The Press Club of India (PCI) and the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) have condemned the arrests of anti-dam activists and the deployment of security forces in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang Valley amid continuing protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
In a press statement dated October 30, the Press Club of India expressed concern over the Arunachal Pradesh Police including the name of senior journalist and deputy editor of The Arunachal Times, Tongam Rina, in requests for search warrants in connection with the October 23 violence in Pasighat.
The PCI also condemned what it described as attempts by state authorities to intimidate and harass journalists reporting on the protests against the Siang dam project. It said that investigating violence and property destruction could not become an excuse for intimidating journalists covering a movement.
The statement urged the Arunachal Pradesh Police to ensure that journalists, including Rina, were not harassed for doing their jobs. It noted that she had covered environmental, political and governance issues in the state and said that including her name in the search warrant requests, without any justification or links to the violence, amounted to an attack on press freedom.
Separately, the International IPMSDL condemned what it described as arbitrary arrests, violence and the large-scale deployment of security forces in Indigenous communities resisting the proposed 11,000 to 12,500 MW hydropower project.
According to the organisation, 69 people had been arrested and four detained as of October 23 amid protests in the region. The arrests took place alongside a shutdown and road blockades organised by several community groups, including the Adi Bane Kebang United, the SUMP Affected Area Youth Association, the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum Youth Wing and the Adi Galo Welfare Society.
The groups were demanding the release of 10 activists arrested earlier, the withdrawal of all pre-feasibility activities related to the dam project and the removal of paramilitary and central forces deployed in the region.
The IPMSDL alleged that security personnel fired tear gas to disperse protesters during the shutdown, injuring four women, before making further arrests and detentions. Among those arrested were human rights lawyer Ebo Mili, youth leader Otul Jerang and activist Tajong Talom. The organisation said the arrests and detentions took place in Upper Siang, Siang and East Siang districts under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
It further stated that the Union government had deployed 30 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in the three districts, along with three battalions of Assam Police in East Siang district, including Pasighat.
Calling the security deployment excessive, the IPMSDL said Indigenous communities had the right to free, prior and informed consent over projects affecting their lands and territories, including the right to reject them.
"Arrest, state violence and intensified government militarization never work side by side with respect to Indigenous Peoples right to self-determination," the organisation said, adding that projects built on violations of Indigenous rights could not be expected to benefit affected communities.
The organisation called on the international community to express solidarity with the Adi people and other affected communities in the Siang Valley. It demanded an end to the arrests and attacks, the withdrawal of security forces and the cancellation of the proposed dam project.
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