Catholic union denounces anti-northeast messages

(Aug. 21, 2012) The All India Catholic Union (AICU) has denounced attempts by some religious extremists to foment violence in India by spreading hate messages against people from the northeast. “We express solidarity with the people of the northeast and condemn those who are using social media sites to almost bring the country on the brink of a national catastrophe,” said Eugene Gonsalves, newly elected AICU president, in a press statement. Gonsalves also congratulated the federal, state governments of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and civil society for acting quickly to bring the situation under control. Some 30,000 people from northeast fled Bangalore, Karnataka State on Thursday, after receiving short messages of rumours of attacks against them as fallout of ethnic clashes in Assam.
There were also reports of people fleeing cities such as Hyderabad and Pune.
The AICU appealed to the panic-stricken people not to be misled by rumours.
It also appealed to federal and the Assam governments to urgently create conditions so that the 400,000 people displaced from the conflict between the Bodos and Muslims in the state could return home. Gonsalves said that the government must address the root causes that led to the conflict. The state must also ensure compensation to the kin of the deceased and to people who have lost their homes and livelihood. The statement was issued on Sunday at the end of the AICU’s two-day annual general meeting in Kolkata, West Bengal.