A battle of wills
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/review/review1.htm
By Ahmed Fraz Khan
The Rangers are treating the tense situation at Okara’s military farmlands as a law and order situation while the tenants of those lands argue that theirs is an issue of economic rights. With both parties refusing to budge from their stance, how does the government plan on finding a solution that will stop the bloodshed that seems imminent? Ahmed Fraz Khan reports.
With the Rangers vowing to knock farmers into line and the latter pledging to prefer death over eviction, the stage seems set for further clashes and possible loss of lives at the Okara military farmlands, scene of a violent showdown on August 24. The two-year standoff seems to have entered a dangerous stage, given the positions both parties have adopted. If things do get out of hand, it could result in bringing more grief to the hapless farmers, not to mention tarnishing the state’s image.
Analysts argue that if the Rangers are forced to retreat, they risk suffering a bruised ego. Explaining this psychological barrier, a Rangers colonelmanning the area said: “The army operates with a pride that no one can resist or touch. They believe that if these farmers are capable of defeating the army out of these lands, they may as well do something other then defend the borders.” Mercifully, things have not reached that stage and the army is showing some patience, but if it comes to that level, no one should doubt the Army’s capabilities, he added.
That assertion sets the context in which the Rangers are operating in the area, or could, if the operation hits further snags.On the other hand, the farmers - around 40 per cent of them are Christians - have taken oaths on their holy books in mosques and churches pledging to fight till they get malkiyat ya maut (ownership or death). If the numerous deaths in the last two years are something to go by, their oaths are not hollow.
With both parties taking such hard stands, one wonders about a possible resolution - but there does not seem to be one in sight. “The Rangers are here only for a short period because they are needed at the borders,” claimed a major from the area. It is precisely for this reason that they have had to use force, albeit reluctantly, and as a matter of last resort, to get the bigger message across; if the problem lingers beyond their expectations, farmers should get ready for the worst.
Farmers on the other hand claim that they have no choice but to fight, especially if the state has chosen to do so.“Where can these farmers go if they have suddenly been deprived of their lands and homes?” asks Yunas Iqbal, leader of the Christian community and Anjuman-e-Muzareen. “It would be like becoming nomads in our own country.”
While the farmers remain firm in their resolve of resisting state forces, they simply have no other choice. The state forces must realize that if they think over a million people can be killed to impose the writ of the army, the farmers are ready to die. These claims have set the context for a battle on both sides and many fear that more bloodshed and tragedies will take place.
Although the farmers are ready to fight for “ownership or death”, they are clearly a handicapped party in this struggle with few options to avail of. Their two-year struggle, or sufferings to be exact, is witness to that fact. During this period, the state has chosen to create a policy exception for the area as lands are being given to the landless elsewhere in the country. However, this policy, followed by successive governments, failed to cover these farmlands because the army needed them. “They are special-purpose farms and cannot be split into small landholdings,” says Akhtar Ali Randahwa, Chief Secretary Punjab. The division will defeat the purpose of these lands which, according to him, is smooth supply of fodder for the army cattle as well as milk and seed development by the Punjab Seed Corporation.
The Punjab government, owner of the land, is clear about the use and status of the land, which the peasants are trying to change. According to the farmers, the police, Rangers, the district administration and even the district government have joined hands against the farmers, in a bid to put pressure on them.
“Over 100 FIRs involving more than 6,000 people have been lodged during the last two years,” says an uncle of Salman Masih - the 20-year-old man killed on August 24 when, according to villagers, the Rangers opened fire. “They should know that we will not back down as fighting for rights has become part of our faith,” he asserted. Most of these FIRs have been lodged under the anti-terrorism act and contain different clauses. “If asking for one’s rights is deemed terrorism, let everybody know that these fields house more than one million terrorists and they are ready to go to hospitals, jails and even the gallows. My family has sacrificed one of its children but there are still many more,” he added.
Another pressure tactic being used in the area is putting all workers of military farms, school teachers and even policemen on a notice period for getting involved in “anti-state activities.” Many villagers produced copies of such notices in order to prove their claim. This shows the government’s failure in handling the issue. “How can one be accused of anti-state activities when one is only fighting for his ancestral lands,” says a villager from the Chak 4/L. “Even the Army acknowledges that this land belongs to the Punjab government. It is only a lessee and the Army Welfare Trust (AWT) is getting income from these lands. While people can be accused of anti-AWT activities does the same translate into anti-state activities? When did the AWT become synonymous with the state of Pakistan,” he asked.
“The kind of justice these farmers are getting from the police shows which side of the dispute it is operating for,” says a lawyer from Lahore. While lodging the FIR for the murder of Salman Masih the accused became a complainant; a farmer was killed and the Rangers were allowed to become complainant. The Rangers claim that Salman was killed by slug injuries and not by them or police-used weapons. No one ordered an autopsy to verify this claim.
Moreover, those who arrived at the hospital for treatment sustained during firing were booked and arrested for murder. “This proves police inability or unwillingness to act as an independent law enforcer,” said a lawyer. “Those who buried Salman say that his body was tortured black and blue. This is merciless use of state force and the rulers must take note of it before it is too late.”
He added that the farmers have gone to court for exhuming Salman’s body to ascertain the cause of death, which, if allowed, could clear the confusion.
“The use of naked force should not be allowed at any cost by any civilized state,” said a human rights activist from the area. “However, those wielding it are allowed to use it in its most brutal form because no one can control them, not even the state. Numerous lives have been lost over the last two years and that should have shaken the rulers out of their slumber over this dispute. But everybody seems to be helpless against those trying to solve the crisis on their own terms.”
Officials claim that talks are still being held with some farmers but reports suggest that they are a one-sided affair as farmers are being told to sign on the dotted lines. Many analysts argue that someone from the Rangers has unilaterally decided that their agreement was in the best interest of the farmers and they must accept it. “This attitude goes against the grain of civilized thinking and behaviour,” said the activist.
In addition to the above-mentioned pressure tactics, law enforcing agencies have regularly picked up villagers without any legal requirements, and then kept denying holding them in their possession. During one recent visit of journalists and NGO workers to the area, a consistent complaint that ran through the day was the villagers’ illegal detention. Weeping women in their sixties and seventies told journalists how their sons were arrested by the police and no one knows of their existence - or fate.
The SSP concerned, M.A Tareen, however, denied these reports. “Police does not have any villagers who were not required by it under the law,” he claimed. “But the recovery of Anwer Javed Dogar, chief of the Anjuman-e-Muzareen, is one typical example,” says a villager. Dogar was arrested on August 24 when he arrived from Lahore after the firing incident at Chak 4/L and for the next five days police denied his arrest. It took a habeas corpus petition by Mrs Dogar in the Lahore High Court to get the police to confess that Dogar was under arrest and jailed at Sahiwal.
“There are hundreds of such cases where those held could be recovered but because their parents lack resources they cannot seek court intervention,” said one villager. “The NGOs can help in this regard.”
The farmers, on their part, insist that they are ready to negotiate and pay the rent or share to the Punjab government but not to the army.“The government should come on the table and negotiate because the Rangers have failed both the farmers and the government,” said Anwer Javed Dogar, days before he was picked up the police on August 24.