Dear Vivek,

Thanks for your understanding. Let us be united while standing for the rights of
the tribal communities, be it in ANI or any other place.

With best wishes for the New Year!

Sharbendu De
Programme Manager
Butterflies


----- Original Message ----
From: V.Vivekanandan <vivek@...>
To: andamanicobar@...
Sent: Wednesday, January 3, 2007 7:47:14 AM
Subject: Re: [andamanicobar] Press Release on 2nd Anniversary of the Tsunami by
the Tribal Council of Nancowrie

Dear Sharbendu,

I realise that I have made a comment about Butterflies based on a quick reading
of the tribal council's statement. I had just assumed, unfairly I realise, that
the Tribal council singling out Butterflies in their statement meant that they
had some serious problems with the activities of Butterflies in their island. I
apologise for this lapse on my part. I have no previous knowledge of Butterflies
and should not have made such a comment.

Regards,

Vivek

V.Vivekanandan
Chief Executive
South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies
Karamana
Trivandrum 695 002

Ph: +91-471-2343711, 2343178
Res: +91-471-2501018
Mobile: +91-9847084840

E-mail: vivek@siffs. org

----- Original Message -----
From: Sharbendu De
To: vivek@siffs. org
Cc: andamanicobar@ yahoogroups. co.in ; Rita Panicker ; Gerry Pinto
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: [andamanicobar] Press Release on 2nd Anniversary of the Tsunami by
the Tribal Council of Nancowrie

Dear Mr. Vivek,

We do observe that you have alleged Butterflies of doing 'harm to the cause' of
the tribal people in Nancowrie, in your public statement given in this forum.

What the tribal council had said is that they were unaware of Butterflies
presence in Nancowrie. We have already responded to that.

If you read very carefully, they have made no allegations on us about 'doing
harm'. It is very senstive of the tribal council who haven't gone into defaming
someone's reputation, but expressed concern and we very much respect that.

However, your allegation places matters on a very different and rather
uncomfortable note. May I request you to kindly substantiate your allegation
with appropriate evidences.

It would be interesting to hear of your credentials with respect to the
understanding of A&N Islands and it's tribal cultures.

With regards
Sharbendu De
Programme Manager
Butterflies

----- Original Message ----
From: V.Vivekanandan <vivek@siffs. org>
To: andamanicobar@ yahoogroups. co.in
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2006 10:14:31 PM
Subject: Re: [andamanicobar] Press Release on 2nd Anniversary of the Tsunami by
the Tribal Council of Nancowrie

Dear friends,

This is an amazing statement coming from the tribal council very clearly listing
out the issues and taking clear stand on many issues. The issues like the forest
department take over of the forests and the location of permanent shelters are
very serious indeed. While good deeds by Govt and NGOs have been properly
acknowledged, the tribal council is also straight forward in denouncing what is
thinks are wrong and has not shied away from naming individuals (e.g.
S.C.Thyagi) and organisations (e.g. Butterflies) who are doing harm to their
cause. We need to express our solidarity with the tribal council on these issues
and see how we can take up the issues on the mainland.

Regards,

Vivek

V.Vivekanandan
Chief Executive
South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies
Karamana
Trivandrum 695 002

Ph: +91-471-2343711, 2343178
Res: +91-471-2501018
Mobile: +91-9847084840

E-mail: vivek@siffs. org

----- Original Message -----
From: Pankaj
To: andamanicobar@ yahoogroups. co.in
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2006 3:43 PM
Subject: [andamanicobar] Press Release on 2nd Anniversary of the Tsunami by the
Tribal Council of Nancowrie

PRESS RELEASE
on the occasion of the 2nd Anniversary of the Tsunami, 26th December 2006

by
Tribal Council of Nancowrie, Central Nicobar Islands
Email: tribalcouncil. nancowrie@ gmail.com
Tel: 09434284444

Two years after the tsunami, it is still a long way to go for the
Nicobarese, indigenous inhabitants of the Nicobar archipelago in the Bay of
Bengal. Even as we have grappled with tremendous losses directly caused by
the tsunami - of lives, of materials, our means of subsistence and way of
life and culture - the post-tsunami period has only brought added misery. In
part this is due to internal conflict and a sudden change in lifestyle. But
it is also due to fresh threats to our very existence due to certain moves
made by various agencies of the government and non-government organizations.
Despite the rehabilitation measures initiated by the administration
(government) - for which we remain grateful - we continue to live in an
atmosphere of great fear and uncertainty over our future. For us, the
present situation is marked by the following:

Threat from the Forest Department: Through a recent proclamation of the
Forest Settlement Officer it has been announced that the entire land area of
our islands excluding the village area, is being constituted as Reserved
Forest under the ownership of the Forest Department. This means that the
Nicobarese will henceforth be treated as trespassers in their own forests
and punished for the same. This development is a deathblow for us. We have
lived on these islands for centuries together. All land has been divided
amongst ourselves by our forefathers and the demarcations made by them are
observed by us to this day. As a primarily hunting-gathering tribe we depend
upon the forest for our very sustenance. We attach great cultural and
economic significance to them and it is impossible for us to live in
separation for them. We love our forests and care for them - their very
existence over the centuries is testimony to this fact. On the contrary, the
damage inflicted to our forests has begun only after the Forest Department
established its presence in our islands. It is therefore, not acceptable to
us in the least that our forests should be declared Reserve Forests.

