay in
the rehabilitation of the evictees of the proposed International
Container Transhipment Terminal at Vallarpadam.
Even though the last date set by the High Court for completing the
rehabilitation process ends by January 15, the district administration
has not taken any step towards this. Also, the provision of rent, as
recommended in the Moolamppilly rehabilitation package announced by the
State government, ended last month, said Francis Kalathunkal, general
convenor of the coordination committee for those displaced by
development projects.
Various social rights activists and representatives of political parties
will address the meeting.
A documentary on the eviction done at Moolamppilly Island will also be
screened on the occasion.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010659060400.htm
Tamil Nadu
CPI (M) members, residents held for protest
Special Correspondent
They blocked traffic, opposing government’s drive against encroachments
— Photo:A. Muralitharan
In protest: Residents of southern suburbs and members of the Communist
Party of India (Marxist) along Grand Southern Trunk Road in Tambaram on
Monday.
TAMBARAM: More than 500 persons living in different places in the
southern suburbs of Chennai and members of Communist Party of India
(Marxist) were arrested on Monday morning when they sat on Grand
Southern Trunk Road in Tambaram as part of a State-wide protest opposing
the State government’s drive against encroachments.
Several hundred persons who feared displacement during the on-going
government’s drive against encroachments took part in a meeting
organised by the CPI (M), led by Bhima Rao, its secretary of the South
Chennai unit of the party.
They had gathered outside the office of Tambaram Tahsildar, and soon
after a public meeting and after raising slogans, they gathered on GST
Road, opposite Madras Special Economic Zone – Special Economic Zone,
surprising the strong police contingent.
Traffic came to a halt, but the police acted swiftly by allowing two-way
flow of traffic on one carriageway as the other was blocked by
protestors. Soon, the protestors were taken in police vehicles and
lodged at a private marriage hall.
The party men said that the drive against encroachments was not only
unjust but also against government policy and certain provisions that
had guaranteed housing rights, especially to landless and homeless poor
living on government property for a certain period of time.
Depriving them of housing rights based on norms created during the
British days was unfair, the party members said. The land in which poor
families have built should be re-classified and ‘pattas’ distributed to
them, they said, adding that those families whose houses were demolished
during the recent drive against encroachments should immediately be
provided with alternate housing sites.
In Tambaram Taluk alone, the extent of land occupied by the landless and
homeless poor was negligible compared to the occupation of government
land by the private sector.
http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/Business/20090127/1162434.html
Farmers' protest against Tata Steel's Chhattisgarh project
Bastar (Chhattisgarh) | January 27, 2009 4:20:18 PM IST
Moves by Tata Steel, India's largest steel maker, to start a steel
project in the Lohandiguda Block of this district, has been condemned by
the farmers' community.
Tata Steel has offered a compensation package that includes giving jobs,
Rs.100, 000 per hectare of barren land, Rs.150, 000 per acre of single
crop-land and Rs.200, 000 per acre of multi-crop land.
The steel major has also promised one acre and a maximum 2.47-acre land
under `land for land compensation scheme' for those who are losing 75 to
100 percent of their land.Tata Steel had inked the deal with the
Chhattisgarh Government in June 2005 to set up a five million ton per
annum green field integrated steel plant in two-phases with the help of
Rs.100 billion investment. The Chhattisgarh steel project needs 2063.06
hectares or 5098 acres land in the Lohandiguda block, which falls under
the Chitrakote assembly segment in Bastar district, and is located 325
km from state capital Raipur..
Mahngu Ram of Dhura village told ANI: "I would not hand over my land to
Tata at any cost because land is my only source of income."
Mahgu Ram has 33-acres of land to give TATA for this project.
Jai Singh is another village whose family has lost 70-acres of land to
Tata for this project.
He also told ANI that he was protesting against this project.
Toka Ram, another villager, said he too would not hand over land to Tata
Steel. Out of total 2063.06 hectares meant for the project, 86.5 percent
or 1,784.22 hectares is private land, while 173.03 hectares (8.4
percent) is government land. The balance 105.81 hectares (5.1 percent)
is revenue and forestland.
The Tata project will cover 10 villages- Badanji, Bade Paroda, Belar,
Beliyapal, Chindgaon, Dabpal, Dhura gaon, Kumhali, Sirisaguda and
Takraguda- mostly dominated by Gond, Muria and Halba tribes, besides
poor families belonging to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs).
The Lohandiguda block is considered one of the most fertile areas in
entire Bastar region. (ANI)
http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20090116/1153919.html
DDA flat allottees stage demonstration in front of Vikas Sadan
New Delhi | Friday, Jan 16 2009 IST
A large number of DDA flat allottees today staged a demonstration amid
heavy security in front of Vikas Sadan, the headquarters of the housing
agency, demanding that they be handed over the possession of their flats
immediately according to the draw of lots held exactly a month ago.
The protestors, carrying placards and chanting slogans, said they were
not to be blamed for the DDA scam and why should they suffer because of
wrongdoings of a handful of people. They also asked for the direct
intervention of Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, his
deputy Ajay Makan and the CBI, saying when the entire scandal was spread
far and wide, it should be inquired by no less than the central agency.
''What is our fault, if some people in connivance of a few DDA officials
committed irregularities in the DDA flat allotments. We are genuine
allottees and we should be given possession of our respective flats
without any delay,'' they added.
Some of the women protestors were even carrying infants with them during
the demonstration.
