Many hurt in India protests over killings, land row
19 Mar 2007 11:38:44 GMT Source: Reuters
By Bappa Majumdar KOLKATA, India, March 19 (Reuters) - Dozens of Muslim demonstrators and policemen were hurt in clashes in the Indian city of Kolkata on Monday during a rally to protest against the killing of at least 14 villagers, police and witnesses said. Anger has mounted in the eastern state of West Bengal since Wednesday's killings in Nandigram, 150 km (90 miles) southwest of Kolkata, which occurred when police fired on villagers protesting against a planned special economic zone (SEZ). "We want Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to resign immediately for slaughtering innocent villagers," said Siddiqullah Choudhury, head of Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, one of the biggest groups for India's Muslims, which organised the protest. Many of the farmers in Nandigram are Muslims. Human rights groups say the toll from Wednesday's clash could be higher as several people are still missing. The deaths of the villagers has sparked a national outcry about India's plans to set up low-tax SEZs on fertile farming land, and led to severe criticism of West Bengal's communist government, which is keen to industrialise the state. On Monday, tens of thousands of Muslim protesters, many wearing white skull caps and white tunics, crammed into Kolkata's streets, causing massive traffic jams. Baton-wielding policemen hit stone-throwing demonstrators who broke through barricades and moved towards the state's administrative headquarters. Teargas smoke was visible over many blocks and protesters scaled boundary walls of buildings to escape policemen. Some policemen were dragged away and beaten up by protesters. The killings in Nandigram also echoed in India's parliament in New Delhi, where opposition MPs disrupted work in both houses. CHIEF MINISTER UNDER FIRE "Hang Buddhadeb, he is a murderer," opposition MPs shouted. India's communists provide crucial support to the federal coalition headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Nandigram violence is the worst yet over moves to acquire land for SEZs and could undermine broader efforts to push farmers off their land to make way for factories, analysts say. Though the West Bengal government said on Saturday it had permanently dropped its plan to build an industrial hub in Nandigram, anger is widespread. "Stop the people's movement if you can," shouted several Muslim demonstrators in Kolkata. "We will teach you a lesson." Armed Maoist rebels, who operate across a huge swathe of eastern, central and southern India, have called a strike in five states, including West Bengal, to protest against the Nandigram deaths. But Trade Minister Kamal Nath was quoted on Sunday as telling a TV channel there would be no "political wriggling out" of plans to build SEZs to boost growth and close the manufacturing gap with China. In New Delhi on Monday, leading environmentalist Medha Patkar led protesters who blocked a busy road near parliament. "Wherever there has been globalisation, it has killed people," Patkar said. (Additional reporting by Palash Kumar in New Delhi)