Occupation and Encroachment upon Tribal Land: For many years now, we have
time and again raised the matter of our lands being encroached upon by
non-tribals running variety of trade illegally, whose very presence in our
islands is illegal according to the Andaman & Nicobar (Protection of
Aboriginal Tribes) Regulations, 1956. After the tsunami, this situation has
been compounded by some departments of the administration who are occupying
tribal land without permission for constructing their offices. Further
adding to our agony, INS Kardip, the naval base on Kamorta Island, is
objecting to the construction of permanent shelters in several villages
claiming these sites to be under its ownership. Work in these villages has
come to a standstill and the people continue to languish in temporary
shelters on the verge of collapse. It is impossible for the figure to be
208 acres since there are large villages outside this extent and these have
been in existence for at least a few hundred years. Unfortunately, all our
records have been washed away by the tsunami and we are unable to provide
documentary evidence from our end. However, our predicament is not being
understood. Consequently, the Nicobarese people are under siege from all
sides and we do not know where to look.

Location of Permanent Shelters: Even as the construction of permanent
shelters is going on slowly, fresh difficulties are arising for us and
causing further delay. Despite assurances from senior government officers as
well as the Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor that our requirements will be
honoured, the building contractor and the Central Public Works Department
(CPWD), the government agency responsible for permanent housing, want to
construct the permanent shelters very close to each other to suit their own
convenience. This condition is too difficult for us to accept. The location
and layout of the village and of the houses are central to the Nicobarese
way of life. The space around our houses is essential for carrying out
traditional rituals and ceremonies; for maintaining livestock as well as
small plantations of fruit trees. Our life style is different from that of
mainlanders and we very much hope that the administration can appreciate and
respect this difference as it has been doing before.

Boats: Boats are the very lifeline of our island existence but are yet to be
distributed to all the deserving families. In their absence, these families
are unable to develop a source of livelihood. Further, 18 boats given by an
NGO which were in community use across the islands have all broken down
since they were made of fibre-glass. These need to be replaced with wooden
boats.

Insensitivity of local administrative officer: The Nicobarese are suffering
at the hands of of Shri.S.C.Tyagi, the Assistant Commissioner, Nancowrie,
senior-most administrative officer in these islands. He is authoritarian and
high-handed, and does not seem to believe in the participation of the
Nicobarese people in decision-making. He is also highly insensitive to our
traditional ways of life. His continued presence in office is highly
detrimental to the ongoing process of rehabilitation.

Impact of Aid Agencies: We are thankful to the various aid agencies/NGOs
that came forward to help us soon after the tsunami. Yet we feel that their
overall impact has not been a positive one. First, some NGOs tend to operate
with a lack of transparency. For example, we came to know that an NGO called
Butterflies was carrying out activities in our island without the knowledge
of the Tribal Council. Second, NGOs sometimes seek only token participation
of the village captains/Tribal Council to lend legitimacy to their own
agenda, which often do not address our real requirements. Third, many of the
training programmes being carried out are meaningless for us. They seem to
be theoretical and literature-based, and are beyond comprehension for the
average Nicobarese.

Death Certificates not issued in the name of Missing Persons: Death
certificates have not been issued in the name of the persons whose bodies
were not recovered after the tsunami. As a result, the local bank is unable
to transfer the money lying in their accounts to the next of kin. Since most
deaths in the tsunami fall in this category (of missing persons) great
hardship is being caused to the heirs of missing persons.

Waiver of old loans and disbursal of new ones: Despite an assurance from the
administration that the outstanding amount on loans taken pre-tsunami by the
Nicobarese would be waived, directions are yet to be received by the banks
concerned.

Meanwhile, candidates identified by the Department of Industries for award
of loans for self-employment activities are still waiting for their loan
amounts. There are now more people who have undergone training by NGOs or
the Administration. They require loans to make use of their recently
acquired skills to earn a livelihood.

THE WAY FORWARD

Our vision of development is one in which economic well-being is nurtured
along with our social and cultural integrity. Some of our ideas in this
direction are as follows:

Economic Development: The Nicobarese wish to promote economic development
through the cooperative structure. This will reduce exploitation of the
Nicobarese by outsiders and will ensure an equitable distribution of
resources and opportunities. For this purpose, funds (including grant-in-aid
towards infrastructure and working capital) are requested to be sanctioned
to a pre-existing primary cooperative society to strengthen its activities.

Social and cultural integrity: Despite legal restrictions, immigrant traders
have illegally established themselves in several parts of the Nicobar
Islands and engage in an unequal exchange with the Nicobarese leading to
their exploitation. Many Nicobarese are presently under their debt and
nearly all money received as compensation after tsunami has ended up in
their hands. These immigrant traders are not only an economic threat but
challenge the social and cultural integrity of the Nicobarese. The
Nicobarese request their removal from the islands.

Improvement of infrastructure and services: Educational and health services
need to be given a major boost. The quality of education is currently very
poor; apart from addressing this, elements of Nicobarese history, culture
and craft need to be made part of the educational curriculum. Health
services are extremely inadequate; the way to improve them is to establish
good communications and transport infrastructure, apart from upgrading
existing medical facilities and establishing medical facilities where they
are currently non-existent. Inter-island transport and communication is
currently a severe problem and is one of the biggest handicaps in the
development of our islands.

Motivating government staff: Due to the poor infrastructure and services in
the islands, most government staff are always in a hurry to get posted back
to Port Blair/Andaman District. Further, they look down upon us and
contribute very much to the average Nicobarese's lack of self-esteem.
Government servants need to be sensitized to our way of life and motivated
to serve in our islands.

Right to land and self-governance: All of the land (unless surrendered for
various purposes) traditionally belong to the Nicobarese families. Every
area, inhabited or uninhabited has an owner. We request that our right to
their land is respected and protected. Furthermore, we have their own system
of governance based on elections. Therefore, we desire very much that our
Tribal Councils be recognised as a legal entity and the islands be brought
under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to strengthen our traditional
rights and self-governance system.

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