Talking to UNI, Ramlal Meena of Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan,
one of the allottees, said, ''I got a letter from the DDA informing me
that I have been allotted a flat and that is why I came to Delhi. But
after the scam came to light, all allotments have been stalled. Tell us
if the DDA could not plug loopholes in its allotment mechanism, what is
our fault?'' ''We are not saying an inquiry should not be conducted into
the scandal, but just for the sake of the inquiry why the original
allottees should suffer?'' he rued.
Rajni Aggarwal of Mandakini Enclave, also one of the allottees, said she
followed the due procedure while applying for a DDA flat and she was
even lucky enough to have been allotted one, but she still was awaiting
possession of it.
Though the allottees were scheduled to stage the demonstration right in
front of the DDA headquarters, the Delhi Police, present in large
numbers, did not allow them to stage the sit-in exactly in front of
Vikas Sadan and shifted them some metres away from the earlier planned
venue.
Meanwhile, a team of the Economic Offence Wing(EOW) of the Delhi Police
today left for Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and another, along with
Deepak, the whistle blower in the scandal, for Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.
The EOW has till now made four arrests in the entire scam, claiming the
links to the scandal travel from Rajasthan to the North-East, Jharkhand
and Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.
One of the accused and former DDA employee M L Gautam is accused of
having applied for 1200 flats and he ended up getting 38 flats in the
draw of lots.
-- (UNI) -- 16DI15.xml
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/28/stories/2009012859030400.htm
Tamil Nadu - Chennai
Protest against road widening project
Staff Reporter
— Photo: K.Pichumani
Members of the Federation of Traders, Building Owners and Residents
taking out a rally on Tuesday.
CHENNAI: Traders and building owners along the stretch of
Chennai-Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road took out a rally on Tuesday from the
Munroe statue here in protest against a project to widen the road.
Members of the Federation of Traders, Building Owners and Residents
between Padi and Thiruninravur said hundreds of traders, residents and
even doctors from hospitals along the stretch, that would be affected by
the project participated in the rally.
About 30,000 shops along the CTH Road from Padi to Thiruninravur
remained closed in support of the protest, they said. The rally
culminated at Government Guest House, Chepauk, where a meeting was held.
President of the Federation A. Mohan said the project, to be implemented
by National Highways Authority of India, envisages widening of the road
to 150 feet.
The Tiruvottiyur High Road is to be widened to 60 feet, a four-lane
road. Similarly, the CTH Road could also be widened to 80 feet. The move
to make it a toll road would also affect those living in the residential
areas along the road from Padi, Ambattur to Thiruninravur. Traffic
congestion in the area could be avoided by diverting the heavy vehicles
from the CTH Road to other roads, he said. After the rally, the
Federation submitted a memorandum at the Chief Minister office.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/kerala-villagers-protest-against-proposed-rail-coach-factory_100142114.html
Kerala villagers protest against proposed rail coach factory
January 14th, 2009 - 2:02 pm ICT by ANI -
Kanjikode (Kerala), Jan 14 (ANI): Hundreds of residents of Kanjikode
village in Kerala staged a protest against a proposed rail coach factory
by acquiring their lands.
The agitated villagers also warned the State Government of Kerala and
the Central Government that they would organise a massive protest and
even commit suicide on the day when the authorities intend to lay the
foundation stone for this factory.
Earlier, a technical team of Railway had inspected the proposed site and
granted its green signal.
Further, the Railway Board has also approved the proposed rail coach
factory spread over 900 acres near the Gramalakshmi Mudralayam in Kanjikode.
However, the land acquisition became problematic in the face of stiff
opposition from the villagers.
The villagers have accused the State Government of neglecting them.
“There are around 450 houses and in that more than 700 families reside.
But as per the government’’s survey, there are only 40 houses, which is
a wrong report. There has been no response till date regarding the
complaints made by the action committee. No discussions on
rehabilitation have been done with the villagers. Even the Chief
Minister visited the place and announced that only 40 families have to
be relocated,” said C. Krishnan, President, Action Committee against
Coach Factory, Kuddiorzphu.
Meanwhile, the agitating villagers are being supported by the Bharatiya
Janata Party.
“There is enough land lying nearby for the coach factory which is
uninhabited and instead of acquiring that land, the land of the poor is
being taken which is not correct. It is learnt that few people of CPM
close to Achuthanandan have land here. If it happens then this can turn
out to be another Singur model of acquisition. We will protest against
it,” said C K Padmanabhan, BJP leader, Kerala.
Despite this agitation, the Central Government under which the Railways
function has decided to acquire land under the fast track process so
that work could begin at the site.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is expected to lay the foundation stone of
the factory later in January. (ANI)
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/22/stories/2009012260140400.htm
Kerala - Thrissur
Rehabilitated protest poor living conditions
Staff Reporter
Thrissur: Slum dwellers, who have been rehabilitated by the Thrissur
Corporation to newly-built flats at Mattampuram, 10 km from the city,
are up in arms against lack of facilities there.
The 60-odd families, who moved to 135 sq.ft. flats last May, complain
that many promises of the Corporation while rehabilitating them remain
on paper.
“We have no political agenda. We seek basic needs for our survival. We
took out a march to the Collectorate when our pleas fell on deaf ears,”
said Babu Solomon, representative of the residents. “The congested flats
do not have even kitchens. We are yet to get cooking gas connections
promised by the Corporation,” said Mimoona Akbar, a resident.
The residents now cook in a common kitchen built by the Corporation.
