Protest rally against atrocities on minorities

9/2/2012
India

MANGALORE: The Federation of Human Rights’ Organizations, comprising 25 like-minded organizations, will take out a rally from Ambedkar Circle on Friday at 3 pm to protest atrocities on Christian churches and institutions. They will urge the Centre to implement the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation) Bill with necessary amendments forthwith.

Walter Maben, president of the Federation, told reporters here on Wednesday that the united front will include various Church leaders from Karnataka United Churches Forum for Human Rights (West Zone) – a forum of the roman Catholic/Orthodox and other Evangelical Protestant Christian churches and institutions, Karnataka Missions Network, Komu Souhardha Vedike and Muslim community.

Maben alleged that atrocities against minority communities and their places of worship have become a regular occurrence in the past few years. In 2011 alone, there were 66 incidents of attacks on Muslims and 15 against the members of Christian communities which showed the utter lawlessness of the communal elements, he claimed.

“As a result of such persecution, a sense of insecurity prevails among the members of the minority communities. People live in fear not knowing when and where these vicious elements will strike next,” he said.

“There is no empirical basis to the charge that the population of the minorities is on the rise because of religious conversion. Those who make such baseless accusations are trying to create a wrong impression in the minds of the common people,” he said.

A public meeting, slated to be held in front of the deputy commissioner’s office at 4 pm, will be inaugurated by Jason D’Costa, a victim of Surathkal attack.

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