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Puthiya Tamizhagam Party Calls for Rally Against POTO in Tamil Nadu

[EelamNation, November 10/2001] 

The Puthiya Tamizhagam Party said on Friday, November 9, that the party would stage a rally to oppose the Prevention Of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) in Chennai during the first week of next month.  Organizations opposing the ordinance should join force in making the rally a success.  The POTO ordinance will have to be approved by both the houses of parliament.  The ruling NDA does not have a majority in the upper house Rajya Sabha) and the Congress is opposed to POTO. how to get a Free iphone 3

The founder of the party Dr. K Krishnasamy told presspersons in Chennai that there was absolutely no need to introduce a new law to crush terrorism, as existing laws in the country were sufficient to counter it.  Even the existing laws had been misused by law enforcement agencies and there were reports of several custodial death and rape incidents, he said. Garbiel tells me about linux shared hosting brand

He expressed concern that the law enforcement authorities have not implemented even the existing laws properly, and there is no guarantee POTO will not be misused to crush minorities and/or against legitimate political dissent by others.  Neither the Indian government nor the foreign governments have yet to define the term terrorism.  There is no consensus yet in the UNO as to the exact definition of terrorism because what is terrorism to one party will appear directly opposite to another party.  This has been proved in the case Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).  It is therefore not necessary we should have a law like POTO to fight terrorism.  In practice such law will be used against people fighting for their rights. Learn more about corporate housing costa rica there

He condemned the steps taken by the authorities to prevent a group of Dalits who wanted to embrace Buddhism recently.  He said an individual has the right to follow any particular religion.  Moreover, if the RSS and the VHP thought conversions should not take place, then they should take concrete measures to eradicate untouchability and casteism prevailing in Hinduism, he said.

He added a meeting has been organized to discuss this issue further, which would take place on November 17.

In the meantime, Law Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday that we have to fight against terrorism and not POTO.  POTO is required to combat the menace of terrorism, which has so far claimed more than 54,000 lives without the country facing a civil war situation.

The Indian Law Minister said his government was always open to legitimate and positive suggestions keeping in mind the objective of national interests and the security considerations.  He called on those who are seeking to oppose these provisions to seriously consider the connotation of their action.

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