“Flat residents have a single water source—a borewell. Water from the
borewell cannot be used for cooking. Rice cooked in the water gets
spoiled in a few hours,” said Omana, a housewife. The KSEB has
reportedly threatened to snap power connection to the flats. “A
temporary connection was taken from the transformer of a private
company. The Corporation should deposit the requisite amount with the
KSEB for getting an additional transformer installed,” Mr. Solomon said.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/22/stories/2009012252460300.htm
Kerala - Thrissur
Rehabilitated slum dwellers protest poor living conditions
Mini Muringatheri
Flats given to them are devoid of basic amenities
— Photo: K. K. Najeeb
Despaired: Slum-dwellers rehabilitated to flats in Mattampuram in
Thrissur complain of lack of amenities.
Thrissur: Slum dwellers, who have been rehabilitated by the Thrissur
Corporation to newly-built flats at Mattampuram, 10 km from the city,
are up in arms against lack of facilities there.
The 60-odd families, who moved to 135 sq.ft. flats last May, complain
that many promises of the Corporation while rehabilitating them remain
on paper.
“We have no political agenda. We seek basic needs for our survival. We
took out a march to the Collectorate when our pleas fell on deaf ears,”
said Babu Solomon, representative of the residents. “The congested flats
do not have even kitchens. We are yet to get cooking gas connections
promised by the Corporation,” said Mimoona Akbar, a resident.
The residents now cook in a common kitchen built by the Corporation.
“Flat residents have a single water source—a borewell. Water from the
borewell cannot be used for cooking. Rice cooked in the water gets
spoiled in a few hours,” said Omana, a housewife.
The KSEB has reportedly threatened to snap power connection to the
flats. “A temporary connection was taken from the transformer of a
private company. The Corporation should deposit the requisite amount
with the KSEB for getting an additional transformer installed,” Mr.
Solomon said.
“If there is no power connection, we will not be able to draw water from
the borewell,” the residents said. They also complain about the bad
condition of the two-and-a-half kilometre-long road to the flats.
“Operators refuse to take their vehicles along the road. If a resident
falls ill, we will have to carry him to the main road,” said Jameela.
Daily commuters from Mattampuram to the city rely on two bus services.
Mayor R. Bindu has said that the protest by the residents was a
political stunt spearheaded by the Opposition ahead of the Ayyanthole
Division bypoll.
Mr. Solomon has refuted the Mayor’s allegation, stating that most of
them were CPI (M) supporters. She said the Corporation had spent Rs.50
lakh for providing infrastructure to the flats. Cooking gas connections
had been delayed due to the Centre’s restrictions, she said.
The flats were built on 16 acres of Corporation land by NRI entrepreneur
C.K. Menon. With the Corporation not showing enough enthusiasm,
Mattampuram residents are finding it tough to get their needs fulfilled.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/14/stories/2009011454350400.htm
Karnataka
Farmer ends life in protest against project
Special Correspondent
________________________________________
It was reported that his farm would be submerged in the backwaters of
the project
There was tension in the town when farmers staged a protest and blocked road
________________________________________
Sorab (Shimoga District): Shivappa (52), a farmer belonging to Mudagodu,
committed suicide by consuming poison in protest against the
implementation of the Dandavathi Irrigation Project near Sorab. The
foundation stone for the project was laid on Tuesday.
Shivappa consumed poison around 2.30 a.m. at a tent pitched up by the
villagers at Marur near here, the dam site of the proposed project.
Shivappa was immediately shifted to the government hospital where he was
declared dead.
Farmers upset
Farmers from different parts of the taluk started gathering at the
hospital as the news of Shivappa’s death spread.
There was tension when police refused to allow the body to be carried to
the venue of the foundation laying.
The protesters, led by the Samajawadi Party general secretary Madhu
Bangarappa, raised slogans and refused to leave the place despite pleas
from the police.
Later, the former minister and senior Congress leader Kagodu Thimmappa
addressed the irate crowd at the hospital and appealed to them to remain
quiet.
He said it was unfortunate the Government chose to implement the
controversial project without appreciating the opposition to it from the
people of the taluk. He hoped that the Government would reconsider its
decision in the matter in view of the unfortunate death of a farmer.
Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Superintendent of Police S.
Murugan and Additional Superintendent of Police Kunigal Srikant had a
tough time in controlling the surging crowd.
It was stated that the piece of land of Shivappa was identified as part
of the area of submersion under the project which reportedly forced him
to take the extreme step.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/30/stories/2009013055060300.htm
Kerala - Kozhikode
Protest against survey for IT park
Special Correspondent
Owners say proper notice not issued to them; form action committee
________________________________________
Call off survey, demand owners
Seek compensation at market rate for land to be acquired
________________________________________
KOZHIKODE: Objections have been raised against surveying the land to be
acquired for a cyber park in Kozhikode.
Owners of the land that will be acquired to establish the IT park have
formed an action committee to press their demands. It demanded that the
survey be called off since a proper notice had not been issued to all
those who would have to give up their land.
It demanded compensation at market rate for the land to be acquired for
the IT park. Survey of the land needed for the park is under way at
Nellicode, Kovoor and Pantheerankavu.
In a statement, it alleged that the notification issued for the survey
was “inconclusive and vague” and the families to be affected had been
kept in the dark about the land that would be taken away from them. The
land-owners had not been issued notices before the survey started, the
committee alleged.
It said “the lack of transparency about land acquisition proceedings”
had given rise to suspicions that there was a planned move to deny the
uneducated people residing in the region their legitimate right to
express their grievances.
The committee said that the rehabilitation of all those who would be
affected would not be possible. It also complained that the people
residing outside the land to be acquired for the IT park would face a
number of problems when the cyber park was established. So, steps should
be taken for their safety, roads and drinking water requirements. The
committee demanded that the survey be stopped forthwith since
“sufficient notice had not been given” and warned “it would take legal
action if compensation for acquired land was not given at market rates.”
