Archbishop blames Orissa government for justice denied to Christians

(February 08, 2010) Fifteen months after anti-Christian violence ravaged eastern India’s Orissa state, particularly Kandhamal District, the Catholic archbishop of the state has blamed the state government that most of the 54,000 displaced Christians have not been able to go home because of threats of forced conversion to Hinduism. During a press conference on Saturday in the State capital Bhubaneshwar, Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar blasted the slow pace with which the courts are dealing with the hundreds of cases stemming from the 2008 anti-Christian violence in the state. He complained about the slowness of reconstruction, which left thousands of people without a job or means of survival, living in shantytown where they are confronted with cynical authorities uninterested in restoring their dignity. “Fifteen months after they were uprooted,” the prelate told the press conference, “thousands still live in makeshift shanties along roads, in the forests, with no seeming hope for rehabilitation, harassed daily by block and panchayat officials as well as police.” “We want full reconciliation and lasting peace in Kandhamal, but this will be possible only when justice is transparent, lives are rebuilt and people allowed to return to their own villages without fear,” he said. He pointed out three main areas where authorites have failed – namely, the subversion of the criminal justice system in the Fast Track courts by shoddy investigations and witnesses being terrorised; the utter inadequacy of government assistance in rebuilding houses; and the absence of genuine employment, livelihood and education schemes.