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Marad: displaced to return on Aug. 15

By Our Special Correspondent

KOZHIKODE AUG. 12. Pressure is mounting on the Kerala Government to resolve the impasse over the resettlement of displaced Muslim families of Marad.

The issues related to rehabilitation came to the fore today, with the Muslim families which fled Marad after the May 2 massacre declaring that they would return to their homes in the seaside village on August 15. Nearly 100 families are now staying in the relief camps opened for them at Kappakkal.

The women in the camp told presspersons today that they would march to Marad on August 15 and that they were determined to overcome any attempts to obstruct their entry into their homes. They said they were forced to take such a drastic step as the Government had not been able to create conditions favourable for their return.

Two attempts to resettle the displaced families had failed in the face of hostility from the women of Hindu families in Marad which had lost their members in the massacre. The aggrieved women, apparently still in a state of shock, had said that they would resist any Government-sponsored rehabilitation attempts. The Marad Araya Samajam, which represents Hindu fishworkers of the locality, however, had reportedly made it clear that there would not be any resistance to the displaced families returning home voluntarily.

Leaders of Hindu organisations said that rehabilitation measures should wait until the bereaved Hindu families were paid adequate compensation and the Government took effective action to punish the "perpetrators of the violence."

The Confederation of Human Rights Organisations, which has at its helm known leaders of the National Development Front (NDF), today offered to send ``human watch dogs'' to Marad to facilitate the resettlement of the displaced Muslim families.

At a meeting presided over by its State chairman, P. Koya, the confederation said its ``human watchdogs'' would be ready to work hand-in-hand with the Government and other agencies to end the ``human rights violations'' against the displaced families. A meeting of ``the human watch dogs'' was called on August 18 to chalk out an action plan, he said.

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