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/03/stories/2009010360180900.htm
Tamil Nadu
Demonstration against airport expansion
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: State governments and the Airports Authority of India should
take the public view into account before implementing any development
projects that required land acquisition, said Medha Patkar, founder of
Narmadha Bachao Andholan and National Alliance of People’s Movements
here on Friday.
Ms. Patkar, who participated in a demonstration organised by the United
People’s Forum for Survival against airport expansion project at the
junction of Manappakkam – Ramapuram on Mount Poonamallee Road, said
expansion projects did not help people and it was done without their
consent. She said this was against the principles of development and
there should be no displacement in the name of development. Members of
the Forum urged the government to reconsider the decision.
---------------------------------------------------
Residents protest hotel construction
Jakarta Post - January 30, 2009
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung -- Residents from
Rancabentang, Ciumbeuleuit in Bandung, staged a
rally Tuesday at the Bandung Municipal Legislative
Council protesting its indecision on the
construction of the Four R Hotel.
The crowd protested in front of the council
building while beating drums, cans and plastic
bottles.
A protester, Sugandaria, said they had objected to
the hotel during a rally on Jan. 19, when they
disputed the signatures of 100 residents from the
project's public awareness campaign in 2007. The
signatures were later used in a residents'
agreement with the municipality to issue a building
permit for the planned 15-story hotel.
Residents realized their signatures were forged,
after trucks and heavy machinery entered the site
in June 2008. Backed by prominent lawyer Adnan
Buyung Nasution, who owns a house near the
construction site, residents eventually aired their
grievances publicly.
Previously, Nasution and a group of residents took
the case to the Bandung State Administrative Court.
The court, however, ruled in favor of the hotel
owner, jeans producer Henry Husada, on the grounds
that the signatures had strengthened his position
and that he had satisfied all of the legal
procedures.
"Today, the city councilors promised that they
would come here and see the violation firsthand,"
Sugandaria said. "But the visit was canceled and we
are clearly disappointed."
City Council spokesperson Hetty Sofiati said the
visit was canceled because Council Speaker Husni
Mutaqien was engaged in party affairs.
Hotel owner Henry said he felt he had gone through
the proper procedures.
"We won the appeal for the hotel construction at
the Administrative Court in December. We don't
understand why they think we are in the wrong,"
Henry said.
---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
Villagers demand release of residents in land row
Agence France Presse - January 22, 2009
Dozens of villagers in Sumatra began an eight-day
protest on Wednesday over the detention of 76
residents in a land dispute that has been raging
for years, a farmers' union leader said.
The eight-day march followed a district court
ruling on Friday that ordered 76 residents of Suluk
Bongkal village in Riau Province to remain in
detention for occupying land that did not belong to
them.
The villagers were arrested after protests in mid-
December, during which police fired bullets and
tear gas. Two children were reported to have died
and hundreds of homes destroyed.
"We are protesting at the methods used by police to
seize the land from villagers who have been staying
there for years," said Rinaldi, a member of the
farmers' union organizing the protest.
The villagers, who have been occupying the land for
years, have been in dispute with pulpwood supplier
PT Arara Abadi since 1996, when the Ministry of
Forestry awarded the company rights to develop the
area.
The activists began a 300-kilometer walk from Tasik
Serai village to Mandiangin village in Riau, in
central Sumatra.
---------------------------------------------------
Villagers demand release of those held in Indonesia
land row
Agence France Presse - January 22, 2009
Jakarta -- Dozens of villagers on Indonesia's
Sumatra island began a protest march Wednesday to
demand the release of 76 people arrested in a land
dispute, a farmers' union leader said.
The eight-day march is being held after a district
court ruled Friday that the 76 residents of Suluk
Bongkal village in Riau province would remain in
detention as they had been caught occupying land
that didn't belong to them.
The resident were arrested after clashes in mid-
December in which police fired bullets and tear
gas. Two children were reported to have died and
hundreds of homes destroyed.
"We are protesting the method used by police to
seize the land from villagers who have been staying
there for years," said Rinaldi, a leader of Serikat
Tani Riau, which is organizing the "Long March"
protest.
The villagers of Suluk Bongkal have been disputing
the land's ownership with pulpwood supplier PT
Arara Abadi since 1996, when the forestry ministry
awarded the company rights to develop the area.
Carrying Indonesian flags and banners that said
"Sack Riau Police" and "Free 76 Farmers," 38
farmers and activists began the 300-kilometer (187-
mile) walk after dawn from Tasik Serai village to
Mandiangin village in Riau province in Central
Sumatra.
Their last stop would be the provincial police
station, the governor's and parliamentary offices
in the provincial town of Pekanbaru, Rinaldi said.
"We will be passing by 11 to 12 villages, and hope
to have 100 more people joining us in this march,"
he added.
---------------------------------------------------
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/28/mayfair-squatters-evicted
Squatters evicted from London mansions
Houses in Mayfair and Park Lane vacated after court orders
• Helen Pidd
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 28 January 2009 16.18 GMT
• Article history
The Da! Collective moved into the £22.5m Clarges Mews house after being
evicted from this £6.5m property on Upper Grosvenor Street. Photograph:
Graeme Robertson
Squatters occupying a number of multimillion-pound London mansions were
evicted today after being ordered out by the courts.
A group of young artists had been living in a £22.5m property in Clarges
Mews, Mayfair, since before Christmas. Just around the corner on Park
Lane a second group had been living in two adjoining blocks overlooking
Hyde Park. The leasehold on these two derelict mansions sold for £5.56m
each in October last year, according to the Land Registry.
