Will Justice Come for Christian Victims of Extremist Violence in India?

The first session of National People's Tribunal is being held in New Delhi. Participants include former judges, activists, journalists and political analysts. They will hear the testimonies of survivors of the massacres to shed light on the anti-Christian pogrom that erupted August 23, 2008 and request the arrest of Hindu extremists perpetrators of the massacres who are still unpunished.

NEW DELHI, India (AsiaNews) - Two years after anti-Christian pogroms first exploded on 23 August 2008, the people of Kandhamal district are still waiting for justice and so far the extremist Hindu authors of the massacres remain unpunished.

To give victims a voice, the National Solidarity Forum (NSF) has set up in New Delhi a National People's Tribunal, involving former judges, activists, journalists and political analysts. Until August 24 they will hear the testimonies of survivors of the massacres, in an attempt to clarify the 43 cases of violence between December 2007 and August 2008 that caused 93 deaths and forced more than 56 thousand people to flee for their lives. Dhinarendra Pandha, head of NSF, said: "Much has changed in these two years, but the lives of survivors of Kandhamal has gotten worse. They are still traumatized by the violence that took away their dignity, livelihoods and homes. The failure of the Indian judicial system to punish the perpetrators of the pogroms has frustrated the hopes for Justice of 56 thousand people who have seen their homes go up in flames." The ongoing trials at the district court in Kandhamal sees several members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) implicated, the main party of government in Orissa at the time of the massacre. To date, they have prevented witnesses of the massacre from testifying in court by continuing threats and attacks, creating an atmosphere of panic among the population. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, tells AsiaNews that "the Forum of three days of national solidarity is our demand for justice for the people of Kandhamal". The Archbishop stresses that Christians "have the right to practice their religion and have access to security, livelihoods and education." "But unfortunately - he adds - in these two years nothing has changed and the Government of Orissa has not yet been able to shed light on the case and help the victims."