GUWAHATI, May 6 - The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) has strongly condemned the �excessive use of force by police� which led to the death of two protesters at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on May 2.
Two people were shot dead by police and several others injured when a group of people protested against the arrest of Lobsang Gyatso, a Buddhist monk who has been at the forefront of an anti-mega dam movement in Tawang.
�Forum-Asia demands of the Government of India to conduct a prompt, full, impartial and independent investigation into the death of the two protesters and take actions against those responsible,� it said in a statement.
Authorities in Arunachal Pradesh have approved the construction of about 168 mega dam projects in the State. Thirteen of these projects that are to be located in the Tawang region have been opposed by the indigenous people.
Lobsang Gyatso is the secretary of the Save Mon Region Federation (SMRF), an organisation of the Monpa community in the Mon-Tawang region. The SMRF has been protesting against ecologically destructive hydropower projects, demanding accountability in the State development projects, and campaigning against corruption.
�The right to freedom of assembly is a human right and not a privilege. The State also has the obligation towards ensuring protection of the right to freedom of assembly,� Evelyn Balais-Serrano, executive director of Forum-Asia, said, adding that credible investigation must be ensured in this case to fix accountability of the law enforcement officers for shooting without prior warning.
The organisation is a regional human rights group with 58 member organisations in 19 countries across Asia.