The Clarges Mews squatters have become notorious for occupying a series
of properties in Mayfair, Kensington and other upmarket areas of the
capital in the past few years. The group of artists sometimes goes by
the name the Da! Collective, but were squatting under the banner of the
Temporary School of Thought at their latest address, where they held
weeks of workshops and activities. They invited members of the public
into the sumptuous property to learn new skills – there were free
classes on everything from Hungarian folk singing to treehouse building
and how to dance the Charleston.
The first eviction battle began after the owners of the Clarges Mews
property, Timekeeper Ltd, spotted a Christmas tree in a window at the
end of last year and launched an application to have the squatters evicted.
Earlier this month the squatters won a stay of execution when the
hearing was adjourned, but yesterday their dismissal was confirmed at
Central London county court. Today the squatters left the Grade
II*-listed property as builders moved in to begin renovations.
The squatters who have been occupying the Park Lane mansions were also
ordered out by a judge today.
Two companies who own leaseholds on the houses successfully applied to
the county court for an order to take back possession of the buildings.
Judge Marc Dight granted their request forthwith – meaning the squatters
could be evicted immediately.
Michael Buckpitt, for leaseholders Weleta Ltd and Konzeo Ltd, told the
court: "The claimants are entitled to possession of the property as
long-leasehold owners."
Following the decision some of the six squatters who attended this
morning's hearing claimed they could be left homeless.
During the short hearing one of them, Andreas Grant, asked the judge for
leniency, saying: "Since there about 40 people living there who are
without any other options for accommodation, they will be homeless now.
Perhaps we could delay for a few days so they could find alternative
accommodation."
Outside the Park Lane properties yesterday the squatters threw carpets
out of the windows as they waited for bailiffs to arrive.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Campaigners-protest-over-empty-homes.4838455.jp
Campaigners protest over empty homes
Published Date: 02 January 2009
CALTONGATE campaigners have held a protest about the number of empty
council homes on the Royal Mile.
An estimated 18 properties on the Canongate are empty ahead of
demolition work for the Caltongate project.
Members of the Canongate Community Forum say the city council has
refused to tell them exactly how many homes are empty and what this has
cost the local authority in lost revenue, despite repeated freedom of
information requests.
Catriona Grant, chairwoman of the Canongate Community Forum, said: "The
Homecoming year should be about all the people living in Scotland coming
home to a home.
"The Year of Homecoming 2009 must insist that homes are built in our
city and that existing empty homes are opened up.
"It should not be used as a justification to build more hotels and more
homes becoming holiday lets."
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-article.aspx?storyid=128198&provider=rss
Protesters Arrested Near FPL Swamp
Created: 1/11/2009 12:03:31 PM Updated: 1/11/2009 12:04:38 PM
PORT MAYACA, FL (AP) -- Deputies arrested 17 protesters who were
demanding Florida Power & Light officials open a Martin County swamp to
the public.
Members of EarthFirst! say they had been camping near the 455-acre
Barley Barber Swamp for about a week when they were arrested Saturday.
They say reports from independent scientists prove an FPL plant has been
draining the wetlands, and FPL officials have broken their promise to
reopen the area to the public.
An FPL spokesman says the draining allegations were false. He says FPL
entered into an agreement with the South Florida Water Management
District in 1983 committing to maintain appropriate water levels.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office says seven women and 10 men were
charged with trespassing and resisting arrest.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2009/01/10/0110protest.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=76
17 protesters arrested at Barley Barber swamp, demand FPL open area to
the public
By DAPHNE DURET
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 10, 2009
PORT MAYACA — Deputies arrested 17 protesters on trespassing and
resisting arrest charges Saturday near the Barley Barber swamp, where
members of an activist group have camped out for nearly a week,
demanding Florida Power & Light officials open the swamp to the public.
Members of EarthFirst! said six of their colleagueswere arrested after
they entered the swamp area and refused to leave the boardwalk area
until FPL officials met their requests. The rest were taken into custody
in an adjacent area, said group member Russell McSpadden.
Previously: Feb. 2008 protest at 20 Mile Bend
The group - which has been camping around-the-clock outside the 455-acre
swamp since Monday - contends that independent scientists' reports prove
the FPL plant has been draining the wetlands and FPL officials have
reneged on their promise to reopen the area to the public.
FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana in an email said the draining allegations
were false, adding that FPL in 1983 entered into an agreement with the
South Florida Water Management District under which they made a
commitment to maintain appropriate water levels.
"We're disappointed that this group has resorted to illegal activity and
are leaving the matter in the hands of law enforcement," FPL spokesman
Mayco Villafana said. "We are concerned for anyone who enters the swamp
without taking the appropriate precautions."
Villafana said that since last year, FPL officials have been working
with state and local agencieson plans to reopen the preserve, which
closed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
According to Martin County sheriff's deputies, the group of seven women
and 10 men were being booked into the Martin County jail. The people
facing trespassing charges will be held in lieu of $750 bail, the ones
facing trespassing and resisting arrest without violence will be held on
$1,500, sheriff's officials said.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/10/stories/2009011061040600.htm
Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi
CPI(M) members stage protest
Staff Reporter
TIRUCHI: Members of the Ponmalai unit of the Communist Party of India -
Marxist (CPI-M) and residents of Mudukkupatti in Ward 26 in the city
staged an agitation at the Khadi Kraft junction here on Friday,
protesting the issuance of notices by the Railway Department to the
vacate their houses.
Led by the Ponmalai unit secretary of CPI(M) S. Ramadoss, they raised
slogans urging the Railway Department to withdraw the notices immediately.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ramadoss said that the site at
Mudukkupatti fell well under the porambokke classification of the
Revenue Department and not the Railway Department.
About 125 hut-dwellers, all belonging to the economically weaker and
unorganised labourer sections, had been residing in the area for several
decades.
A petition had already been submitted to the district administration to
effect due change in the classification of the site from the present
water-course porambokke category.
A delegation of the party representatives and local residents submitted
a memorandum to the Divisional Railway Manager.
The district secretary of the CPI(M) Sridhar was among those who
participated.
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/30/stories/2009013053580400.htm
Karnataka
24-hour CPI(M) protest begins
Special Correspondent
CHICKBALLAPUR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday
commenced a 24-hour dharna in front of the Chickballapur district Deputy
Commissioner’s office in support of its demands.
Hundreds of people from all over the district took out a procession in
the town, under the leadership of former Bagepalli MLA G.V. Srirama
Reddy, before proceeding to the Deputy Commissioner’s office at
Chadulapura, on the outskirts of Chickballapur.
The CPI (M) has launched the agitation seeking various facilities for
the poor, who have been hit by the “anti-poor economic policies of the
State and Central governments.” The CPI (M) has sought title deeds for
poor farmers who were cultivating on government lands, stopping eviction
of farmers cultivating crops in forest lands, issuing BPL cards at the
earliest and increasing the quantity of ration supplied to BPL card
holders under public distribution system, among others.
http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl010609cbparishioners.4431c43d.html
New Orleans police sent in to remove protesting parishioners; arrests made
04:22 PM CST on Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Bill Capo / Eyewitness News
WWL-TV
Police were brought in by the archdiocese to end vigils.
NEW ORLEANS -- At Our Lady Of Good Counsel church, Harold Baquet, one of
the leaders of the protest against the church closing order, was led out
by New Orleans Police, and placed in a police car.
"It's unbelievable; you know, Harold Baquet is a cancer patient. He
undergoes chemotherapy treatments. It is just terrible it had to come to
this -- that Archbishop Hughes would not speak with us, would not meet
with us,” said Barbara Fortier, a protest leader.
He was not taken to jail, but was driven home instead, but the
experience left him stunned.
"There was really no reason for them to come out and handle us this way,
and it really was a physical, it was physically abusive, and not only to
us personally and physically, but to our home,” said Baquet.
There were tears, anger and arrests outside of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Church, where two people were taken away in handcuffs after police moved
in to remove the protesting parishioners
One of them was author and parishioner Poppy Z. Brite.
“I’m having a wonderful time,” Brite said as she was taken away in
handcuffs. “I’m serving my church. I’m saving my church.”
"It was necessary for the police to break-in to Our Lady of Good Counsel
because those inside refused entrance to either archdiocesan
representatives or the police," said Sarah Comiskey, the spokeswoman for
the Archdiocese.
The vigil started around the clock in Our Lady of Good Counsel in
October. It was one of a number of churches that were closed and
consolidated as a part of a city-wide pastoral plan.
Archdiocese officials showed up at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church at
midmorning Tuesday. The officials said they were there to reclaim church
property, with the parishioners inside asked to leave peacefully –
otherwise, officials said, they would be arrested.
"It has always been the intention of the archdiocese to bring these
vigils to a peaceful conclusion. This forced closure involving the NOPD
is the result of the actions of protestors at the former parishes," said
Comiskey. "This decision was made reluctantly after exploring every
possible alternative, including multiple attempts to persuade the people
to leave the building on their own. These initiatives are unfortunate
but made necessary now to ensure the safety of the people and security
of the buildings."
There were about six or seven people inside the church – one of them was
72-year-old Dorothy Payton.
"This church belonged to us. It belonged to the community," Payton said.
"We think we have a right. I don’t think they have a right to close the
church the way that they did. This church was not damaged. We were doing
our financial obligations, and we did more than we were asked."
Payton was not taken out in handcuffs, but she said she was told she was
under arrest.
“They were just trying to tell us we didn’t belong in there, and the
police said they didn’t have anything to do with this, they could
understand that we wanted to stay in our church,” Payton said. “And
that’s what we were trying to do. We wanted to stay in our church."
"I'm extremely disappointed, but to be honest with you, I'm not
surprised,” said Julie Martello.
"I think it is a shame before God, and I think this archbishop really
needs to have a conversation with God, and have his conscience weighed
against what he is doing. After Katrina, this is just unthinkable,” said
Arthurine Payton.
At the same time, the archdiocese also moved to end the vigil here at
St. Henry's, the other church conducting organized protests against the
closings.
Police accompanied archdiocese officials as they ordered congregation
members to leave, and closed the church. Protest leader Cynthia Robidoux
was issued a court summons on a trespassing charge, and watched the
closure in disbelief.
"I am just so broken hearted,” she said. “I mean, I can't even explain
how empty I feel to know that this is the archdiocese."
Archdiocese officials say they have visited the churches, and repeatedly
asked the protestors to leave. But when asked why the arrests and
summons were believed necessary a spokeswoman for the archdiocese was
booed by protest sympathizers.
"Unfortunately the circumstances that came about in the last few days
have forced this decision,” said Comiskey.
An official statement expressed hope that the Catholic community may now
heal and move forward. Members of both congregations are now trying to
determine what to do next, as the churches they tried to keep open were
locked up.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/7835343.stm
Saturday, 17 January 2009
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Printable version
Man pledges 10-year site protest
David Barker said he would camp there for ten years if necessary
A man camped on the derelict site of Stoke City's former football ground
says he will stay there for 10 years in a bid to turn the land into a park.
David Barker has been living in a tent on the Victoria Ground site since
Christmas in sub-zero temperatures.
He said he would use the law of adverse possession to gain control of it
and then turn it over to park use.
To do that he must keep leaseholders St Mowden off the site. But St
Modwen said they would evict him soon.
Planning consent
Mr Barker, who is currently unemployed, said he was taking a stand for
the community because the site had been left derelict for more than 11
years.
Developer St Mowden applied for planning consent to convert the site for
housing but announced in December that market conditions were not right
for a residential development.
Stoke City played at the ground since 1878 until the club moved to the
Britannia Stadium in 1997.
Mr Barker said he had been litter picking the site every day, because to
gain legal possession he has to show he has made an improvement to the
land.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/TENANTS_PROTEST_FORECLOSURES_01-15-09_P3CV9S9_v185.3defd09.html
Tenants, advocates rally to stop foreclosures in Rhode Island
01:00 AM EST on Thursday, January 15, 2009
By Lynn Arditi
Journal Staff Writer
Daniel Daley is among the tenants, homeowners and advocates at a protest
at the Rhode Island State House Rotunda calling for greater protection
for families being evicted as a result of foreclosure.
The Providence Journal / John Freidah
PROVIDENCE — Louisa Pimentel planted herself in the midst of a protest
in the State House rotunda yesterday, and gazed up at the ceiling, all
white marble and murals.
At 48, she had never set foot inside the halls of state government, or
considered participating in a demonstration.
That changed, though, when she learned that the rental house in the
city’s West End where she lives with three of her children is in the
process of foreclosure.
Yesterday, less than 48 hours before her house was scheduled to be sold
at a foreclosure auction, Pimentel joined about a dozen other members of
a new tenants’ group — the RI Bank Tenant Homeowner Association — along
with advocates for the homeless and housing advocates to demand that
state lawmakers declare a moratorium on foreclosures in Rhode Island.
Chanting “Stop Evictions! Now! Stop Foreclosures! Now!” the protesters
said that tenants who lose their homes to foreclosure are, in some
cases, unable to come up with enough money for a security deposit on a
new rental, and wind up homeless.
Calls for a foreclosure moratorium follow similar efforts across the
country last year. Several states, including Massachusetts and
Connecticut, attempted to stem rising foreclosures by introducing
legislation to stall or stop the foreclosure process. But so far, none
of those proposals has become law, according to Heather Morton, a
legislative analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
President-elect Barack Obama has said that he supports a 90-day
moratorium on foreclosures. But he is likely to face stiff opposition by
lenders, who argue that even a temporary freeze on foreclosures could
delay the sale of bank-owned property which, in turn, would make banks
less likely to make new loans.
Bill Farrell, a lobbyist for the Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers
Association who watched the protesters yesterday, said he fears that a
foreclosure moratorium is the sort of restriction that would discourage
investors from buying loans in Rhode Island. Investors might demand more
money for down payments or require borrowers to meet higher income
standards. That, in turn, would make it more difficult for “fringe”
borrowers to obtain loans, he said, and hurt efforts to expand
affordable housing.
Even some of the advocates who support more protections for tenants
concede that a moratorium may be difficult to enact in Rhode Island
because, unlike states such as Massachusetts, there is no law requiring
banks to obtain court orders before they begin foreclosure proceedings.
“The practical reality is it’s not clear who has the authority to [stop
foreclosures] in Rhode Island,” said Brenda Clement, director the
Statewide Housing Action Coalition. “The moratorium may not be the right
tool … but it’s an attempt to draw attention and focus to the issue.”
Noreen Shawcross, executive director of the Rhode Island Housing
Resources Commission, said that a foreclosure moratorium would be a
“Band-Aid” approach, and that a more effective measure is to assist
homeowners in getting lenders to agree to work out their mortgages.
In the absence of any federal mandate on foreclosures, however, the
protesters — including the Housing Action Coalition and the Rhode Island
Coalition, the R.I. Coalition for the Homeless and DARE — say they need
help from state lawmakers.
Just over 100 families who were homeless between April and December had
been displaced due to foreclosures, said Coalition for the Homeless’
executive director, Jim Ryczek.
Pimentel, the single mother who was attending her first protest, says
she is worried that her family could wind up among them. An immigrant
from the Dominican Republic, she has no job and is supported by her
18-year-old daughter, Idaliza, a student at the University of Rhode
Island who works part-time at a Wendy’s. Pimentel and three of her four
children moved to a first-floor apartment at 10-12 Massie Ave.,
Providence, two years ago, when their previous landlord fell into
foreclosure.
If she manages to get the money to move again, she worries that house,
too, might fall into foreclosure. “I don’t want to have to worry,” she said.
Nearby was Yolanda Cruz, another single mother, who had joined the
protest. Three months ago, she said, the house where she rented an
apartment fell into foreclosure and the gas and water were shut off. The
apartment became infested with cockroaches and mice. Cruz said she
pawned her jewelry to come up with the $800 she needed three months ago
to rent another apartment.
“At least,” Cruz said to Pimentel’s daughter, Idaliza, “you’re lucky
they don’t turn off the water.”
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24911097-2862,00.html
Student squatters evicted from Melbourne University properties
Article from:
January 14, 2009 09:05am
UPDATE 11:44am STUDENT squatters say they're homeless after their dawn
eviction from Melbourne University-owned houses.
The students, who have occupied the Faraday St terrace homes in Carlton
for the past five months, have now set up camp on the footpath to
protest against the eviction.
Spokeswoman Anja Kanngieser said some students have nowhere else to go,
and vowed the group would continue their campaign.
“There’s a lot of homeless students at the moment that really have
nowhere else to go,” Ms Kanngieser said.
“Where else are they going to sleep if they don’t have a roof over their
head any more?”
"We’re going to continue the campaign."
About 14 students in the three Melbourne University properties were
evicted this morning.
The group is part of the Student Housing Action Cooperative, which says
it took direct action to prevent homelessness.
Victoria Police said students who had been living in the terrace houses
left peacefully after an eviction notice was served by the Sheriff's
office about 6am today.
Up to a dozen officers raided the back of the properties while a crew of
police knocked on the front door demanding the students vacate the
premises.
Once inside, police opened the front door and a group of students piled
out holding backpacks, mattresses and other belongings.
They then sat outside the Faraday St terrace houses where they hoped to
stage a rally with other supporters.
Students say they have been squatting in the houses to highlight
Melbourne's shortage of affordable rental properties.
But the Supreme Court last week gave Melbourne University the right to
evict the squatters and reclaim the houses.
University workers were also at the squat this morning.
Two international students among the first evicted said they did not
have anywhere permanent to live.
University staff, with locksmiths, were also at the squat this morning
but refused to comment.
Melbourne University's senior media officer, Christina Buckridge,
confirmed the eviction.
“The squatters didn’t volunteer to leave despite the many opportunities
we gave them and they were evicted this morning,’’ Ms Buckridge said.
“The university is very disappointed it had to come to this,’’ she said.
- Anthony Dowsley, Shannon Deery, Matthew Schulz
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/01/29/20090129sr-solis0129-ON.html
Despite residents' protests, substation to be moved
16 comments by Lynh Bui - Jan. 29, 2009 10:31 AM
The Arizona Republic
The Scottsdale City Council approved an alleyway abandonment that will
make way for the relocation of an SRP electrical substation to 68th
Street and Indian School Road.
The 5-2 vote in favor of the abandonment came close to midnight
Wednesday after the council heard hours of public testimony and
presentations on controversial topic.
The developer of Solis Scottsdale Resort and Residences, Scottsdale
Canal Development, LLC, had requested the abandonment to move the
substation from Scottsdale and Camelback roads to 68th Street and Indian
School to make way for a luxury hotel project.
The abandonment has been controversial. Residents around the area of the
new substation have protested the relocation, fearing it will bring an
eyesore to their neighborhood.
Shortly after midnight on Thursday, the City Council approved by a 5-2
vote the developer's rezoning request, which will allow for the resort
project on Scottsdale and Camelback roads.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROVIDENCE_TENT_CITY_DAY_2_01-26-09_3PD3773_v18.31f6a23.html
Homeless spend night in tents to protest against city of Providence
07:17 AM EST on Monday, January 26, 2009
By Cynthia Needham
Journal State House Bureau
John Joyce, a member of the Homeless People’s Action Committee, and
Megan Smith, a Brown student who works with a Brown housing program,
spent the night under the Crawford Street Bridge in tents.
The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires
PROVIDENCE — It’s been four months since Jeff Mayers last slept indoors.
He spends most nights on the streets of the capital city, covered in
blankets, plastic –– anything he can find to keep the wind out.
“I’ve been in the military, so I know how to somewhat survive out in
this weather,” he said yesterday, his voice quavering from the cold.
For Kris Lapp, it’s been almost as long. Lapp is pregnant. And yesterday
was her 24th birthday.
“What a way to spend a birthday, on the streets,” she said.
The two were among the half-dozen homeless and their advocates who
huddled in blankets and coats beneath a now-closed Route 195 off-ramp
for the second consecutive day yesterday. They spent the night in
2-degree temperatures, knotted together in a frigid enclave of tents
erected partly in memory of a friend and partly as a protest against the
City of Providence.
Less than a month ago, Paul Langlais, 56, formerly of Coventry, died
beneath that bridge during a night of bitter cold. An autopsy determined
that the cause of death was heart disease.
Though they have no permit, the group pledged to stay in the makeshift
camp on city property until authorities and the public acknowledge they
need to do more to fight homelessness.
“There are cracks in the system right now between service providers, the
State of Rhode Island and, obviously, the city. There are people
sleeping outside in the city of Providence every night,” said John
Joyce, a member of an organization that has billed itself as the
Homeless People’s Action Committee. “It’s morally wrong that people in
the city of Providence are sleeping outside … Obviously the economic
times are awful, with the unemployment rate and cuts in the budget last
year. And we’ve got a foreclosure crisis going on.”
In the long term, the group says the state needs to improve its help
network, build more affordable housing and assign case workers to help
those whose addiction problems have driven them to the streets.
More immediately, they say, Rhode Island must work harder to get
homeless people off the streets on the coldest nights, providing more
transportation to shelters and churches.
By yesterday afternoon, the group had not heard from or seen any
Providence officials. To stay warm, they walked around in the snow and
sipped icy coffee left over from a delivery someone made Saturday night.
At least the sun was shining, Mayers said, his smile weak.
But for Lapp, the cold was too intense. She stayed inside the tent, in a
sleeping bag.
A spokesman for Mayor David N. Cicilline did not return a call for
comment yesterday.
Joyce said the group had no plans to leave.
“Our feeling is if we’re all together, we can watch each other’s backs,”
said Joyce, his hands shaking as he dragged on a cigarette. “Paul didn’t
have to die alone here. If we had these tents set up, someone could have
watched him. It’s just tents, but it’s shelter.”
With reports from Frieda Squires
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